When joy and hope are in short supply

It’s easy to become distracted by the conventional elements that mark the Christmas season, such as family gatherings, preparing meals and buying and receiving presents. That can make it harder to focus on this time as a season of renewal, when God invites us to let Jesus come into our hearts and enable us to become more like him.

All around the world, the global tapestry of believers is waiting in anticipation to worship Jesus and his birth during the four-week season of Advent. Our Christmas celebrations follow the four main themes of Advent: hope, peace, joy and love.

Scholars believe that during the 4th and 5th centuries in Spain and Gaul, Advent was a season of preparation for the baptism of new Christians at the January feast of Epiphany, the celebration of God’s incarnation represented by the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:1), his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist (John 1:29) and his first miracle at Cana (John 2:1). During this season of preparation, Christians would spend 40 days in penance, prayer and fasting to prepare for this celebration; originally, there was little connection between Advent and Christmas.

The word “Advent” stems from the Latin root adventus, which means “arrival,” based on its root in the word advenire, comprising “ad” (meaning “to”) and “venire” (meaning “come”).

What – or who – is coming towards us? With what message and significance?

Someone whose presence will flip the values of the world upside down, in so many ways. Embodying – literally – a new concept of power and influence, coming into our midst not through a conventional understanding of power, but rather through that most helpless of human beings: a newborn baby. A baby born not to parents from the affluent elite of society, but rather to a humble carpenter’s family. A family that had to endure the indignity of a mere stable in which to their baby was born, following an arduous journey to Bethlehem. Later they became refugees, forced to flee to Egypt.

It would be the modern equivalent of Jesus being born in a homeless shelter. Can we imagine that?

Far from arriving in a world marked by comfort and joy, Jesus came that first Advent to bring peace to a world in turmoil and offer comfort to those who suffered. He entered the world bringing good tidings of great joy for those awash in a sea of sorrows.

The roots of Advent and its themes of joy and hope are particularly relevant for us today. We’re living at a time when joy and hope are in short supply for many Canadians. The zeitgeist, or defining mood of our times, is marked by pessimism, political turmoil and heightened rates of anxiety, especially among young people. The darkness of these winter days seems mirrored by a dark mood over our land.

Advent hope is needed now more than ever. But it needs to be rooted in hope based on the realities of our world today, and on living out those radically counter-cultural values that Jesus embodied. Our living out of Advent hope can include charitable giving and helping others during this season – and on working towards lasting solutions to the urgent needs around poverty, hunger and homelessness that afflict so many in our wealthy nation.  Our faith in action can serve as a beacon of hope.

Advent begins just as the days of winter darken, as we head into the darkest six weeks of the year. We can prepare for the birth of Jesus by preparing our hearts to have Jesus born in each of us, with his spirit inspiring us to bolder acts of compassion and justice. In this season of anticipation, we can do an honest inventory of our lives, asking ourselves if there are any habits or attitudes that prevent us from bringing the light into our hearts.

We can remind ourselves that the true Light shines brighter at the darkest of times – and that we can all reflect that light. This world is not all there is.