This piece was adapted and shortened from an earlier post on my personal blog.

I recently finished a book called "Preaching in Hitler's Shadow: Sermons of Resistance in the Third Reich", edited by Dean G. Stroud. We have much to learn from these brave preachers. I have profited immensely from studying their writings and lives- both their wisdom and their failures. But what struck me most this Advent season was their hope despite the facts on the ground. This is what Walter Brueggeman has termed "faithful imagination" (see Walter Brueggeman, "Faithful Imagination as Sustained Subversion," in "Disruptive Grace: Reflections on God, Scripture, and the Church", 296-315). In the midst of the Nazi domination of society- during the times when Germany seemed to be winning the war, in the months and years when it seemed that the Third Reich would indeed last a thousand years, when resistance seemed futile and the Church defeated- in these times, they dared to believe that Christ was still Lord.

They knew that even if the Reich lasted a thousand years, it would ultimately be crushed, for

He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.

They knew that even though the Gestapo could arrest and murder them and the Hitler Youth could brainwash their children, that the Church did not need to succumb to the blasphemies of National Socialism, for

the gates of hell shall not prevail against her. (Matt. 16:18b)

Preacher after preacher proclaimed the truth that Jesus is Lord and Hitler is not, and that sooner or later God would put an end to this reign of terror. From where we stand, that may seem easy. We know now that the Third Reich would not, indeed could not, last forever, and that Hitler would be defeated. But what horror had to occur! What crimes had to be committed! How impossible it must have been to believe.

But indeed, believing despite the facts on the ground that YHWH is Lord is the heart of faith.

It is Abraham, the old man with the barren wife, who dared to believe the God who promised to make him the father of a great nation, and out of that belief dared to follow obediently into the wilderness.

It is Moses, the stuttering shepherd who at the command of YHWH dared to demand of Pharoah, over and over,

Let my people go! (Ex. 5:1)

It is Esther, who dared to risk her life to plead with King Ahasuerus not to allow the murder of her people.

It is the Psalmist, and indeed all faithful Jews, who dared to sing under pagan rule of the universal reign of YHWH.

It is Israel, daring to await the Messiah who was to rescue them from their oppression and exile and inaugurate the reign of the God of Israel.

It is Jesus, the simple rabbi from a backwater province, who, in response to a governor in one of the most powerful empires in history claiming to have authority his life, dared to say,

You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. (Jn. 19:11a)

It is the female disciples, along with Joseph of Arimathea, daring to stay by Jesus' side until his last breath, as the soldiers taunted

If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself! (Lk. 23:37)

Ultimately, it is all of us, as we languish between Christ's ascension and his return.

Advent is the acting out of this waiting. Just as Israel awaited deliverance from exile and bondage- though she often misunderstood what this meant- we also await delivery,

waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Pt. 3:13)

We hope, despite the pain and suffering of this present age, that God will fulfill his promise to restore all things and execute final judgment against evil in the world. We hope in the vision of Isaiah 65, when the dead shall be raised, all people shall live in harmony, and the whole of creation shall prosper and teem with life.

This is why, when at Christmas we sing

Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee

it still resonates deeply in our hearts.

It is why we proclaim that

We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come.

So this Advent, as we regard the shattered and broken world around us and the shattered and broken people within us, as we groan along with the whole creation, awaiting the redemption of our bodies and the world, let us cling to the voice that says,

Behold, I am making all things new. (Rev. 21:5a)

Amen.

(By the way, here's an Advent playlist I created on Spotify to help observe the season. I aimed mostly for a contemplative hymn vibe, but it wound up being a bit of a mixture. If you have suggestions for albums or songs to add, let me know in the comments!)

All Scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV), published by Crossway. I slightly modified the translation of Matthew 16:18 to read "her" instead of "it" (Greek αὐτῆς aftēs) for clarity.