Advent Week 2

Hope For Those Who Are Weary

Tuesday, December 10

Our hymns teach us many things.  The words reveal to us how we talk to or about God; the music provides a flow that enriches our learning to worship God; the moments in worship and our lives when we use and remember them bless us as a testimony of God’s persevering love.  

For example, one of the important hymns from my childhood is “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling.”  The refrain goes:

Come home, come home, / Ye who are weary, come home; / Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling, / Calling, O sinner, come home.

What a peaceful, inviting, and warm image of Christ!

However, our hymns also teach us another thing: though we may claim a hymn to be one of our favorites, that does not mean we find comfort in all of its verses.  For example, verse three:

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,

Time is fleeting?  Where is it going?  Don’t rush me!

Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,

Hold it.  Shadows?  Deathbeds?  Suddenly I feel very uncomfortable about this song and learn why my little Baptist church skipped most third verses during hymns.  

We often avoid concerning ourselves with the things in life that bother us because they make us feel uncomfortable.  With all of the outlets in our lives to fill our day, we are able to break free from the agony of having to wait. When we wait, we begin to think.  And when we think, we are sometimes surrounded byworries, concerns, and what-ifs that drag us down and wear us out.  

When we are weary, we should try to remember that there is truehope and joy.  We find ourselves waiting for the birth of our Lord during Advent, but we know that our promise has been fulfilled: Jesus has come and will come again.  The author of Romans says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace… so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  

May you find the light of hope this season, even when life getsdark.

Adam Standiford