Newsletter Article for December 6th, 2017

This article was originally published in the church Newsletter on December 6th, 2017:    

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     We are now in the season of Advent. Advent is the season of preparation for the coming of Jesus at his birth. It is a season of expectation and a season of hope. I have been thinking about hope a lot lately. It is a theme that has come up in several sermons as of late, and it will come up often during this month of December.

     Preaching hope has two main pitfalls. On one hand, hope can be preached in a way that diminishes the reality of the sadness, grief, pain, fear and suffering that we face in this world. On the other hand, hope can be preached in a way that mutes the reality of the joy, comfort, and assurance that the good news bring. Hope is so great, precisely because it comes in the face of so many terrible things. We don’t want to be Pollyannaish and say, “Everything will be alright.” We also don’t want to be dark pessimists who are constantly focused on the negative.

     This is why I greatly appreciate simple strings of Christmas lights and candles in windows and prefer them over ostentatious displays of figurines with floodlights on holiday characters. There is something impressive about the Griswold scale light displays and I do make a point to drive by them during the holiday season, but they always seem to be missing something important about this time of year.

     The small little lights give a great glow, in the midst of the darkness. They don’t try to cover up the darkness, as if it were not there, but rather to proclaim that a light shines in the darkness. One of the powerful aspects of Christian hope is that it is honest. It does not deny the harsh reality and terrible effect of suffering in this world. With so many tragedies rocking our world this year, we need this honesty. The world is dark. There have been shootings, bombings, abuse, oppression, misconduct, and on and on. Hope that does not admit to the ever creeping darkness is no hope at all.

     So much of the secular Christmas activities seek to drown our sorrows in a vague Christmas spirit, the indulgence of material goods, and the constant stream of cheerful music. Secular Christmas creates a façade of great joy and good cheer, as if the dark and cold didn’t exist. On the other hand there is the “bah humbug” attitude that only criticizes and puts on a Grinch sized frown on the whole thing. In the midst of all of this, is true Christian hope.

     Advent is a time of hope and it is honest hope. Honest hope that neither despairs, letting itself be lost in fear and grief, nor hope that floats away to some false heavenly utopia.

     So as you see the lights that decorate houses and yards this time of year, remember the words from the Gospel of John, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

   

In Christ,

Scott C. Egbers