Living an “Advent Way of Life” today is supremely challenging in a world filled with cruelty, violence, corruption, and a godlessness that promotes injustice and seemingly rewards selfishness. It was the same kind of world, however, that the Gospel writers, including St. Luke, faced while living in the Roman Empire. Their time, too, was filled with decadence, corruption, and selfishness. For the faithful people of St. Luke’s time, he wrote the Gospel so that they would learn to treasure the hopes, the dreams, and the promises which God had made and which He was fulfilling in Jesus.
In just a few weeks, we will be telling the stories of those dreams that guided Joseph, Zachariah, Elizabeth, and Mary. They are the dreams that still give us hope. And, as we have seen over the past year and a half, hope is still a much-needed gift in our world. Hope is especially needed on the days when “the end of the world” seems to come: with the death of a child, a broken marriage, the loss of a life-time partner, a severe financial setback, a prolonged hospital stay, or yet another tragic shooting or an act of terrorism. All of these are still the things that shake our world. Living with hope in the midst of them is truly a challenge. Let’s remember, however, “Nothing is impossible for God” (Luke 1, 37) … or for the people who are close to Him.
Let us pray. “Lord, help us spread your light whenever we encounter darkness, help us keep joy in our hearts whenever we encounter sadness, and help us preserve your peace whenever we encounter violence or injustice. Help us live in hope. Come, Lord Jesus, come!”
