Advent Series: Season on Hope. Monday of Second week of Advent: Fragility vs Trust in God's Word

Fragile World

A teenager dies in a car accident caused by another teenager who was drunk.

Another country announces nuclear capability.

Floods, fires and famine claim untold lives.


The world as we know it can change with the wrong turn of a car, with the flick of a switch, with being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Our world as we know it changes daily.

Where do we find hope in the midst of this uncertainty, among these tragedies?  Life is so fragility.

''All humankind is grass, and all their glory like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it.  Though the grass withers and the flower wilts, the word of our God stands forever". Isaiah 40:6-8

On the second Sunday of Advent, the second purple candle is lit. This candle is known the 'Bethlehem candle', symbolizing Christ's manger. It represents love.

Suggestion:

1.Light the Second Advent candle and quieten your spirit before the Lord. As you light it think of its name and all that Bethlehem means. If you have some difficulty with your own thoughts on Bethlehem, then, why not Google something about the manger, about Bethlehem itself. Share what you have learned in your note book or with family members/parishioners.

2. Write down your list of the fragile world- what is fragile in your world? What are the uncertainties, the floods, fires and famines in your life- loosing your job, being insecure in your employment, feeling burnt when you are overlooked for promotion, being flooded out physically in your home and emotionally/spiritually with negativity and depression.

3. Read the scripture from Isaiah.  What occurs to you about this scripture? What hope does it provide when the word of the Lord stands forever- do you believe it for your life?  Reread your list and apply hope to each one of them because the word of the Lord stands forever.

4.Notice in the scripture that we are likened to grass and our glory like a flower of the field- they fade and wither WHEN the breath of the Lord blows upon it.  In other words- in God's timing not ours.  This applies to our death- it is not for us to choose our timing but leave it to God in trust.
It also applies to our lives- we are grass and a beautiful flower- grass starts as a seed and then flourishes and then fades, likewise a flower- both show the glory of God, just as we do by what we do, what we are and what we say and behave.

5. Now commit your fragile world to the trust of the word of God.  Breathe in the hope from God that this season provides- it is a season of hope.