Advent: Light a candle for hope in a darkened world

In Advent, Fr Chris Thomas encourages us to light a candle as a sign of hope that God is always coming to heal and restore our broken world.

My friend George, whom I have written about before, lives in the West bank in Jerusalem. He is a man of peace living in the middle of fear and terror. He is known in the area as a peace activist, having sent his children to a non-religious school, a place that works for peace through education. George often says to me: "Never say never; hope springs eternal."

One of the great themes of Advent is that of hope. It is also the theme of this year’s holy year, as chosen by the late Pope Francis, who once wrote these words: "Hope is not optimism. Hope is a present, it's a gift from the Holy Spirit and that is why Paul says: 'Never disappoint yourself'- hope never lets you down. Why? Because it's a gift from the Holy Spirit.

"But Paul tells us that hope has a name. Hope is Christ. We can't say: 'I have hope in God. If you don't say: 'I have hope in Jesus Christ', a person that's alive,' that's not hope. It could be a good mood or optimism.

"Jesus the hope renews everything. It's a constant miracle."

'Hope is summed up in the person of Christ'

So hope is not simple optimism, an idealism that will not let itself be defeated by what’s negative. Nor is it wishful thinking, a fantasy that someday our ship will come in, nor the ability to look at the evening news and still conclude that there are good reasons to believe everything will turn out well.

Hope is not based on whether the evening news is good or bad on a given day, on whether we win the lottery, or our favourite team wins the league. Hope looks at the facts, looks at God’s promise to be with us always, and then, without denying the facts or turning away from the evening news, lives out a vision of life based upon God’s promise, trusting that a loving, all-powerful God is still with us in this world. And that is more important than whether or not the news looks good or bad on a given night.

Hope is summed up in the person of Christ.

Lighting a candle in hope is a "prophetic" act

During the season of Advent, we often light candles as a sign of hope. Unfortunately, this practice, ritualised in the lighting of the candles in the Advent wreath, has in recent years been seen too much simply as piety. Ronald Rolheiser says: "Lighting a candle in hope is not just a pious, religious act; it’s a political act, a subversive one, and a prophetic one, as dangerous as brandishing a firearm."

To light an Advent candle is to say, in the face of all that suggests the contrary, that God is still alive, still Lord of this world and that we celebrate that coming in place and time. So this Advent light a candle for hope in the presence of God in Gaza, in the Ukraine, in Ethiopia.

Light your candle as a sign of hope in a broken world that God is coming, always coming to heal and restore our broken world.

Picture: CHARIS International