HOPE
Isaiah 9:2
John 1:1-5
Advent: the arrival of a notable person, thing or event, like the 200th anniversary debut of the Christmas hymn, "Silent Night, Holy Night. On Christmas Eve in 1818, Father Joseph Mohr, the young priest of St. Nicholas parish church in Obendorf discovered that the church organ was broken. Stories differ on the cause -- some say it was mice and others say it was rust. At any rate, Father Mohr realized that there was little chance of fixing the instrubent before the evening service. So, he pulled out a poem he had written several years before called "Stile Nacht" and took it to the schoolmaster and organist of a nearby town, Franz Xaver Grueber. Grueber wrote a melody to accompany the poem for guitar. Just in time for the Christmas Eve service, Gruber had the music written, and the hymn was played for the first time that night.
With the help of this beloved hymn, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, we're going to explore the themes of hope, peace, joy and love during this Season of Advent,
Beautiful! It was on nights like the one pictured above, when we lived in Michigan, that my husband Tom and I would cross-country ski. Everything would be so quiet and still. The only sound that was heard was made by our skis skimming over the snow.
Every so often, we would stop and gaze up into that bright, starry sky. To me, it felt like I was looking at infinity -- the past, present and future spread across the night. I'm reminded of the imagery of the Christmas carol, "Silent Night, Holy Night," and the story it invokes of prophesies ... of promises made and kept ... of divine faithfulness reaching across time.
Isaiah 9 is a prophesy, the word of God, heavy with promises made to a people who walked in the darkness of broken lives and weary spirits; people who felt helpless and powerless living in a sin-sick world. Maybe some of us are feeling like we, too, are walking in darkness because of everything that is happening in the world around us. Perhaps some of us are just trying to survive the dark, long nights of worry, pain or grief.
Just because Advent is also known as the Season of Light and we'll soon be celebrating Christmas doesn't mean that life stops happening, that all troubles, loneliness, fears and sorrow go on hiatus. Yet in the midst of all that, Advent's message remains one of hope. It reminds of that in our times of darkness, we will find that Jesus, the light of the World, is there with us.
Just as Jesus, the light of the world, came to a broken and sin-filled world, he continues to enter into the chaos and uncertainty of our present. In the depths of our sorrow and grief, his light shines, and God's steadfast love sustains us and brings through our darkest nights to a dawn of renewed hope and new beginnings with new possibilities. Now, as then, darkness can not overcome the Christ-Light.
On that silent night, holy night, humankind saw the great Light of the World, the source of our hope. We who have seen this light, who welcome Christ the Hope-Bringer, inhabit and carry his light. We are the bearers of the Christ Light, the messengers of the good news of hope for the world. We are called to share the light with one another and with the world.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine let it shine.
Let it shine over the whole wide world,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine over the whole wide world,
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
"This Little Light of Mine," Traditional Spiritual
Lets shine the light of hope to all we encounter this Advent Season.
John 1:1-5
Advent: the arrival of a notable person, thing or event, like the 200th anniversary debut of the Christmas hymn, "Silent Night, Holy Night. On Christmas Eve in 1818, Father Joseph Mohr, the young priest of St. Nicholas parish church in Obendorf discovered that the church organ was broken. Stories differ on the cause -- some say it was mice and others say it was rust. At any rate, Father Mohr realized that there was little chance of fixing the instrubent before the evening service. So, he pulled out a poem he had written several years before called "Stile Nacht" and took it to the schoolmaster and organist of a nearby town, Franz Xaver Grueber. Grueber wrote a melody to accompany the poem for guitar. Just in time for the Christmas Eve service, Gruber had the music written, and the hymn was played for the first time that night.
With the help of this beloved hymn, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, we're going to explore the themes of hope, peace, joy and love during this Season of Advent,
Beautiful! It was on nights like the one pictured above, when we lived in Michigan, that my husband Tom and I would cross-country ski. Everything would be so quiet and still. The only sound that was heard was made by our skis skimming over the snow.
Every so often, we would stop and gaze up into that bright, starry sky. To me, it felt like I was looking at infinity -- the past, present and future spread across the night. I'm reminded of the imagery of the Christmas carol, "Silent Night, Holy Night," and the story it invokes of prophesies ... of promises made and kept ... of divine faithfulness reaching across time.
Isaiah 9 is a prophesy, the word of God, heavy with promises made to a people who walked in the darkness of broken lives and weary spirits; people who felt helpless and powerless living in a sin-sick world. Maybe some of us are feeling like we, too, are walking in darkness because of everything that is happening in the world around us. Perhaps some of us are just trying to survive the dark, long nights of worry, pain or grief.
Just because Advent is also known as the Season of Light and we'll soon be celebrating Christmas doesn't mean that life stops happening, that all troubles, loneliness, fears and sorrow go on hiatus. Yet in the midst of all that, Advent's message remains one of hope. It reminds of that in our times of darkness, we will find that Jesus, the light of the World, is there with us.
Just as Jesus, the light of the world, came to a broken and sin-filled world, he continues to enter into the chaos and uncertainty of our present. In the depths of our sorrow and grief, his light shines, and God's steadfast love sustains us and brings through our darkest nights to a dawn of renewed hope and new beginnings with new possibilities. Now, as then, darkness can not overcome the Christ-Light.
On that silent night, holy night, humankind saw the great Light of the World, the source of our hope. We who have seen this light, who welcome Christ the Hope-Bringer, inhabit and carry his light. We are the bearers of the Christ Light, the messengers of the good news of hope for the world. We are called to share the light with one another and with the world.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine let it shine.
Let it shine over the whole wide world,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine over the whole wide world,
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
"This Little Light of Mine," Traditional Spiritual
Lets shine the light of hope to all we encounter this Advent Season.
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