In a year like this one, it is hard to trust the good news. Yet throughout Christian history, there have been times of war, of famine, of personal tragedy – and the invitation remains the same. God’s kingdom is coming. Change your life. Trust the good news.
Our worship series this Advent invites us to such a place. A place of belief when there is no reason to believe. The author of the poem upon which our Advent series is built was not a Christian, but was a person of deep Jewish faith. A poem, scratched on the walls of a cellar in Cologne in Nazi Germany during the Second World War, reminds us of the resilience of hope.
“I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining
And I believe in love,
even when there’s no one there.
And I believe in God,
even when he is silent.
I believe through any trial,
there is always a way
But sometimes in this suffering
and hopeless despair
My heart cries for shelter,
to know someone’s there
But a voice rises within me, saying hold on
my child, I’ll give you strength,
I’ll give you hope. Just stay a little while.
I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining
And I believe in love
even when there’s no one there
But I believe in God
even when he is silent
I believe through any trial
there is always a way.
May there someday be sunshine
May there someday be happiness
May there someday be love
May there someday be peace….”
– Unknown
