Advent- Hope

Welcome to the weekly Doolin Podcast, a ministry of Doolin United Methodist Church in Falls Church, Virginia. Each week, we share a short reflection on faith and life in community, exploring how God's grace moves among us and through us. We're glad you're here.

Hello, Dueling Church. It's me, James, your pastor coming to you for another weekly moment and weekly Dueling podcast as well, at least in the audio version. It is the first week in Advent. And I thought we might take the next four weeks to talk about each of the weeks of Advent and the theme for that particular week. And in our own Wesleyan way, because John Wesley, the founder of United Methodism is had sort of a practical way of seeing our faith to talk about each one of those themes perhaps with some practical suggestions about how to bring them into reality in our lives.

So, without further ado, why don't we start with this week's theme? Yes, Advent one, the first Sunday in Advent was this past Sunday. So today is like day four, day five in the week of the first week of advent. But I'm gonna suggest to you some practices that you can use going forward as we talk about that first week's theme which is hope. Now, for many of us when we think of hope, we think of it as optimism about the future, that things will get better.

And I'm not saying that there isn't some level of optimism that flows into the meaning of hope. But for us when we want to take it from a practical Wesleyan perspective, John Wesley understood hope as an assurance, a sense of assurance that God is already at work in the world. You might think of that if you're a Wesleyan, if you want a good Wesleyan term, prevenient grace. That's grace that's at work in us, the spirit that's at work in us before we ever even realize it's at work. It's busy doing work that softens us and helps us engage the world all the time.

So, if hope is the assurance that God is already at work, then what are some ways that we can engage that belief practically in our everyday life? The first one I want to suggest to you is when we get up in the morning, when you get up in the morning or right after you watch this video perhaps and in the days yet to come, Say to yourself, what is the next step I can make in doing what God has for my life? What is the next step I can make in my life that will make hope more of a reality, that will allow God to work in and through and around me in this day. Not every next step, but one next step. What is one thing I can do today to make hope more visible in this day.

A second practice, which is sort of perhaps a sacramental practice for you or a way of setting aside a moment in your day. You might light a candle and as you light that candle and sit with it for a moment, you might pray, Lord, awaken hope in me this day. The belief that God, the assurance that God is already at work even before I get out there and try to do something to kindle hope myself. And perhaps a third practice that you might try this week is to think of someone that you might know who feels unseen, unheard, that may need a word of encouragement to realize that God is already at work in their lives. And take an opportunity to reach out to that person to drop them a note, buy snail mail if you will.

You could email or text or call that person. But recognize that they are seen. This is a way that you make and kindle hope not only in yourself but in others. It's a way to see God at work already to help the assurance that you might feel become an assurance someone else feels in the way they engage life. And that might be a way for you to connect with hope.

One last practice that I might encourage you to do is a part of your prayer life. What's something in your heart you hope for us as a community of faith at Dualin Church? And if you happen to be listening or watching this from someplace other than Dualin Church, what is it that you hope for your community of faith? Whatever that looks like. If it's a congregation, if it's a group of two or three in a small group with you, whoever it may be, what is your hope?

What is it that you are assured God is already at work in that you imagine God might want for your community and lift that as a part of your prayer. It's a way that you can say that this is what matters. This is what matters to me. It's a way of bringing hope to life, if you will, making it real, not only for you but for others around you. Have said before as we have talked about our United Methodist roots, as I have talked about Methodism that John Wesley was all about seeing us live out our faith practically.

We talked about the three general rules. We talked about doing no harm, doing all the good we can, and finding ways to practice being more open to and connected to God. We took an opportunity to talk about how God is available to us in all sorts of ordinary ways and awakens in us the story that God is at work in our own lives. And then we talked about the five different vows we make to support the congregation of which we're a part with our prayers, presents, gifts, service, and witness. So these are all ways to be practical.

And while up until now, you may have, I may have, If someone just asked me on the street one day what hope is, I might get caught up in that idea of a kind of optimism about the future, about believing that things will all work out. And while there is a little flavor of that in hope, from a practical perspective, it's a sense within us that God is already at work to bring about resolution in the world. And part of that resolution is how god is going to work in through and around me as me sometimes in the way I live my life of faith. You can be a part of bringing hope in the world of the way that god is bringing hope. You can be a channel of the hope that God wants to bring in the world in a very practical, in a very real, in a very hopeful way.

Plant seeds of hope in yourself and in those you meet. It doesn't have to be in great big ways. It can be in small and simple ways but instill that sense that god is at work in you, around you, and not just you personally but us as a community of faith and the others in this world whether they're a part of our community of faith or not. It's very easy and hope can be very tenuous. That sense of assurance can be very tenuous at times.

It happens to us all. We're real. We're real people. We look around us. We read the news.

We read our social media feeds, if you will, and we begin to wonder, is hope real? And it's not impossible to lose hope. It s not impossible at all. It happens all the time to folks. It can be a long term loss of hope.

It can be even just a momentary loss of hope because of what we see and how we re overwhelmed by seeing it. So all I'm saying is you can be part of what God's doing in the world, this kindling of hope within you. You are not alone. You are not alone. That's part of our hope.

We work as a community. The spirit works in and through us and around us all the time. And we're a part of what's God's doing. So just remember, hope is more than a feeling. It's a practice of engaging with what god's doing in and through you in this world.

Keep that in mind. As you continue to live through the first week of Advent until we get to that second week of Advent. You can keep living out hope if you wish. Certainly, god would want us to bear witness to our assurance that god's at work in the world as best we can all the time But it's just a reminder. So give it a shot and remember hope is real and becomes real in and through God's work around us, in us, through us, in this world in which we live.

Thanks so much for joining me. If this has been a helpful podcast for you, I encourage to share it with some of your fellow members if you want or someone else. Certainly use it as you will. Remember, you are precious and loved. You are a gift to this and all communities of which you are a part.

Thanks for joining me today and I look forward to joining you next week with Advent two.