Today is Advent Sunday, the beginning of a very
special season in the Christian calendar.
Advent is a time of waiting and anticipation.
It's also a period of great hope.
I'm going to be exploring what that hope is,
the role it plays in the Bible
and how it continues to inspire people today.
Welcome to Songs Of Praise.
On today's programme, I dig deeper into the themes of Advent
and discover how hope is at the centre of the season.
Some of the things that are going on in our world,
we say, "Look, we're so grateful that Jesus came.
"We're so grateful for Christmas.
"But, Lord, would you come again?"
We remember one of the most remarkable
news stories of recent years, which had hope at its heart.
Came through prayer.
That was the only hope that we had above the ground.
# Call me home... #
And we have a host of wonderful Advent hymns
and a special performance of a brand-new worship song.
# I will praise your name... #
Over the next few weeks, we're exploring the traditional
Advent themes of peace, joy, and love.
But on this first Sunday of Advent, we're celebrating hope,
and our first hymn expresses
the hope of all creation as it yearns for a coming saviour.
It's the first Sunday of Advent,
so we take this opportunity to light
the first Advent candle, which represents hope.
Now we all know what hope means in our day-to-day lives.
But what does it mean when it comes to our faith?
And why is it so important in this season of Advent?
I'm visiting the Theological Library at Yarnton Manor in Oxfordshire
to meet someone who can tell me more.
It's the lights for me that really... Yeah, it is fantastic.
The lighting is fantastic. Because it's sort of.,
it's the same everywhere. Yes.
They've done a really good job, haven't they? Yeah, yeah.
Krish Kandiah is a theologian, writer and broadcaster.
Krish, how would you describe Advent?
Because for many of us, it can feel like it's sort of
a period where you're hurtling towards Christmas
and you kind of lose the meaning of Advent on the way.
You're so right, Sean.
For centuries, Christians have celebrated Advent
as a double meaning.
The first is that we're longing and waiting for the coming of Jesus.
That's what Advent means, coming or arrival.
And we think about the coming
of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago.
But the other meaning is
that Christians also long for Jesus to come again,
the Second Coming,
when Jesus comes to rule the universe
and put everything right that's wrong.
It's all about longing, waiting and hoping.
It's interesting that waiting is a key part of it,
because nowadays we're not very good at waiting.
So we live in a kind of instant gratification culture
where, if I get it, I want it and it will come now.
I think you can order things to arrive at your house the same day.
You don't have to wait months like when we were kids on mail order.
And so waiting is about having a confidence
or a trust or a hope in God.
And that was always part of the Christmas story.
It's a hope based on confidence that God really will
fulfil His promises because he's done it in the past.
Well, what does the Bible tell us about hope?
Well, hope and faith are really intimately connected.
Throughout the whole of the Bible's history,
there are people that were longing and hoping
that God would come through on His promises.
And the Bible's got something to offer us.
Jesus will come again
and He will sort out the world and all of its brokenness.
What is the hope that can be found in Advent?
We get a whole kind of run up to Christmas.
Each day can be a moment where we wait on God
and we present some of the things that are going on in our world.
We say, "Look, we're so grateful that Jesus came.
"We're so grateful for Christmas.
"But, Lord, would you come again?"
But one of my favourite moments is a song
that Mary sings at the early stages of the Christmas story.
She sings this song
and in some traditions they call it the Magnificat.
Let me read you a little bit.
"From now on, all generations will call me blessed,
"for the mighty one has done great things for me.
"He has performed mighty deeds with His arms.
"He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
"He has brought down rulers from their throne,
"but has lifted up the humble.
"He has filled the hungry with good things,
"but has sent the rich away empty."
Mary's story is so full of hope
because, as she looks back in time,
she says God has delivered them from disaster upon disaster,
and that gives her confidence to keep hoping in God
and keep trusting that God will one day sort things out.
And when we're talking about hope,
is there a particular hymn that springs to mind?
Yeah, there is. There's this beautiful modern hymn
by Timothy Dudley-Smith that takes
some of these amazing words from Mary
and helps us sing it today.
It's called Tell Out, My Soul.
One of the most extraordinary news stories
in recent memory was that of the 2010 mining disaster in Chile.
When 33 miners were left trapped underground,
the search to find them
and subsequent rescue efforts gripped the world.
Despite the story happening on the other side of the world,
one man who was in the middle of it all has his roots in the UK.
He was the one charged with keeping
the Christian message of hope alive when everything seemed bleak.
15 years ago, a mining tunnel collapsed under a desert in Chile.
As the rescue mission began,
the president turned to his personal chaplain, Bishop Alf Cooper.
Born in Chile to British parents,
he's made the trip back to the UK to study.
Gloria a Dios. Gloria a Dios.
Gloria a Dios!
I got a summons on about the fourth day after the disaster
to prepare a prayer meeting about the disaster.
And as we developed this prayer meeting, I said,
"You know, something extraordinary is happening here."
HE PRAYS
Alf watched as the miners' loved ones began to gather around the mine
and realised that was where he needed to be.
You can imagine the families of these 33 miners
outside the mine, clamouring, saying, "We want news.
"How are you going to get to them?"
So the first impression that I had there was of absolute despair.
Would there be an answer? Would they be found alive?
Would they even be found?
All we could do with the families at that stage was pray.
Alf led the prayers above ground at a makeshift camp.
They named it Camp Hope.
So hope came through prayer.
That was the only hope that we had above the ground.
Something similar was going on under the ground,
which I later learnt about,
which was the beginning of hope in the gloom and despair downstairs.
They were very despondent.
For 16 long days, rescuers desperately drilled underground,
searching for the missing men without any joy.
And then they had a breakthrough.
That same drill that was coming down hit a rock,
changed course and came in where they were,
10m away from where they were at the refuge.
So, in a mine 22 miles long, this was a miracle.
Incredibly, the miners were found,
but rescuers now had to bring them to the surface.
As they tried to work out how to do that, Alf, the families
and the miners never lost hope.
In a Christian perspective, hope is never really dashed.
"All things work together for good
"to them that love God and are called to His purposes," says Paul.
It really is more than a passing
superstition or a platitude.
No, it becomes something that really becomes a strength.
Hope in the midst of what appears hopelessness.
Hope is an attitude of optimism in a moment of darkness or despair.
Hope is an attitude of faith that things will get better even
though it doesn't look like they will.
And in this case, that was very much what we were talking about.
And they were right to keep faith.
Rescuers eventually tunnelled down and created a way of bringing
the men back above ground.
69 days after becoming trapped,
the first miners were reunited with their loved ones.
And in the end, all 33 were rescued safe and well.
The moment came when the first one came up
and appeared at the surface.
It was such a sense of achievement and jubilation,
so it became, really, a hope in the living God.
Can He rescue people in that sort of situation?
I learnt through this whole experience how important hope is.
Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.
God can answer you.
One song that means so much to me and in many ways encapsulates
the whole message we live with the miners is
You Raise Me Up.
The hope of Advent for Christians is all about
waiting expectantly for what God has promised,
something expressed perfectly in this favourite Advent hymn.
While we get excited about the prospect of Christmas,
it's easy to forget that,
for many of us, it's a very challenging time
as the stresses and pressures of the festive period
can push some of us to the edge.
That was the case for singer and songwriter
Talia Dean two years ago.
But thanks to a revelation she experienced,
there was always hope of better times to come.
In 2017, Talia Dean stormed to the final of The X Factor.
Having blown away the judges with her breathtaking voice,
she was on her way to global stardom.
Talia, take me back to what it was like when you were on X Factor.
How was it for you?
Well, obviously, it's a dream come true, isn't it?
It's something that I always wanted to do.
I was, you know, thinking, "Right, that's it,
"I'm famous now. I'll never have to work again."
So you thought, "That's it, I've made it.
"I'm going to be famous." Yeah.
What was the reality after that?
This dream of, "Oh, you're famous now.
"All your dreams are going to come true."
It was further from the truth than I could have ever imagined.
# Pretend you didn't leave me... #
Despite releasing music,
Tallia found her career wasn't going in the direction she hoped
and left her feeling empty.
The more you get, the more you want.
The bigger the crowd, the bigger you want.
It's an endless search to fill
a void that you could never fill
with claps and cheers and applauses and money. Hmm.
And I became more and more exhausted,
trying and fighting and feeding that monster.
I became very ill - mentally, physically.
And I spent a few years very low...
..searching for this...something.
After years of struggling,
Talia hit her lowest point at Christmas-time 2023.
I get very overwhelmed at Christmas.
It's a time where we are almost forced to be happy.
"It's Christmas! It's Christmas!"
And you're like, "OK, what do I do, then?
"Because I don't feel happy."
And it just carried on until New Year's Eve.
Yeah. So, yeah, it's a beautiful church.
VOICE-OVER: Talia was raised a Catholic,
but lost her faith as a teenager.
She turned to her local church to look for help,
only to find it closed.
So this is the spot?
This is THE spot.
So, New Year's Eve 2023? Yep. Sitting here,
head in hands,
begging for some sort of sign.
Some sort of love or warmth or anything.
So, you were sitting there? Yeah, right here.
This moment is where my life changed.
Talia never lost hope that things would get better for her.
And help came in the kindness of strangers.
So you're sitting there outside the church,
and what happened next?
I was sitting outside the church
and I spotted three little figures,
a woman and her two daughters.
She said, "Well, I'm the vicar's wife, and he's away at the moment,
"but would you like to come back to our house for a cup of tea?"
I went back to her house.
I remember her saying, "Can we pray for you?"
And as they started to pray, the whole room lit up.
And I can't describe it,
but it was incredible and I couldn't believe it.
Her whole kitchen was alight.
I went back home that evening
and I had a chat with the Lord
and I said, "All right, well...
"..if you are who you say you are, and if you want me
"to completely surrender myself to you,
"which I will, I just need one more sign.
"And I know I'm taking the mickey
"because I've already had loads off you today,
"but please, please, just give me one more
"and I will give you everything."
And again, it was a grey day, raining
and the clouds in the sky started to part.
And that sun that came into the vicar's kitchen,
it came into my room and I thought, "OK, I'm yours.
"Whatever you want, let's go. I'm ready for this."
From that moment, Talia decided to commit her life to her faith
and has rediscovered her Catholic roots.
She now focuses on making worship music.
Your life changed,
but your outlook on music changed as well, didn't it?
I want people to follow a faith when they listen to my songs.
I want people to have some sort of direction.
Do you know, this is what I think life is about -
sing and fill your soul with joy -
and that is what I had been missing for years.
I have support now.
I have somewhere I can go.
I have a faith. I feel loved.
Christmas in 2023 was terrible for me,
so I thought, "I want to now release a song that's going to have
"a different feeling about Christmas, the birth of Christ."
So I wrote Praise Your Name.
Next week, we'll be marking the second Sunday in Advent
celebrating peace from the inspiring Coventry Cathedral.
But now a prayer from some of those we've met today.
Dear Lord, thank you for the hope and promise of Advent.
Thank you that you came to be with us here,
and that you'll come again to restore everything.
Help us to find meaning in waiting.
To have patience and never lose hope.
And may this season shape our hearts
and help us to reflect your light, the light of the world.
Amen.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed
the hope-filled stories we've heard today.
We end with a classic Advent hymn
that looks forward to the ultimate fulfilment of Christian hope,
when Christ will return to redeem the world.
Until next time, goodbye.