Today we transition…we move from ordinary time, when we spent time learning more about Jesus, how God calls us his beloved, and how we are to follow. We move from this ordinary time into the special time of Advent. This is a time of waiting expectedly. There is an anticipation in the air. We are reintroduced to the stories of a Messiah. The songs begin to change, the season changes, there are lights and trees and everything around us begins to look a bit different, at least for a few moments.
As a child, I couldn’t wait for this time because the Advent calendar came out. Door by door, new things would appear until we reached the pinnacle of Christmas. There was apprehension and excitement. We tend to lose that as we grow older. We see sparks of it in our children and grandchildren. We see glimpses in the lives of others. But we can lose the excitement. We have responsibilities and bills, we have things to decorate or bake, we have people to care for and things in life which just don’t go well. We tend to lose the spark because, well…life.
But Advent is a reminder that spark is still there, waiting to be ignited. We are reminded the joy bubbles underneath the surface, not because of the things which bubbled up as kids, and not because of anything which happens during this season in particular. The joy, the spark is brought on because of what we light a candle for today. The spark is brought on by HOPE.
You see, we wait expectedly today for a restoration of hope, even when our world is crumbling. We wait for a reinvigoration of hope, even when we feel more stuck in ordinary time. We wait for a jolt of hope which ignites something deep within us waiting to be awoken. And when we get to this place, we may have a glimpse into the lives of those on that first Advent.
The people were itching for something more. They had tried to follow the rules. They had tried to live by the commandments. They had searched for hope. They had tried to buy, bribe, and take it. But here’s the deal. The hope they were searching would not come as they expected. And even though we know the story, this hope doesn’t come as we expect either.
This brings us to our first Scripture reading – Matthew 1:18-25.
This begins the birth of HOPE. This is the story of the birth of the Messiah, which means it is the beginning of so much more. This is what they were waiting for. This is what we are waiting for. This is what we all wait for. This is the spark. This is the glimpse. This is the truth we couldn’t wait to hear, experience, and live.
But it doesn’t happen as we would have guessed. A woman is pregnant, it isn’t her future husband’s baby. He is trying to help her keep her dignity, the baby, and maybe her life. He is probably trying to help himself in the process too. She goes away, problem goes away, life goes on. But this isn’t a problem, this is a solution.
The solution…Joseph is to married an unwed mother. He is to raise this baby as his own. This baby has a purpose which is too big for any of them to understand…and if we are honest, we know the story and it is too big for any of us to understand as well. Joseph does as he is asked to do.
And here is how hope is introduced…here is how hope is brought to you and me as well…here is the evidence of hope…this is HOPE – Emmanuel. Did you catch what it means? Emmanuel means God with us.
We transition from ordinary time to Advent with a spark of hope, not because of anything we have done or can do. It wasn’t because of anything Joseph could do except be obedient. It wasn’t because of anything the people did, except make a place. It wasn’t because of anything even Mary did, except be willing. And it isn’t anything we do except to open our arms…a baby is coming and he is Christ the Lord.
Here’s my fear, though. My fear is that I become so caught up in ordinary time that I miss the extraordinary hope. My fear is that I become the opposite of Joseph, unwilling to make a change, unwilling to move or so caught in the ordinary parts of my day that I simply skip it. My fear is the world has so clouded my vision that the spark doesn’t ignite for me.
Hope is right there in front of us but we can easily miss it. Think of all the people who were craving this hope and it was right there in front of them, just packaged a bit differently than they wanted. Think of all the people who were so stuck in the way they wanted to do religion that they wouldn’t have given a second look at an unwed mother, much less consider she was carrying the ultimate hope. Think of all the people who had their own ideas of how God would work and completely allowed Jesus to grow up unrecognized and unacknowledged.
Hope was right there in front of them. And so many missed him. Hope is right here in front of us…Emmanuel, God with us. And yet, so many of us miss him. It’s easier to go about our lives just as we are. But if we are going to seriously welcome in Advent, if we want to see and experience hope, if we want to be changed from ordinary into something new…we have to be willing to wait expectedly.
God is with us…what more hope could we possibly need?
SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY 
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