Friday, December 2, 2022
- Reflection by Beth Elness-Hanson
Loss and Hope
Not only is John the Baptist imprisoned, he is in the midst of an existential crisis of faith, as we read in Matthew 11:2–6. John sends a question to Jesus that is imbued with his desperation, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” (NRSV) The answer to this question determines whether or not John invested his whole life in a sham. Is it—including his imprisonment—all for nothing?!?
Perhaps you have had times when you wondered, “Is it all for nothing?” Perhaps things have gone wrong. The expectations you had for your life have been lost, dashed upon the rocks of reality, or some sort of crisis—even if it isn’t imprisonment—or some sort of deep loss. Advent is a time that reverberates with tensions of loss and hope.
The NRSV version of this text translates the Greek word, προσδοκῶμεν, as “wait.” This word includes the broader meanings of “to expect” or “to anticipate,” basically, to expect something to happen. Yet in this time of Advent, I ponder the concept of waiting. There is a rich theology of waiting that grows out of the Hebrew Bible. Here it is similar, reflecting a sense of knowing that something will happen, but we don’t know when. The Greek word is pregnant with hope. However, most often, we use hope in a sense of wishful thinking, like “I hope it isn’t going to rain,” when we’re planning an outdoor gathering. The biblical understanding of hope is different, because it is based on the promises of a faithful and trustworthy God. It is the waiting with eager expectation for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
Jesus responds to John’s question, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”
As we wait with eager expectation for the promises to be fulfilled, Jesus’ response assures us that we are not abandoned. We have the work of the Holy Spirit manifesting through the people of God and the church. I’ve heard, seen, and experienced healings, freedoms from addictions, God’s just-in-time providence, and the amazing transformation through the Good News that turns mourning into dancing—transformation by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So, this Advent, we again ponder our waiting. We are waiting with eager expectation in the promises of Christ. We wait, while knowing that hope wins—both now and not yet—because we know the climax of the Good News, the Christ Event, and the promises of the faithful God who will fulfill the consummation of our hopes when Christ returns.