"I'm at the end of my rope"

Isaiah 64: 1-6; Jeremiah 33:14-16)


"O that you would tear open the heavens and come down..."

"The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: "The LORD is our righteousness."

Ever felt lost, on the edge, hopeless, just certain that no matter how hard you've tried to do the right thing, you still end up at the end of your rope?  Then you know how George Bailey feels in that moment at the bar when he sees an arrest warrant in front of him and the loss of $8,000 looming in his face like a cancer.  He feels absolutely helpless. A powerful scene from the movie:

"Dear Father in heaven,.... show me the way, I'm at the end of my rope."

This, too, is the world of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The world of diaspora. The world of never feeling at home because you might get trampled on again sometime soon.  And this is much the same kind of atmosphere into which Jesus is born. A time when Herod is declaring that newborn sons will die and moms are running scared.

George Bailey shows us the depths to which we can fall into despair as humans, based on circumstances often out of our control.  He is truly contemplating what reasons he possibly has to continue life as he knows it.

All this month, we will be exploring the theological insights in the classic holiday film, "It's A Wonderful Life."  This first advent reading puts us in the right mindset. Times are dark. Life is chaotic and filled with unease. Into this place, we plead for our savior to arrive. Into this world, we ask the Christ Child to come to us.

What does it feel like to be at the end of your rope? What does bringing 'light into darkness' mean to you? How do you prepare to bring the Christ Child into the chaos of your world?  Email me or comment below.