Advent - Hope

Last Sunday was the first Sunday in advent when the first candle of the advent wreath was lit.  The light of this first candle represents hope in the darkness.  When everything around is dark, the light of one, even small light changes everything.


I was brought up in a fishing town in the north east of England.  Along the coastline there were a number of lighthouses because of the number of fishing boats that travelled along that part of the North Sea.  I remember as a child, seeing wrecks of large boats that had been destroyed when they hit rocks that they had not seen.  The lighthouse plays such an important role in the safety of those aboard shipping vessels, both large and small.  At the coast where I lived there were two lighthouses, one on each side of the mouth of the river Tyne.  Even in the darkness, the crew of any boat searching for safe harbour knows that if they steer between the two lighthouses, they will arrive at the harbour.  

Once past the lighthouses, they can then see a number of small lights along the banks of the river.  These are known as the lower lights and guide the boat into the harbour in safety.  Out at sea, everything is dark, often only the light of the moon and the position of the stars act as guidance .  So the lights of the lighthouses are crucial in giving hope for a safe arrival in the port.

As we think of this first week of advent and the hope that the light brings, I remember the song we sing:

A light came out of darkness; no light, no hope had we,

Till Jesus came from heaven our light and hope to be.

We are also meant to be light in the darkness of this world, just like the lower lights.  The first verse and chorus of another old song reminds us:

Brightly beams our Father's mercy from his lighthouse evermore;

But to us he gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.

Let the lower lights be burning, send a gleam across the waves;

Some poor fainting, struggling seaman you may rescue, you may save.

We look at the world today and sometimes feel there seems little hope with so many problems.  We are reminded that Jesus, the light of the world came to a nation that was occupied by the Roman forces and was forced to flee as a baby with his earthly parents to Egypt as refugees.  Yet God was working in the darkness.  His answer is to bring hope to a dark world.  As we light our candles and our trees and put up our light decorations, let's remember that they are not just nice to look at as they twinkle in our homes but they represent hope for a world that seems lost and can't see the way out of the darkness.  Even a small light gives hope.