This time of the year we use the word “hope” with great frequency. Some of us light a candle on the Advent wreath for hope. Children hope to receive certain gifts from a list that has been carefully and thoughtfully crafted. Children are not alone in this, as we hope for things too. We hope for an end to war. We hope for peace in our communities. We hope we can visit with loved ones sometime soon. We hope it snows on Christmas. We hope the furnace can make it one more winter. We hope the doctor will call with good news. We hope that maybe next year will be better than the last. If you are like me, then you hope traffic will not be too bad and that light up ahead will stay green.

Yet, I wonder if the hope of the season is less rooted in hoping for something, and more based in hoping in something. Instead of hoping for something, what might it look like to hope in something—to hope in the goodness of humanity, to hope in the kindness of strangers, to hope in the promises we make to one another. I wonder if in the hope of this season there is an invitation to once again place our hope in God. Hoping in God allows us to have confidence that one day there will be healing, that one day swords will be turned into plowshares, that one day all will indeed be made well and there will be no more crying or mourning, that one day joy and love will overflow and permeate every aspect of our existence.

So, beloved, during this season where we find ourselves hoping for so many good things, may we also be reminded of our call to hope in the One who loves us, who is with us, who gives us joy, and who is our hope. Amen.