—Romans 15:4-13—The “scripture” in Paul’s day was the Old Testament. How can the Old Testament provide hope to Christians? Hope deals with the future and the Old Testament contains thousands of promises by God for the future. The greatest of these promises is the coming of the Messiah. In Jesus He has come. Hope has been realized. Yet, He is coming again for the consummation of history. We hope for His return.
St. Paul teaches, “May
the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace in believing, so that by the
power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” According to Paul, a
Christian’s life abounds in hope even when conditions are hopeless. In our day
may go through life without anything to live for, nothing to look forward to,
nothing to get excited about. This is probably due to the fact that God has
gone out of their lives, and they can see only dark and disappointing things of
life. Then, we go through life with heads down, with fallen faces, with drooped
shoulders, and sighing, “Woe is me!”
In this kind of world there is need for Christ’s followers to show how we can
about in hope. Paul by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit gives us reason to
hope.[1]
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way of your
only Son. By his coming, give us strength in our conflicts and shed light on
our path through the darkness of this world.[2]-01
December 2022
Advent copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
[1] Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series A, John Brokhoff © 1980 CSS Publishing, Lima OH
[2][2] Collect for Advent 2, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
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