HOPE is Something Deep Week One of Advent
The hustle of preparing for Thanksgiving has passed, and we are gearing up for Christmas! How do those pages on our calendars flip so quickly?
Sunday, November 30th marked the first day of Advent 2025, and the theme of this week is HOPE.
Advent is derived from the Latin word “adventus,” and means “coming.” In Christian tradition, Advent begins on the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas and is a season of preparation and anticipation for the birth of Jesus.
Advent is a period of waiting. Unfortunately, waiting is often filled with frustration. Waiting means uncertainty and lack of control, a time when life can seem unfair, and focus feels futile.
While we wait, HOPE is essential.
The nation of Israel had been waiting and hoping for over 700 years for the coming of their Messiah.
Although perhaps not 700 years, oftentimes, life requires us to wait.
My friend and former pastor, Terry Gurno, has been in a prolonged season of waiting due to serious health issues. During this time, HOPE has not only kept Terry going, but he has encouraged and inspired many others to hang on to what he calls “Unyielding HOPE.”
Terry explains what this waiting season has taught him. “HOPE is something deep. Something that hits us in the soul. It ignites or reignites something within. There’s an energy to HOPE, immediate, positive, contagious.”
When Immanuel—God with Us—made his entrance as a tiny babe, born to a young woman in a humble stable, something profound happened. Something that hit humanity in the soul. For over 2000 years, the birth of Jesus has ignited and reignited new life deep within men, women, and children all over the world. And the HOPE Jesus brought filled hearts with immediate, positive, and contagious energy.
Prayer for the First Week of Advent
As I enter through the gates of thanksgiving into the kingdom of Advent, reign in love on the throne of my heart… Amen
(Centering Prayers, Peter Traben Haas)
Blessings on the Advent week of HOPE,
