The Weeks of Advent - Hope

Psalm 25:1-10

This year, as we look at the weeks of Advent which are coming, we will focus on 4 themes; Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. This Sunday is the first day of Advent, the beginning of a new year within the Christian Calendar. It also begins the 4-week period in which we look forward to the celebration of Christ's birth into the world. The hope is that in some way we'll make the connections between what the people in Jesus' time were looking for in a "savior" and what it is we are looking for.

We begin with Hope. In today's Psalm we can see what that hope looked like for the earliest people of God. They looked for a God who would not judge them on their past. The people of God pledged their undying trust in God and in return hoped for a God who would forgive them their sins and transgressions.

The earliest people of God would ask for guidance as they did their best to learn how it was God wanted them to live. It was in these pledges they found their hope. Hope, to the earliest people of God, was being accepted as the people they were, with the knowledge that they weren't perfect.

It's also in the pledges made by these people that they would promise to do better, to make their lives better as well as the lives of those around them. It was the hope of these people that life would bring them the promises of God; a life filled with abundance of peace, joy, and love.

Today, if you are able, ask yourself what it is you hope for and what it is you are willing to pledge to help this hope become fulfilled.