Advent 2020 - Hope

One of my all-time favorite movie franchises is Star Wars.

Yes...I'm a nerd.

No...I'm not sorry.

In the series there is a side story known as Rogue One. If you know anything about the original Star Wars Movies that came out in the 70's and 80's, this story takes place right before Episode 4 entitled "Star Wars: A New Hope."

Rogue One is probably my favorite movie of all the Star Wars movies. It is a small departure from the rest of the story, but ends right where A New Hope picks up.

At any rate, without boring you with too many details, the Star Wars Saga is all about fighting against Tyranny, and the one thing that consistently comes up over and over again is this idea of Hope. You've probably even heard the line, "Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi, You're our only Hope."

As we enter into the Season of Advent, we are reminded of our greatest and only Hope: Jesus.

In the Scripture, as I talked about this past Sunday, we can see how darkness entered into the world, and how light is used to combat that darkness.

Read these words from John 1: 1-5

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the live was the light of all the people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."

While I could spend hours talking about these first few verses of John, what I want to focus on this week is the implied thought that without Jesus, there is no hope.

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the first thing he did was create the light. Just like when Jesus entered into the world as a child, the light shined in the darkness, and every single day, every time someone comes to know Jesus as their savior, every time another disciples is made, that light shines even more brighter.

What Jesus did was start a chain reaction that brought us to where we are today, but he has called us to share that Hope with others.

Many people don't know that George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars Saga was raised in a devout Methodist family. While I cannot speak to his faith, there is one thing that I believe he took from his Methodist upbringing.

In the movies, one of the ways Characters say goodby is by saying, "May the Force Be With You." As an aside, you can always tell the Methodists in the room because they will say, "And also with you!"

But in all seriousness, while I believe the force exists only in the Star Wars Universe, I do believe hope exists in ours. So, with that I say: For this Advent Season, "May the HOPE be with you."

Let us pray,
God of us all, we come to you acknowledging our brokenness. We also come recognizing we have often allowed ourselves to give in to the darkness around us. Help us to focus entirely on the light that you have brought into the world, and help us to remember that the light has come into the world, and the darkness did not overcome it. 

In the name of Jesus we pray,
Amen