Manoah and his wife long for a child, but she is barren. Zechariah and Elizabeth also long for a child, but Elizabeth is barren. Mary and Joseph also have complications in their early parenthood. Questions abound, and there is no shortage of confusion. But hope, beautiful hope, reigns supreme. I once had the privilege of working in a school where one of the other teachers I worked closely with was really looking forward to motherhood. But she and her husband were struggling to get pregnant. At one point, they ‘gave up hope’ of conceiving a child and were considering adoption. Then suddenly, my friend fell pregnant. I will never forget the smile on her face when she shared the news with me after several wise weeks of holding on to her secret.

Advent is all about hope. It is all about longing. It is all about new life. It is all about God, who is love, entering the human story in the most profound way and ensuring that our lives are never the same again.

The other beautiful theme in today’s Scriptures is trust: trust in God! There is a humble trust that somehow, ‘all will be well’. One of the key factors in the spiritual life is to ‘hold lightly’ and trust mightily. We live in times of great uncertainty and perhaps loss of hope. In these times, we are called over and over again to prayer, trust and hope. Trust and hope that somehow, in the midst of all, God’s work and will is being done. Perhaps that is the greatest gift we can give to the Church at this time: our fidelity in the midst of confusion, our trust and hope – that Emmanuel – God with us – truly is with us!

by Br Damien Price cfc