ADVENT HOPE SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE – Part 1

“Remember Your word to Your servant, in which You have made me hope. This is my comfort in my distress, that Your promise gives me life.”  (Psalm 119:49-50)

“If it sounds too good to be true, it is.” We have all heard this with the warning about scam artists that are waiting to take our money and our property. And it is true that there are those who prey on the naïve, the trusting, and the innocent. Most of us can remember hearing about that seductive bargain that turned out to be a disaster. We have seen it happen and have promised ourselves it will never happen to us.

Because we see such deception in our world, it is not unusual that we guard ourselves against the truth of the gospel story. We are afraid that it is indeed too good to be true. What if we believed and then found out it was only myth and hype? Better to keep our distance. We listen to the gospel story, let it creep into the edges of our lives, but never can bring ourselves to embrace it fully. What if it is just another cheap commercial trick that has nothing to do with our need or destiny and everything to do with the storyteller’s need and fortune? Since it is better to be wise than to be a fool, we stand near the edge of the Advent story and keep all of our options open.

So often I stand on the edge of the light, afraid to act, afraid that this story is too good to be true. But then in my better moments, when I listen closely to The Story, move close to The Light, my fears seem to evaporate like an early morning mist, and I can believe again. 

-- Rueben P. Job in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

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