When you think of great Advent texts, I’d bet Habakkuk isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Yet the more I have lived with Habakkuk this week, the more I have heard him strike the Advent chords. Habakkuk, living in a time of hopelessness, yet rejoices in the Lord, who gives light and life to the faithful.

Crying out to God

Habakkuk was prophet of the early 6^th century b.c.e., writing in the years leading up to the exile of the people into Babylon. The world he saw around him was lost in darkness. In the first lines of the book, Habakkuk cries out to God saying,

How long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?

Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? (1:2)

When he looks at the world, Habakkuk sees that wickedness has triumphed. He says,

The law becomes slack and justice never prevails.

The wicked surround the righteous—

therefore judgment comes forth perverted (1:4)

While these words from Habakkuk refer to Judah during the reign of Jehoiachin, they also resonate with our own times. As we watch the news of refugee children being tear-gassed in their diapers, we too can say that justice has failed. As we read reports of journalists murdered in Saudi Arabia, we too can say that the law is slack. As we hear the truth twisted in the mouths of our leaders, we too can see that the wicked have perverted judgment.

So when God responds to Habakkuk as he waits for justice, we might perceive God entering into our Advent waiting, as well.

So a Runner Can Read It

God begins by telling Habakkuk to “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it” (2:2). This is good advice. The message of hope isn’t complicated. It doesn’t take a tome to explain it. We should declare the Gospel of hope so that it can be read by someone who is running by. We should proclaim the good news so it can be heard by someone going about their harried day. We should give a word of life to those beaten down by the relentlessness of world.

Advent hope is succinct.

Wait for It

No matter how hopeless the world appears at the moment, God assures Habakkuk that the times are already turning. The end is assured. “If it seems to tarry,” he says, “wait for it. It will surely come, it will not delay” (2:3).

Here is surely an Advent message if ever there has been one. Though there may be darkness, the light shall not be overcome.

In the final verses of the book, Habakkuk gives praise to God for the restoration that is yet to come. He sings a song of Advent hope:

Though the fig tree does not blossom,

            and no fruit is on the vines;

through the produce of the olive fails,

            and the fields yield no food;

though the flock is cut off from the fold,

            and there is no herd in the stalls.

yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

            I will exult in the God of my salvation (3:17-18)

Despite all appearances, Habakkuk lives into the promise. Though there is no bloom, though there is no fruit, Habakkuk trusts the spring is near. Though there is no flock, though there is no herd, Habakkuk believes prosperity will return.

Advent Hope

This is the essence of Advent waiting. When it appears that the wicked have triumphed and justice has failed, we live into the promise that God’s righteousness will prevail. In the face of destruction and violence, we proclaim the triumph of life over death. Even as the Empire declares its victory, we dare to announce the arrival of a tiny little baby, come to bring peace to the world.

Say it so a runner can read it.