Advent—Hope—Day 2

Ever heard of Skillet? It’s not what you use to fry chicken or bake cornbread, not in this instance. Skillet is a Christian band that’s been around for almost thirty years. And the name? As the story goes, the band was formed by musicians from such varied backgrounds that it was like throwing ingredients into a skillet to see what they could cook up.

If you like metal and alt rock, you’ll like their sound. If not, keep reading anyway, and take a listen to their most recent release, a rendition of the Advent song “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”

What did you think? How about that scream? Does it sound too harsh to be in a Christmas carol?

Have you watched the news lately? Splashed across the evening news last night was a story of four people, three children and a young adult, all shot and killed at a California birthday party. Senseless violence, supposedly spurred on by a gang grudge, and the young paid the price.

Hearing about it made me feel like screaming.

A few days before that, the news of a fatal high-rise fire in Hong Kong left me aghast as I watched multiple buildings go up in flames, with reports that several people were trapped inside. A man stood outside the buildings, crying and screaming, with the reporter indicating that his wife had not been able to escape. The death toll currently stands at 146, but searchers expect those numbers to rise.

There are other things that make me want to scream: seeing kids battle cancer and other life-altering diseases, watching the politicization of basic human rights, and witnessing the continual struggles of the poor of the world, both in means and in spirit.

I am grieved when parents bury a child, when confusion overwhelms the mind, and when selfish people heap troubles on their brothers and sisters.

Our world is broken beyond repair. It always has been, ever since we wrecked it with our disobedience. The only hope we had was for God to send a Redeemer, a promised Messiah who would save us from ourselves.

O come, O come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel.
That mourns in lonely exile here.
Until the Son of God appear.

In Skillet’s rendition of that lovely Christmas carol, which has its origins in monastic life in the 8th or 9th century, the lead singer’s scream rends the soul. In his voice I hear an echo of the King, of the One who has overcome death and Hell and who is also grieved at the sin to which humanity is chained in this terribly imperfect world.

At Christmas, we celebrate Baby Jesus in the manger, complete with the familiar accounts of the angels, shepherds, and wise men.

However, we fail in honoring Him if we do not remember Him as our Savior. He has come to set us free and to give us a hope beyond anything we could ever know without Him.

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14 NIV)

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Reflection and Prayer: What is one problem of the world that is troubling you? Remember that it grieves God too. Pray to see these things through His eyes, and pray that He will use you as an instrument to share His hope with others.