First Sunday of Advent – Advent Hope and the Lord’s Supper
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”
-Isaiah 9:2
December 7 is one of those “evil days” that remind us the world is not safe or stable. Ephesians says, “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” History confirms what Scripture has already said about a fallen world, but Scripture also tells us how God has acted and how His people should respond.
On the first Sunday of Advent, many believers focus on hope. Isaiah writes, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” That promised light is Christ, of whom it says in John 1:4-5, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Advent Hope Confronts Real Darkness
The Bible does not sanitize evil. From Genesis 3 onward, there are days of murder, war, exile, and judgment. Jesus teaches, “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” What happened on days like December 7 & September 11 flows out of that same human heart.
Advent does not deny this. It assumes it. The promise of a child in Isaiah 9 comes in a context of gloom and anguish, not ease. God sent His Son into a world that hates the light, because that is the only way sinners can be rescued from the darkness they love.
Advent Hope Anchored in Christ
Romans 5 says that those justified by faith “have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” and that “we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” That hope is not wishful thinking; it is grounded in a real Person, in real history. Christ came, lived, died, and rose in the same kind of violent world we inhabit.
In 1 Peter 1, believers who suffer are told they have been “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” That “living hope” is why Christians can look at evil days like December 7th & September 11th honestly and still say, “We are not done yet; Christ has the last word. Christus Victor!”
The Lord’s Supper: Proclaiming Advent Hope
On days that remind us how broken the world is, the Lord’s Supper is a God-given anchor. Paul says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” At the Table, the church looks back to the cross and forward to the return of Christ in one simple act of obedience.
The Supper fits Advent. Advent looks back to promises and forward to Christ’s appearing in glory; Communion looks back to the finished sacrifice and forward to the day faith becomes sight. Between those two comings, we “proclaim the Lord’s death” in a world that still sheds blood for other reasons.
The Gospel of Advent Hope
Scripture itself gives you the logic of the WWWWWW gospel:
- Who is God? “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” He is light, and “in him is no darkness at all.”
- Who are we? “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We are part of a race that loves darkness and produces evil days.
- What did God do? “Christ died for the ungodly” and “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” His broken body and shed blood are signified in the bread and the cup.
- What must you do? Jesus calls, “Repent and believe in the gospel,” and Scripture says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Coming to the Table in a worthy manner assumes that turning and trusting.
- What if you do? “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” and nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The Supper then becomes ongoing assurance: His death really was “for you.”
- What if you don’t? Hebrews warns of “a fearful expectation of judgment” for those who go on rejecting the Son. To eat and drink without discernment is to “eat and drink judgment on himself.” The same ordinance that comforts believers warns unbelievers that there is only one refuge.
Living Out Advent Hope
Ephesians tells us to “redeem the time, because the days are evil.” One way to redeem a day like December 7 is to remember evil honestly, then deliberately nail it to the cross and allow the blood of Christ to cover it completely.
On this first Sunday of Advent, you can light a candle and say with Isaiah that a great light has shone, you can come to the Table and “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes,” and you can rest in a living hope that no “day of infamy” can finally overturn. That is not denial; it is faith in the Christ who has come into our darkness and will one day defeat it forever.
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