First Week of Advent: “Hope of all the earth"

Creation was subject to futility,

  by the one who subjected it, in hope. (Romans 8:20)

During advent, we await the arrival of God to somehow set creation right: “Creation waits with eager anticipation!” (Ro 8:19) We, being creatures, are in on it: “Not only creation, but we ourselves…wait for the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved.” (Ro 8:23-24)

Watch how Charles Wesley, captures it all in his Advent hymn (1745):

      Hope of all the earth Thou art:

        Dear desire of every nation,

        Joy of every longing heart.

Notice how the hymn moves from “all the earth” to “every nation” to “every longing heart”—from creation to the nations to each individual person, you and me. Or, we could read it backwards as well: from my heart, to the nations, to the whole wide world. In short, Christmas is big. The Gospel is always bigger than we figured.  It involves the whole of God’s creation: “Through Christ God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven…” (Col 1:20).

Readings for the First Week of Advent: Hope.

Monday:       Genesis 1:1-5        &  John 1:1-5

Tuesday:       Genesis 1:26-27   &  Colossians 1:15-17

Wednesday: Genesis 3:15         &  Romans 16:20

Thursday:     Genesis 9:12-16   &  Romans 8:18-25

Friday:           Genesis 12:1-3     &  Matthew 1:1, Romans 4:18

Saturday:      Jeremiah 17:13-14 &Romans 15:12-13