Here it is again. Advent is suddenly here, and I am once again thrust into the world (and the work) of “waiting in joyful hope.”
Waiting, in its many forms is hard. Waiting for a bus, for medical results, for a loved one to return, for the pain to end, for a friend to die, for a baby to be born … Waiting has a thousand faces; each is hard in a different way. And Advent puts this qualifier on how I am to wait: “with joyful hope”.
In addition to the ordinary personal struggles of waiting, we live today in a shaky and weary world, as evidenced in the multiple wars, the devastation of climate change, the greed and polarization of peoples, the slide toward autocracies. In the anguished words of Job,
“Why do the wicked prosper, growing old and powerful?”(Job 21:7-17)
The recent U.S. election is a specific example of these troubling dynamics. That 76,917,134 U.S. citizens voted for a man who blatantly lies, demeans, bullies, creates his own reality and demands others live within it, who seeks to dominate and harm those who disagree with him, who has been credibly accused by many women of rape, who staves off accountability through endless lawsuits, is difficult to take in. Not even so much about what it says about him, as what it says about us.
That 74,441,602 of those same U.S. citizens voted for another possibility, also says something about us, and provides a certain solace. It does not however stop the world being roiled with considerable chaos for the next four years.
In the midst of that kind of destructive chaos, I desperately need a hope that is deeper and stronger than my own cheerful thoughts! A hope that comes from a Power greater than me. An Advent hope that anchors my life more deeply.
So I was particularly grateful when this prayer by Joyce Rupp arrived in my e-mail. It invites me to reach out again for the gift of hope.1
A Prayer to be Anchored in Hope
Source of My Inmost Confidence,
this Advent I desire to anchor my heart
in courage, confidence, and positivity,
all gifts generated through your grace.
When the days spill over with way too much
to absorb, remind me to frequently pause
to notice where kindness touches my life,
and for opportunities to extend that kindness.
When strong emotions drift into my peace
and attempt to defeat what generates joy,
turn my attention toward the kinship I have
with millions of people who’ve made it through
what threatened to destroy their spirit of hope.
If there appears little I can do to alleviate injustice
and the horrific crimes committed against humanity,
with your assistance I’ll continue to do what I can
to bring about good, no matter how minor it may seem.
Resiliency of My Spirit, you are abiding within me,
strengthening my waning hope, enkindling my being
with your radiant light and unwavering love.
This Advent I reach out again for the gift of hope.
May this precious virtue be re-anchored in my heart.
In this faith, and in this hope, the weary world rejoices.
Veronica Dunne is a Sister of our Lady of the Missions (RNDM), who has primarily worked as an educator and counsellor in institutional and community based settings in Canada. She has also served with the RNDMs outside of Canada in Senegal, Peru, and Aotearoa New Zealand.
A 2002 Doctor of Ministry graduate from the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto, she subsequently served as director of the Doctor of Ministry program at St. Stephen’s College at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Her current research interests are in eco-theology and cosmology, and their intersections with indigenous cosmologies and spiritualties.
She presently serves on the RNDM leadership team in Canada.
Powerful Advent message! Thank you, Veronica! The truth sets us free. May we joyfully wait this Advent!
Thank you, Veronica. I love Rupp’s name for God, “Source of My Inmost Confidence.” And I appreciate your Advent call to us to come deeper to see wider, to rest in a power greater than ourselves. That this Source lives in each of us is very consoling this morning.