November 28

Jeremiah 33:14-16

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

Advent is here, the season of hope. As the year turns around, we remember the longings of the human family before us. They waited centuries ago for God to fulfill ancient promises. They preceded those of us in the Christian family who now wait for the final revelation of God’s Messiah to all people.

But we must take our cues from what we have learned. Many of the ancient folks pinned their dreams on the promise of the Coming Savior. If they lived in poverty, they expected the Messiah to shower them with riches. If they endured violence, they wanted peace. If the nation was broken by corruption, the people prayed for purity.

What they got was Jesus.

This was God’s lesson: there is a difference between real hope and mere optimism. Optimism presumes inevitable improvement. Or automatic rescue. Or that everything will work out without much effort on our part. If the optimistic pray, they pray for God to do what they are unwilling to undertake, as if the Grand Magician will wave the Holy Hands to make everything better. As if God exists primarily to improve our standing in the world.

We have long learned that optimism can’t hold a candle to hope. Hope stands on the promises of God, not merely the random yearnings of a world in need. Hope is inextricably bound to the working out of God’s intentions for the entire global family. The hopeful pray for God’s will – and then pursue it. The hopeful listen for God’s Voice – and then act on what they have heard. There is nothing passive about hope, for us or for God.

The prophet Jeremiah wept over a nation corrupted by inept leadership and distorted by injustice. The social decay led to the hard years of a Babylonian exile. It was a long season, an extended Advent. Jeremiah called the people to stop looking for simplistic answers from heaven. He pointed to a hope deeper than optimism, a hope to be found in the justice of loving neighbor and the righteousness of loving God.

This is the hope that takes on flesh. It lives in the One who came from David, who calls us to work for the benefit of all. The Righteous One has always been more than the people wanted, and exactly what everybody needed.

Holy One, enlarge our hope, and grant us the courage and grace to join you in your work.

 

Rev. Bill Carter