The themes of Advent are hope, peace, joy, and love.
At St Mary Magdalene’s we are offering a contemporary reflection time on Wednesday mornings (Nov 30, Dec 7, 14, 21). We will start at 8.00 am and spend about half an hour together, sharing in a short introductory reflection, time for silence and a chant to conclude. You are welcome to join us in the church or to use the resources on this page to participate in spirit.
The words of the reflections come from Fr Philip Carter’s meditations that are published on this blog under the heading of Spirit Matters.
Hope: Living in hope
God has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
1 Peter 1:3
Hope is a fragile plant reaching towards the sun, whose rays are radiated through the attention and care we have found in so many of the people, events and circumstances that make us who we are. The disposition called for is not more certainty over articles of belief but more openness to everything that makes up our lives. Such generosity of spirit faces the worst and still responds to hope’s call – faces the worst and wakes up to some kind of “second truth”. This energizes us to work to make a difference in what is, for too many, a “culture of despair”.
Living in hope is living one step at a time – as pilgrims, living in the tension between what is already given and what is yet to be given. “To live in hope is to be in the energy field of the future (Christiaan Mostert). Paul says that “Christ [is] in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) Our future, Jesus Christ, has already appeared, showing us who we are· becoming.
Hope as a noun describes what we hope for. Hope as a verb is how we hope. Hope is a very close cousin to faith. If faith is openness to what is, hope is willing to wait for the moment, circumstance or person to yield her secret, to reveal its truth. Think about the way hope is “alive” in you: in the way you interact with others, work, live, with yourself, engage with the world and Church.
Ernst Bloch, the Marxist, said hope “requires people who throw themselves actively into what is becoming”. Living in hope is not just thinking; it involves choices and action. “Hope is the knowledge that we can choose. (Jonathan Sacks) It is “building for a new tomorrow “ (Carlo Caretto) – a “task to be done”. (SimonTugwell)
Where are you being called to hope? In what ways are you a “bearer of hope” for others?
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit
Romans 15:13
Advent chant
Twilight, then darkness.
Night falls and candles glow.
Gently surrounding us a new birth of hope.
Watching. Waiting.
A wakening
Link to follow Fr Philip Carter’s meditation on Living in Hope
The image at the top of this post is by Zarina (Indian American, 1937–2020), Beyond the Stars, 2014. In Beyond the Stars Zarina shows, through the medium of woodcut, the glory of a night sky. Innumerable stars dot the black ink, as do a smattering of small 22-karat gold orbs that could be read as angels or as the divine presence made visible. (Source: Advent day 1 – Stars)
