The Hope of Advent
“In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. Peoples shall stream to it, and many nations shall come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.”
Micah 4:1-4 NRSV
Imagine living in a time rife with internal and external oppression. Imagine living in a time of social, political, and economic upheaval. Imagine living in a time rife with idolatry and corruption in every facet of public life, including religious life. The Bible tells us, in the first three chapters of the Book of Micah, that this was the state Israel found themselves in.
The truth is, we do not have to imagine; We are living in this state. From systemic injustice to individual acts of evil, we see spiritual and moral decay in high and low places. Not only are we living it, but stained by our sin nature, we also participate in behaviors that miss the mark of who God created us to be and how God intended for us to live.
But there is good news. In the time of Micah’s prophesy, disobedience, obstinance, and spiritual and moral decay were not the last state God’s people found themselves living in. Micah says, “In days to come…” God had more for His people. Those evil days were not the last days, but there were God ordained days ahead filled with life, freedom, peace, nourishment, and community in the presence of God.
This is the hope of Advent. The birth of Christ—God with us to do what we could not do for ourselves—initiated the days to come where God’s house was established, people of all nations were drawn to relationship with God in Christ, and God’s people will live peaceably according to the word of God. And though we have yet to witness and experience a sustained and unending peace, God gives us glimmers every day, and we keep our hopes set on Christ’s return and a time where sin is no more, injustice is no more, evil is no more, spiritual and moral decay is no more, and we will worship in the light of God’s countenance forever and ever, Amen.
Growing in Christ
Pastor Donna Olivia Owusu-Ansah