Hope Looks Forward
First Sunday of Advent 2025
I have been wanting to write a series on Advent, but the words have been hard to come lately. However, in my personal reading and studying I’ve kept hearing the phrase “Hope looks forward”. I’ve been pondering what this really means, and when I read this quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer the picture became clearer.
“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, who look forward to something greater to come. For these, it is enough to wait in humble fear until the Holy One himself comes down to us, God in the child in the manger. God comes. The Lord Jesus comes. Christmas comes. Christians rejoice!”
~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Looking at the world today, there does not appear much cause or reason for hope. There is a lot of heartache, trouble, and disaster everywhere we look. But Bonhoeffer says “it is enough to waiting in humble fear until the Holy One himself comes to us, God in the child in the manger” and “the celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul…”
There are many troubled souls in the world today, which means there is cause for hope… hope that looks forward to the day when nation no longer fights against nation, and all God’s people live in alignment in the Kingdom of God, as we were originally designed to be.
“This is a vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all – the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship. People from many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem. The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord!”
~ Isaiah 2:1-5 (NLT)
Living in a mountain town in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, I understand the call of the mountains. It does seem fitting that the imagery of Isaiah’s vision places the Lord’s house on a mountain that people from many nations will come and worship. The mountains are a place that people come to find clarity and peace in their lives. I’ve witnessed many who come to my town in search of something… anything… for their lives. They come at the end of their rope, and they need hope. There is something about the mountains that draws people in, and they will end up finding exactly what they are needing.
John Muir said it best, “The mountains are calling and I must go.”
Spending time in the mountains is free. Well, except for the tourist parts, which can quickly get expensive. But answering the call and spending time in the mountains is free because the invitation to hope is free. It is open to anyone at any time.
“Is anyone thirsty?
Come and drink –
even if you have no money!
Come, take your choice of wine or milk –
it’ all free!
Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?
Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the finest food.
Come to me with your ears wide open.
Listen, and you will find life.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you.
I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.
See how I used him to display my power among the peoples.
I made him a leader among the nations.
You also will command nations you do not know,
and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey,
because I, the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.
Seek the Lord while you can find him,
Call on him now while he is near.”
~ Isaiah 55:1-6 (NLT)
Is your heart troubled today?
Are you looking for hope today?
I know I am.
Like John Muir said of the mountains, so is the Lord calling you.
Do you hear His voice?
Will you answer His call?
He wants to meet with you today. And you do not have to physically go to the mountains to meet Him. He will meet you right where you are at in this moment. All you have to do is answer His call by calling out to Him.
“My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
~ Matthew 11:27-30 (NLT)
The Lord is calling.
You are invited.
Hope is available.
Hope is free.
Hope looks forward.
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.
For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.
Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.
They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior.
Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.
Open up, ancient gates!
Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty;
the Lord, invincible in battle.
Open up, ancient gates!
Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies – he is the King of glory.”
~ Psalm 24:1-10 (NLT)