Rector's Blog: Advent Comfort & Joy
My favorite line in any Christmas song comes from O Little Town of Bethlehem. The first verse is addressed directly to the little town, which is noticeable, if at all, for its ordinariness. In Jesus’ time, Bethlehem is not Israel’s power center, nor its cultural hub. It’s a place like any other. It’s Anytown, Israel. But on this night, it’s where Jesus – God Incarnate – emerges into the world. The song described the event like this: “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight."
All the hopes and all the fears of this one nondescript town, this one nation, this one people, this one world – all of them – are met and held and honored and loved by God who shows up for it, for us. I love this so much. I love the acknowledgment that our hopes nestle so closely to our fears. I love that God showing up meets all of them, and all of us. I love the serenity and simplicity with which this song acknowledges the single most beautiful moment in history.
God’s presence in the world in Jesus Christ is challenging. It disrupts our status quo, upends our understanding of the world, and pushes us to love differently, more authentically, with all of our heart. But also, God showing up and sharing in our humanity is meant to be a great comfort. God’s challenging presence is the greatest comfort imaginable, as every one of our hopes and every one of our fears is met with magnificent love.
With all of this we understand that the holiday season can be complicated. We love it and also, we are stressed. We are excited, and also anxious. We are equal measures hopeful and fearful for all it could and would and should be. We cannot avoid any of this. Nor, frankly, should we try. But during Advent we can prepare ourselves by leaning more fully into the comforting presence of God. We can focus on the comfort and joy that Jesus brings when he meets us where we are. We can feed on the nourishing presence of God’s love in our lives. We can hold fast to each other and focus on the eternal relationships that root, ground, and equip us to love this world into the way of justice and mercy.
I invite you to an Advent at Redeemer filled with the blessed comfort of knowing there is a place for you. A community that will embrace and hold you in your hopes and fears. A God who will show up to meet you here.
