Advent 2025: What do we fear? Insisting on Hope this Advent
This Advent, we ask the question: What do we fear? and reflect on what it means to insist on Hope in this moment in history.
Last week, on the first Sunday of Advent, Amy reminded us that scripture readings in this season can be unsettling, scary even.
We heard about Zechariah being frighteningly interrupted by an angel announcing that he and his equally aged wife would have a baby. That child would grow up to be prophet, living in the desert, wearing camel’s hair and eating locusts and wild honey. We call him John the Baptist, whose prophetic ways would get him in trouble. He ended up being beheaded at the request of Queen Herodias.
This Sunday, we jump into a story from the middle of Jesus’ ministry, when John is in prison (Matthew 11:1-11). He’s been declaring that his cousin Jesus is the Messiah. Now behind bars, he wants to know if Jesus is “the one” they’ve been expecting or do they need to wait for another.
We can imagine the kind of questioning despair he’s experiencing in prison, as his Earthly life is nearing its end: Has any of this been worth it? Does anything I do matter? Have I been on the right track?
My guess is that there are plenty of us who have had these thoughts along the way, questioning our purpose, our effectiveness, our reasons for living. It’s human to pause and wonder, especially when we’re bombarded with bad news.
On Sunday, we’ll talk about what it means to have hope, even when things look bleak. How do we keep keeping on, trusting we’re working for something sustainable and worthwhile, when outward signs suggest the opposite?
We’ll also hear from our wonderful bell choir!
I look forward to seeing you there.
In faith,
Kent
Image credit: Hope Like a Dancer by Lauren Wright Pittman. Inspired by Matthew 11:1-11. 11”x14” Gouache, paint pens, colored pencils, and ink on paper. © a sanctified art | sanctifiedart.org
