Advent/Darkness

dark waters

The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Genesis 1:2

In post-Ferguson America, now more than ever, we must rescue Advent from its Western cultural captivity. I sigh with relief when I’m reminded that Advent isn’t what so many of us think it is. We’ve been tricked by chocolate-filled Advent calendars and blissful Christmas pageants that gloss over the very real evil that makes the Messiah’s coming so very necessary, so very loving, and so very heroic.

Advent isn’t a holiday party. It doesn’t pressure us to conjure up a hopeful face, ring bells, and dismiss the foulest realities we face. Advent isn’t about our best world, it’s about our worst world. I think we eat the chocolate and put on the pageants because we don’t want to face the worst.

But we do the Light a disservice when we underestimate the darkness. Jesus entered a world plagued not only by the darkness of individual pain and sin, but also by the darkness of systemic oppression. Jesus' people, the Hebrews, were a subjugated people living as exiles in their own land; among other things, they were silenced, targets of police brutality, and exploitatively taxed. They were a people so beaten down by society that only a remnant – most notably Anna and Simeon  – continued to believe that the Messianic prophecies would one day come to pass. For many, the darkness of long-standing oppression had extinguished any hope for liberation.

It was into this “worst world” that the Light-in-which-We-See-Light was born, liberating the people from the terror of darkness. So it is in the midst of our worst world that we, too, can most clearly see the Light, for light shines more brightly against a backdrop of true darkness.

Advent is an invitation to plunge into the deep, dark waters of our worst world, knowing that when we re-surface for air we will encounter the hopeful, hovering Spirit of God. For when we dive into the depths of our worst world, we reach a critical point at which our chocolate and pageants no longer satiate our longing for hope – and we are liberated by this realization. Indeed, the light of true hope is found in the midst of darkness.

So, this Advent season, let’s engage and lament darkness as we seek the Light. In doing so, we participate in the ancient longing of the coming Messiah -- a longing that began when the earth was still formless and empty, persevered in the hearts of Anna and Simeon, and continues today.

Advent/Darkness

Advent/Ferguson

Advent/Hunger

Advent/Apathy

Advent/Fatherlessness

Advent/Oppression of Indigenous Peoples

Advent/ISIS

Advent/Political polarization

Advent/Human trafficking

Advent/Mental illness stigma

Advent/Ebola treatment inequality

Advent/Immigration injustice

Advent/Rioting

Advent/Privilege

Advent/School-to-Prison Pipeline

Advent/West Bank

Advent/Spiritual Abuse

Advent/Economic inequality

Advent/Myanmar

Advent/Segregated churches

Advent/Poverty

Advent/Police brutality

Advent/Global oppression of women and girls

Advent/Marginalization

Advent/Darkness

Come, Lord Jesus. Come.

Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Genesis 1:3