First Sunday of Advent – Dec 1, 2024
As she loaded her grocery bags into her car, my friend heard a street preacher make an odd comment as he tried to evangelize the shoppers in the busy parking lot. The preacher declared that if he bought the exact same items that were on their grocery lists, he would “pay less because he was blessed!”
It’s clever, but I’m pretty sure that Jesus does not save us in that way, and the Gospel isn’t a coupon for our ticket to heaven. But of this I am certain. The difference between those with faith in Christ and those without is not the absence of hardship but the presence of hope in every circumstance. That is the good news of Advent.
Because of Christ’s Incarnation, we are already living into God’s promise of salvation. This is the source of our joyful hope, and we desire that everyone know that hope as well.
Jesus has already come into the world to save us and will come again to gather all creation to himself as a gift to the Father. Because of Christ’s Incarnation, we are already living into God’s promise of salvation. This is the source of our joyful hope, and we desire that everyone know that hope as well.
No wonder the Advent Gospel begins at the world’s end. For when everything is falling apart, that is our call. Therefore, stand with heads raised high, not in arrogance but with assurance that there will always be hope in Christ. It’s the best deal we’ll ever hope to find.
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