Belmont University Advent GuideSample

I am writing this piece on October 3, 2016, the 23rd anniversary of the Battle of Mogadishu, remembered by most of us through the book and movie Black Hawk Down. When I awoke this morning, I had no recollection of this anniversary, but I wound up spending this morning talking with one of the survivors of that battle, one of the Army Rangers who slid down a rope from a Black Hawk helicopter into the streets of Mogadishu that afternoon 23 years ago.

Those were 18 perilous hours. 18 perilous hours during which 19 of his buddies lost their lives. He told me, “It was only 18 hours. But those 18 hours have shaped every minute of my life since then.” One of the things he remembered was that they never lost hope that someone was coming for them, that they were not alone or forgotten.

Isaiah lived in perilous times as well. St. Luke lived in perilous times. John the Seer lived in perilous times. And their messages of hope are clear. We are neither alone nor forgotten in days of peril. The Mighty One of Israel is coming to rescue us from the dangers of this world.

We live in perilous times as well. Sure, for many of us in the Belmont community it is the peril of too much privilege, but for some of us it is the peril of broken and dysfunctional families, or the bondage of addiction. For others it may be the peril of living in a society that considers us worthless and expendable. For all of us there is the peril of succumbing to the spirit of our age that whispers continually that we are nothing more than commodities.

During Advent we are reminded of the importance of our hope. When times are dark and our whole world seems to be falling down around us, we lean with hope on the promise that we are neither alone nor forgotten.

As the psalmist says,

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult. (Psalm 46.1–3)

Tom Knowles-Bagwell
Associate Director, Mental Health Counseling