Journey to Bethlehem 1

Journey to Bethlehem 1

Introduce ‘hope’ movement

what do you hope for this Advent? ……….

Doing sermon prep:   got a beginning and an end, nothing in between. 

Like advent for many of us: starts with decorating and ends with Christmas and there’s not much substance in between.

But the inbetween matters.  A lot.  The journey itself matters.

Journeys and advent-ures can be exciting, scary, boring, uncertain, weather dependent, you name it.   And as metaphor for the spiritual life and the Jesus-following life, they all apply!   It’s an ancient image: in our scriptures today, we had the words “way, paths, ways” several times

It’s the journey itself that signifies who we are as God’s people, not the destination.   As we head to Bethlehem this advent, focusing as we do on the destination of Christmas,  we are also journeying towards the Christ, seeking God not as end result but as present reality. 

One of our simplest vision statements was out on the hall way stand for several weeks: why are we here?  To seek God, to learn to love neighbor, to find opportunities to serve the world.   These are not future hopes, but present expectations.  Hope, the theme of this first week of Advent, is an active verb.

Hope for, and hope in, are not the same things, anymore than our two body movements today are the same….

Hope is a word that gives us the strength for the journey…when the way is unclear, hope offers patience (Nouwen quote will be posted separately)

…..when the way is unknown, hope offers trust in the God we heard from with the Jeremiah reading, who says I WILL keep my promise of a savior who WILL do what is just, and the people WILL live in safety

…..when the way is lonely, hope reminds us we are ‘together on the journey’ (bulletin), for God gives us a community to work with, to walk with

…when the way is fearful, hope reminds us that on the journey we will also find peace, and joy, and love – if we just open our eyes, our ears, our minds, our hearts.

I started out by asking you what you hoped for….see the screen: hope is in your hands.  How you live the inbetween of advent is up to you.

But I promise you it will be richer and deeper if you pay attention to the other words that occurred several times in our texts: guide, lead, led…all of them referring to God.   The Divine guides and leads those who can let go their own control.

(Merton quote posted separately  -  note ‘hope’)

May this be the year when your advent matters…may your journey deepen your faith, not tax your wallet……enrich your trust, not heighten your fear…..open your mind, not close your heart.

And may we all know the leading of the God who comes, over and over and over again to all who have eyes to see.   in a frightened and frightening world: we dare to hope.  Amen.