Pastoral Letter: Advent Hope

Beloved in the Lord,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our coming King, Jesus Christ. In this holy season of Advent—these days of yearning hope, sober repentance, and steadfast prayer—we find ourselves living amid times that strain the heart. Our American culture is marked by deep animosity, sharp political unrest, and a wearying tendency to pit neighbor against neighbor. Words have become weapons, dialogue has become vitriol, and the public square feels more like a battleground than a gathering place for those made in the image of God.

The recent news of large-scale fraud in Minnesota has only intensified tensions, drawing national scrutiny and placing the Somali community—many of whom are our neighbors, coworkers, fellow students, and even fellow Christians—under heavy federal pressure and public suspicion. As followers of Christ, we cannot ignore the seriousness of sin, nor the harm done when trust is violated. Yet neither may we allow the sins of some to indict the whole. We are called to discernment, but never to disdain.

Here we face a tension familiar to LCMS Lutherans: we are citizens of two kingdoms. As members of the left-hand temporal kingdom, we honor just laws, seek good order, and uphold the structures that preserve our common life. And as members of the right-hand spiritual kingdom—citizens of heaven through Holy Baptism—we receive and extend the mercy of Christ, welcoming the stranger, defending the vulnerable, and praying fervently for those who bear burdens we do not see.

Advent presses this dual identity upon us. Christ’s coming exposes the darkness, yet His light summons us to love. This is not naïve idealism; it is the sober realism of Christians who know the cross-shaped contours of life in a fallen world. In other words, the Christian life is practicing the presence of Christ amid the chaos. Likewise, Advent teaches us to lift up our heads, not in fear, but in hope that our Redeemer is drawing near.

So I urge you, dear brothers and sisters: pray.

Pray for our government—local, state, and federal—entrusted with authority that comes from God alone. Pray for investigators, law enforcement officers, and officials that justice be served without prejudice or partiality. Pray for the Somali community and other immigrant neighbors who now feel the cold shadow of suspicion. Pray that we, the Church, might embody the compassionate clarity of Christ: firm in truth, rich in mercy, unwavering in love.

May your homes, congregations, and hearts become havens of prayer in these days. Pray for peace in our land. Pray for wisdom as you engage in civic life. Pray for those whose job it is to maintain order in society. Pray for courage to welcome the refugee, the immigrant, and the newly arrived neighbor in the name of Him who came to dwell among us as His Father’s own self-giving Gift.

And as we pray, we sing—because the Church always sings her hope. As Martin Luther’s profound Advent hymn shows:

“Savior of the nations, come;
Virgin’s Son, make here Your home.
Marvel now, O heav’n and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.” (Savior of the Nations, Come LSB 332,)

And with all the Holy Christian Church of our day, we confess the same hope in Christ:

Hear the angels sing,
There’s hope for everyone;
To announce our King,
There’s hope for everyone.
What good news they bring:
There’s hope for everyone.
Heaven shouts, ‘Prepare Him room!’
There’s hope for everyone. (Matt Maher, Hope for Everyone)

May this Advent season kindle in you the fervent prayer of the faithful, the steady hope of the redeemed, and the gentle compassion of our coming King.

In Christ’s expectant peace,

Rev. Dr. Lucas V. Woodford
President, Minnesota South District, LCMS