Advent | Say Yes to Hope

An Introduction to This Series 

This Advent, we’re excited to introduce a blog series that’s designed to help you pause, rest, and reflect on the mystery of the Christmas season. For four weeks, we’ll post devotional blogs featuring a reading, a reflection, a set of questions, and a closing prayer. In the days leading up to Christmas, we hope this series will prompt you to look at the birth of Jesus a fresh set of eyes and a renewed spirit.  

This Week’s Readings 

Mañana (Tomorrow) 
Lope De Vega (translated by William Wordsworth) 

Lord, what am I, that, with unceasing care,
Thou didst seek after me, that thou didst wait,
Wet with unhealthy dews, before my gate,
And pass the gloomy nights of winter there? 

Oh, strange delusion, that I did not greet
Thy blessed approach! and oh, to Heaven how lost,
If my ingratitude’s unkindly frost
Has chilled the bleeding wounds upon thy feet! 

How oft my guardian angel gently cried,
“Soul, from thy casement look, and thou shalt see
How he persists to knock and wait for thee!” 

And oh! how often to that voice of sorrow,
“To-morrow we will open,” I replied,
And when the morrow came I answered still, “Tomorrow.” 

Nativity
C.S. Lewis 

Among the oxen (like an ox I’m slow)
I see a glory in the stable grow
Which, with the ox’s dullness might at length
Give me an ox’s strength.
Among the asses (stubborn I as they)
I see my Savior where I looked for hay;
So may my beast like folly learn at least
The patience of a beast.
Among the sheep (I like a sheep have strayed)
I watch the manger where my Lord is laid;
Oh that my baaing nature would win thence
Some woolly innocence! 

A Remarkable Day 
Shamik Banerjee 

“He’s God in human form!” whispers the crowd
In motley clothes and groups of twos and threes
Beneath the bulky, partly-aqua sky.
As nighttime slowly drops, birds meet the breeze
And soar towards the heavens, grand and proud. 

Under the shanty’s thatched roof sits a mother.
A blue cloak, one white tunic, and a veil
Make up her dress. Her eyes endear The Child
All humbly, and her soul is chanting, ‘Hail!’,
Aware her Son is not like any other. 

Three men of kingly rank have gathered here
To show their reverence to Him through gold
Censers and myrrh while bowing. They are garbed
In striking gowns, have horses, and look old.
Their true devotion fills the atmosphere. 

Although The King is born, His home is small,
Haunted by lambs and oxen, and straw-made,
To show God chose to dwell among the simple
And that His only Son has come to aid
Humanity and deliver us all. 

None knew they were to get abundant grace
Yet rushed on hearing “Come and see the Boy!”—
Some children, elderlies, and Roman guards;
Though some hearts harbour doubts and some great joy,
Each eye’s fixed to this Baby’s lucent face. 

Reflection

When read together, these three poems cast a light on both the human condition and the hope that saves us from it. Throughout our lives, we’re each faced with the realities of attempts to make tiny gods of ourselves…perhaps as a result of our ambition, fear, desires, or (like me) a consistent mad dash for control. I have repeatedly been the hapless subject of De Vega’s poem: locked away inside a house of my making, unaware of the dimly lit prison I have created myself, and unwilling to allow Jesus to switch on the lamp. 

The four weeks of Advent offer an opportunity to remember my inability to love God as well as I’d like to, as C.S. Lewis does in his reflection on the Nativity. But should our attention fail to turn, like Lewis’ does, to “the manger where my Lord is laid,” we’ll have missed the point of it all! The celebration of Christmas is exactly that because we’ve locked ourselves inside the dusty shacks of our futile efforts and the Son of God became man to save us anyway. 

Self-awareness and repentance. The Nativity and the Cross. We need all four of these things to understand what Jesus really came to do…and what it really means to hope. So as we anticipate the arrival of our Lord in this season, don’t miss what’s in the waiting: a chance to remember the weight and wonder of the Gospel, or as Banerjee pens in A Remarkable Day, “abundant grace.” 

Questions to Consider

• Where do you see yourself in each of the poems above? 

• What’s an area of your life that the Lord is healing/has healed? 

• In what area(s) of your life is God showing you His grace right now? 

• Reflect on the birth of Jesus in Matthew 1:18-2:23 and Luke 1-2:38. What stands out to you? Research answers to whatever questions come to mind or ask a pastor for their input. 

• How can you create space to meditate on the hope of Jesus this Advent? 

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, as I walk through the weeks of Advent this year, help me remember my great need for You. In the midst of what can be a busy season, help me slow down and remember who I am: Your child, Your loved and treasured possession redeemed by abundant grace.  

Don’t let me forget who I’ve been…only so I wouldn’t forget what You’ve done for me, Lord. You sacrificed so much for my sake, both in the Nativity and on the Cross. As the Church anticipates the celebration of Your arrival this Christmas, help me remember the hope You gave Your life to give me—the hope of an eternity where “…death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things [will] have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Amen. 

Author’s Note: Are you curious about what it means to be a Christian? No matter who you are or where you’re at with your faith, we’d be honored to help you discover a life with Jesus. Connect with us here.