Advent 2020: Hope and Fear

During the season of Advent, we often talk about the importance of hope- we wait all month to celebrate the birth of Christ, we light candles each week, and we sing songs about the world lying in wait, anticipating this one Holy Night. I was particularly struck this year by a line in a hymn about the little town of Bethlehem, where “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.”

Hope and fear are often a delicate balance. As we lie in wait, expectant, we are vulnerable to fear just as much as we are open to hope. Perhaps you are afraid of the expense and stress that often come with the holidays, or you dread celebrating the first year without a loved one. Maybe you simply struggle with the long, dark winter nights. This year more than ever, many people are feeling anxious, alone, and afraid. It can be hard to find hope among all those other bad feelings.

My favorite Christmas song is Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant. It’s a beautiful song written from the perspective of Mary. It reminds me how scared Mary must have felt- I can only imagine the flurry of emotions she experienced. Despite the pressure that Mary was under, she found hope in God. The refrain of Amy Grant’s song is a prayer: “Breath of heaven, hold me together, be forever near me… lighten my darkness, pour over me your holiness.” In the Christmas story, both Mary and the shepherds get the same message from God: “Do not be afraid.” While expectation and uncertainty can leave us vulnerable to fear, the presence of God in our lives allows us to have hope instead.