Dear Caldwell,
Gail here.
Advent is upon us. The season of celebrating the birth of Jesus our Savior has been one of my favorites since my childhood. I’ve always loved Christmas – all the singing and Christmas pageants, all the candles and gifts under the tree.
What I’ve come to recognize as I’ve gotten older is that beneath and behind all the bright lights and tinsel, there is also suffering and heartbreak. There is loneliness and fear. There is grief and there is mourning.
But God. But God. But God.
But God is with us in the suffering and heartbreak, in the fear and in the sadness.
And God is with us during our times of loss and pain.
Emmanuel means “God with us.”
Even when we can’t see God’s hand at work, God is with us.
Even when we don’t understand why our loved one is sick again, or unemployed again, or off the wagon again, God is with us.
Even when the world around us seems to be falling apart, God is with us.
May the truth of the “with-ness” of God fill us and transform us in deep ways in these coming days and weeks.
During Advent this year, John and I will be preaching a series called, “Behold:______.” Each week that word, “behold” will be followed by another word that will be our focus. I will kick off the series this coming Sunday with a sermon that will be called, “Behold: Hope.”
The Gospel reading will come from Luke 21:25-36. Why does the reading from the first Sunday of Advent come from one of the final chapters of Luke? And why does this reading feel so un-celebratory?
And how can we find hope in such a challenging passage of Scripture? What was Jesus talking about? I hope you will join us in worship this Sunday to hear what God might have to say to us and show us about hope.