The Word Became Flesh: The Word of Hope
Advent Series: The Word Became Flesh
Week One – The Word of Hope
Captain Joshua Hinson
Director of Mission and Ministry
Evangeline Booth College
USA Southern Territory
“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1: 14).
In the Beginning Was the Word
Advent is a season of excitement and anticipation, waiting on a Savior, the baby that brings hope, peace, joy, and love. Longingly, the world awaits the Lord, Israel groans for their Messiah, and the created needs its creative spark, the Word. The first chapter of Genesis describes Christ in creation, the Word that spoke the world into being, and John’s Gospel celebrates the Light of the World, stepping down into darkness. This advent we celebrate Jesus coming once again. We light candles and wait expectantly because the world is dark, always in need of the Light of Life.
The Word Became Flesh
As we start this advent season, I draw your attention to the Word, as described by John’s Gospel. The Message says it this way, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.”
This is what we celebrate each year at Christmas. God saw our need for a Savior and did the unthinkable. He put on flesh and moved into our neighborhood, our world, our story. God’s love is incarnational. Which also means God’s love is patient. He came at just the right moment in history, and He came as one of us, a baby. Our hope comes from an infant. He is the supplier of our joy, the peace that passes all understanding, the fullest expression of God’s love. Each year, as we reflect on advent, we await the Word in our lives, that He might bring light into the darkest places.
The Word of Hope
“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’)” (Matthew 1: 18 – 22).
On the first week of Advent, we light the candle of hope. All our hope is in Jesus. Our hope is built on nothing less. The candle of hope is often called the Immanuel Candle because our hope is knowing God is with us. That is the beauty of the incarnation. Jesus is with us. He experienced all that we encounter in this life. Joy. Grief. Discomfort. Peace. He understands us and promises us that He will be with us always. God is with us, and that provides hope. So today, we cry out again “O Come, O Come, Immanuel.”
O come, O Come, Immanuel
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Advent Blessing
O Lord, our God, we praise You for the gift of Your Son, the Word, Jesus. He is Immanuel, God with us, the hope of the nations, the prince of peace, the joy to the world, the unfailing love in flesh. O Lord, our God, guide us. Bless us. In anticipation this advent season, we long to see the light of Christ anew. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Thinking It Through
As you enter this Advent season, do you enter it with a sense of hope? What is the source of your hope? If you don't have hope, what is blocking that in your life?
Notable Quotables
The best we can hope for in this life is a knothole peek at the shining realities ahead. Yet a glimpse is enough. It's enough to convince our hearts that whatever sufferings and sorrow currently assail us aren't worthy of comparison to that which waits over the horizon. - Joni Eareckson Tada
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