As I sit down to write this pastoral note on the Thursday before Thanksgiving, I will admit to you that I’m sure still carrying a heavy heart over the Paris attacks of November 13th. Like many of you, I could only take so much before I had to turn off the TV and browse other stories online. For the life of me, I can’t understand how ideology or theology can drive people to commit such heinous acts. I am heartsick over this series of events.
Yet, while the world continues to ponder and grieve over this tragedy, the church moves on towards the liturgical season of Advent ready or not. In its own way, that development can be both a source of sadness and a source of hope. The approach of Advent can bring us to sadness when we realize just how far short of God’s justice, mercy, and righteousness this world of ours is. We live in a world punctuated by episodes of violence, terror, and great cruelty. We live in a world of displaced people. We live in a world where human life and human dignity is treated so callously. It is easy to despair when we see the gap between where this world is and where God calls us to be.
However, the approach of Advent is also a source of hope, even in difficult times. Advent is a reminder that God is not finished with this world or finished with any of us, despite our nasty tendencies to botch things up. The world was no less a place of cruelty and violence when Jesus came to proclaim the good news of God’s reign. In spite of the odds against success, the seeds of God’s Reign were sown in the soil of human hearts. Some failed to hear the message, while others heard it gladly. And where it was heard gladly it bore fruit.
As the church, we are the resistance movement against the forces of darkness. We carry light when the world is surrounded by shadows. We are called to bear witness to the transforming love of God. We may not prevail in every struggle, but we remain part of the fight. Making the rounds in the social media these days is a creative interpretation of commentary that the ancient rabbi, Tarfon (yes, that’s two rabbinic quotes in back-to-back months, I realize) made about the passage of Micah 6:8. The interpretation runs something like this: “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
Advent reminds us that we’re still in the game and that God is with us.
Your servant in Christ,
Rev. Jim Hoppert
