Advent: Becoming Courageous
Isaiah 40:1–5, 41:10–13; Luke 1:13, 1:30, 2:10
Dr Jeff Keuss, Professor of Christian Ministry, Theology, and Culture, SPU
“Maybe the place we experience God-with-Us today is in the very fears we have about our own lives, our own world, our own future. The fears that keep us from believing that anything can be different. The fears that we are here all on our own.... Today, let our fears be the starting place of divine connection.” God has not left us. “May you not be afraid, for Love has drawn near.” Scott Erickson, Honest Advent (191)
I. The Root of Fear: “Where Are You?”
II. The Response to Fear
a. Imitation
b. Contempt
c. Violence
III. The Hope of Fear: “The Fear of the Lord”
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Discussion Questions
Before questions, attempt to give the group a bit of a summary of the main points of the sermon and then choose a few questions that fit your group’s needs and style. We don’t intend for you to use all of these. Three to five questions may be a good number.
Begin by reading Isaiah 40:1–5, 41:10–13 and Luke 1:13, 1:30, 2:10 aloud, taking turns reading the passages.
Pray over the group before beginning discussion.
“Fears are of many kinds – fear of objects, fear of people, fear of the future, fear of nature, fear of the
unknown, fear of old age, fear of disease, and fear of life itself. “Fear is one of the persistent hounds of
hell that dog the footsteps of the poor, dispossessed, the disinherited.” – Howard Thurman, Jesus and
the Disinherited
As Thurman describes above Fear comes in many shapes and sizes. What are some “fears” that you bring into the holiday season?
As mentioned in the sermon, the Hebrew word “hinneni” (‘here am I’) expresses readiness to respond,
in particular to a divine summons (e.g., Genesis 22:1, 31:12, 46:2; Exodus 3:4; Isaiah 6:8). An accurate
translation can render the meaning “see me” or “behold me,” which involves the speaker’s willingness
to appear at a given place and thus communicates an openness that contrasts with the hidden
defensiveness of alienation. “hinneni” conveys the convergence of self-assertion and a particular place
or ‘here.’ As noted in the sermon, in Genesis 3:9 when the Lord God is asking “where” as the question not of location, location, location but person, person, person. *Where* are you in relation to me?
In what ways does this stated “Here I Am” as a statement of God’s desire to draw close give you hope in this holiday?
What ways do you hope to draw closer to God relationally right now?
What might be some of the barriers for that intimacy?
The isolation in Genesis 3 results in a loss of relational location is four-fold fear from Genesis onward:
- Isolation from creation = fear
- Isolation from ourselves = fear
- Isolation from each other = fear
- Isolation from God = fear
Is there one or more of these “isolations” that you relate to right now? What do you think is causing and sustaining that isolation for you?
In the sermon we talked about 3 responses to Fear in our lives:
- Imitation of the culture as a way of hiding
- Contempt of others rather than acting for change
- Violence to destroy systems and others rather than building and being creative
How have you seen these responses to fear played out in the media recently? In politics? In communities?
“The fear of God is not the hiatus of human agency but is properly central to it… Fearing God does not
equate to fearlessness of things in general; quite the opposite: fearing God relativizes all other fears. To
fear God and not fear others means placing all of one’s hopes, trust, status, identity – indeed, one’s very
life – in God.” – Jason Fout, “What Do I Fear When I Fear My God?” JOTI 9 (2015)
“Both vulnerability and worship are two aspects to the biblical motif of “fearing God” that ought to be
maintained in tandem; if one were to be lost, the reminder would be something altogether different.
Without the notion of vulnerability, one’s worship of God could be self-serving. Without God as its
proper object, vulnerability could resort to something else for its security, a move that would lead to
idolatry. The balance needed it suggested to believers when Paul exhorts his readers to make “holiness
perfect in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).” – Daniel Castelo, The Fear of the Lord (155)
How does the “fear of the Lord” help you as you face other fears in your life?
In what ways can you work on vulnerability and finding space for worship in the holiday season?
In the sermon we talked about 3 areas of “Advent Readiness” to help us face fears:
1. Risk: our hunger for meaning is stronger than the fear of being wrong. In Advent we risk leaning
in to the hope for love, the call of connection, the passion for social justice as part of God’s
promise.
2. Openness: we remain open to the unknown, unverifiable, mysterious, intuited, spiritual,
imagined as sources for meaning and truth in our life. While the world is not yet rightly ordered
we still remain hopeful and open to what could and should be.
3. Love of companions: shared risks relate to shared pleasure; we find kindred spirits or soul
friends for the journey of faith and refuse any attempts for ultimate meaning that can be
seemingly attained alone and in isolation. Advent is a great season to join with others in a new
way: renew relationships built on hope, on faith, on love as we face the days ahead.
How can your community group be a place where Risk, Openness, and Love of Companions becomes more visible?