These days of post-election provide a challenge to Christian communities. There are those who are happy, and there are those who are worried, and grieving. The challenge is to create a space for compassion to hold both together.
Life is full of disappointments and pain, suffering and grief. Sin and death make their presence clearly known. But even as we go to the cross on Good Friday, we face it head on in the sure and certain hope that Sunday is coming and Jesus will be raised among us.
Advent in the church is just such an opportunity for us. It is a season of waiting and watching for Jesus – for his birth among us as God made flesh and for his return among us as Savior and Lord.
Hope is a word that gets thrown around a lot, especially at Easter. It’s an encouraging and powerful thing, hope. But, let’s be real. Sometimes it is hard to muster even the smallest bit of hope. Every year at Easter I am reminded of the same, simple, powerful truth: The resurrection of Jesus was all God’s doing. People had lost all hope…