A Spark of Hope
Today, an Advent meditation reminded me that Jesus coming is light shining in the darkness. This light is the hope and reassurance that despite the outer circumstances, the big-picture truth is that “all will be well.” I often expect that light to be as bright as a beacon, or a spotlight, or the sun itself. But hope more often comes as a quick spark that lights the tiniest twig of kindling. It requires tending to that spark, to fanning a flame into a greater light and warmth of the fire.
How do we tend the spark of hope? Keeping our attention fixed on it. Calming the anxieties that arise when we see or hear or experience the strife in our world. Returning again and again to the stillness and simplicity of the fact that the coming of Jesus is the reality of Emmanuel, “God with Us.”
In the midst of our fear, sorrow, burden, or failure, “God with Us” keeps the flame alive when we can’t tend the flame ourselves.
“God with Us” is the faith communities, past, present, and future, who hold on to hope for us, surrounding us with “so great a cloud of witnesses” who see our pain and understand our longings. and hold the torch to light the path for the next step forward.
“God with Us” is the Word of God spoken into this world in human form, as an infant Savior, yes, but also in the human form of each individual, living and breathing God-imaged lives, vessels of grace and truth.
“God with Us” is the reflection of God in the glory of this created world, all creatures, great and small, the fragrance of the desert after the rain, the pungent cedars of my own backyard forest, the arc of sky over earth, and the masterpiece sunrising and sunsetting display.
What is the spark of hope you hold on to today? How do you experience “God with Us?”
A Breath Prayer to Tend the flame of Hope
Every morning I’m praying this breath prayer through Advent, as my practice to tend the spark of hope in this sometimes-dark world. Breathe in “God with Us.” Breath out “God with me.” I take this prayer with me throughout my day. When anxiety rises, when I’m troubled or frustrated, these are my queues to stop, slow down, and return to the only true hope for my soul.
