Hope and Peace - In the Chaos of Life!

When everything changes in a moment A reflection on hope in the midst of life's chaos 5 min read Life was rolling along fine until we walked into that hospital room. My father, my brother, and I — we trotted in expecting the usual visit. But in a couple of sentences, everything changed. "Well, there's good and bad news," Mom said. "Good news is they found out what's wrong with me. The bad news is it's cancer. Carcinoma of the ovaries. And it's not looking good." The surgery that followed revealed she was right. It had progressed too far. They couldn't do much. Our world changed in those few moments. That's how life works, isn't it? It turns on a dime. When life shifts You're watching the flood levels rise, hoping they'll stop. You move your valued possessions to the next story of the house. Then to the ceiling cavity. But the floodwaters keep rising. Or you're in a village watching the fires rage up and down the coast, hoping the wind keeps them away, praying for rain. Then the wind shifts and suddenly you're in danger. It's the phone call in the middle of the night. Sitting in the doctor's surgery hoping for the best and receiving the worst. Being called into the boss's office for the hard conversation. A relationship that suddenly breaks down and breaks open. For some people, life doesn't change in a moment because life is an ongoing struggle. They're seeking food for themselves and their family, or clean water, or medicines, or education. Others live with illness of the body, mind, or spirit that doesn't change. It holds them and life is not easy. All of us experience life at its most intense moments. Life that is hard. Life that breaks us open. And we wonder what we'll do, how we can go on, how we can keep going. How we can believe or hope or trust in the midst of that deep grief and loss and pain and struggle. Everything seems dark. Everything seems hopeless. We feel desperate. The smallest flicker It's often into that darkness, into that dark moment, that dark place, that the smallest flicker of light seems to break in. The little glow of something. The friend that calls and listens. Who visits with food or care or a listening ear. The dog that seems to sense our pain or stress and comes up and licks and wants to care for us. The flower that blooms in that moment and fills the world with fragrance and beauty even though we feel darkness and despair. The new morning that glows brightly in the early morning sun. Or the beauty of a sunset that holds us. Into all of these spaces is this sacred moment, this sacred mystery of God, who comes to us in surprising and strange ways to hold us. Sometimes we recognize that we are being held. And sometimes it's not till much later, in retrospect, we discover we're held in this mystery and wonder, this love of God that is mysterious and beyond our comprehension or ability to control. Christmas in the chaos As we begin this new year in the church's calendar, this first week of Advent, the readings invite us to think of Christmas not as this sentimentalized nice feel-good thing that advertising and media would try and drum into us. Christmas is a moment in the midst of the chaos of life. Jesus was born not into a world that was grand and beautiful and lovely and peaceful and joyful. There was some of that, but it was a world of oppression, of suffering, of dictators and rulers who lorded over people. Innocent people died in conflicts and fighting and violence. People didn't have enough to eat and feed their families. People were struggling with life. That was the world that Jesus was born into. He was born into a world where people struggle. And he came to bring hope, life, the light of God into this darkness of the world. Impossible dreams This week we read from Isaiah, a prophetic voice speaking into centuries of Jewish history. The northern kingdom of Israel conquered by the Assyrians. The southern kingdom of Judah overcome by the Babylonians, people carted off into exile. Isaiah speaks of impossible dreams. When you walk in this way of God, the world will break open their bombs and their missiles and their instruments of death and create instruments to tend the garden of life. Wolves and lions and children and lambs will sit down together and eat peacefully in this peaceable kingdom. These visions of hope. Impossible dreams of God. Where the weapons of war become the instruments of tending the garden of life, and where natural enemies come together in a peaceable way. And then Matthew, writing some 50 years after Jesus' death, after the Jewish Roman war which left the temple in Jerusalem a burning mess. After the bloodshed and violence that filled the city. After the pain of struggle and suffering under tyrannical emperors. Matthew speaks into their situation. He speaks of this Christ who breaks into life, who breaks in at moments when we least expect it. "It's like a thief in the night," Jesus says. "If a householder knew the thief was coming at night, they would be there prepared, waiting." This Christ will break into human life in those least expected moments. Be awake and aware. Embrace it. Where Christ breaks in This Christ breaks into life particularly where it's deepest and darkest, when we least expect it or know what to do. In that flower that blooms in the darkness of our life. In the early morning sun that shines in a cloudless sky and fills it with beautiful light, soft light. In the birds that sing and herald in the new day. In the puppy that wants to lick us and be with us and hold our pain, our stress. In gathering with friends and family around a table and sharing stories of laughter and tears, of pain and joy, and sharing food together. In being held in those moments when we feel lost and broken and torn apart. Where people gather around us and share a meal or hold us or listen to us. The Christ breaks in to hold us. When we least expect it, when we least understand it, God is there in the mystery and the wonder of beauty and hope to lead us forward. To help us to see a new way. To be people of life, hope, peace, joy, and love. This is the promise of Christmas This simple story turns the world upside down and it breaks into the moments like when I discovered my mom had cancer that was inoperable. When my life was twisted upside down and inside out. There was a God there to hold me and never let me go. Who worked through the care of friends and family and others around me. Who gave me peace in the midst of the deepest grief and pain and struggle. This is the God who comes, who comes to us now and always, and who will never let us go. This is the promise of Advent and Christmas. Based on an Advent sermon