by Suzie Lind

“Advent begins in the dark.” This haunting and profound phrase, repeated often in Fleming Rutledge’s Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ, captures how we often come into this sacred season. Advent is a time of waiting, anticipation, and hope, calling Christ-followers to prepare their hearts for the coming of Christ—both in remembrance of His birth and expectation of His return. Each year, Advent invites us into the darkness that precedes the light, encouraging us to pause, pay attention, and notice what the darkness reveals.

Darkness is often uncomfortable, even frightening. It represents the unknown, the hidden, and the uncertain, exposing our vulnerability and reminding us of our lack of control. Spiritually, darkness manifests as times of confusion, loss, or waiting—seasons that leave us disoriented and searching for clarity amid the chaos we often feel in our bodies. Darkness also characterizes the social realities of oppression, poverty, and suffering that many endure. 

The birth of Christ occurred during such a time. While Rome enjoyed an era of peace, the colonized Jewish people lived under the oppressive weight of empire, burdened by poverty and subjugation. Yet, the biblical narrative reveals that darkness is not devoid of God’s presence. On the contrary, God often works powerfully within it. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years, learning to trust God’s provision. The centuries before Christ’s birth, often described as “silent,” were filled with God’s redemptive activity. And in the darkness, Christ came to dwell among us as the Light of the World.

Advent beckons us to dwell in this mystery of darkness, resisting the human instinct to escape it. Instead, Advent invites us to be shaped by darkness through practices of waiting, resistance, and hope.

The people of Israel waited for generations for the Messiah to liberate them from oppression. Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God—a reality he inaugurated in the present day but not yet fully realized until his return. Though sin and death were conquered through His resurrection, in these Advent days, we live with a holy longing for a time when oppression, suffering, and death no longer exist. Advent teaches us to wait in this liminal space, strengthening our faith and trust, even when the future remains hidden.

Advent also invites us to resist the darkness of empire—the systems of power, greed, and control that oppose the Kingdom of God. Jesus modeled this resistance through acts of humility, inclusion, and sacrificial love. He healed on the Sabbath, welcomed the outcast, and stood against the self-serving priorities of empire. We are called to live into the same joyful resistance: practicing enemy love over hate, generosity over greed, hospitality over exclusion, and humility over privilege. These are acts of Kingdom living that resist the darkness and embody the light.

Finally, Advent points us to hope—not a conjured-up optimism, but a genuine hope forged in darkness, unshaken by trials. This kind of hope is an act of defiance. It refuses to accept the normalization of anything that finds its roots in any of the “isms” that dehumanize people made in the image of God. The practices of Advent aim to strengthen this hope that ultimately sustains us, anchoring us in the promise that Christ will return to make all things new.

In this current Advent season, the world feels particularly dark. Though I am convinced every generation feels like theirs is darker than those who came before, at this moment, nations and empires are warring with themselves and each other in all parts of the earth. We are faced with visible reminders that the empty promises of empire are clothed in the darkness of greed and the hunger for power. 

• As we enter into this Advent season, can you name the darkness you find yourself in? 
• What is the invitation for you and your community to be formed by it? 
• What are you called to wait for? 
• What are ways you can practice joyful resistance and like Jesus usher in light into a world longing to see what is real and hopeful?

This is the first of three in our Advent series. To listen to the accompanying PEACE TALKS episode, click HERE.