Conspiracy of hope

This is one of my favourite Advent Conspiracy videos. It was created in 2009 but I think it stands the test of time.



There was an interesting comment left underneath the video on Youtube:

You had me 'till 1:28. The message you are spreading does not need to only apply to the religious. So don't market it only to the religious. I'll still probably go along with this, but that bit put a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

Interesting question: if I follow everything you say, except that part at 1:28, what do you think of me? Am I headed for hell?

The words at 1:28 on the video are ‘worship fully’.

The commenter is right, the message doesn’t need to apply to the religious and I don’t have a problem with anyone being encouraged to engage with the suggestions in the video. However, this comment does seem to highlight something important. For Christians our Advent starts with a focus on God and it is in the light of his now and not yet Kingdom that we are called to realign our priorities, values and concerns. From our worship flows our response in loving service. To worship means to reorientate not  just a few actions or attitudes but our whole lives towards God. The Advent Conspiracy website expresses it like this:

It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. This is the holistic approach God had in mind for Christmas. It’s a season where we are called to put down our burdens and lift a song up to our God. It’s a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a king is celebrated with each breath. It’s the party of the year. Entering the story of advent means entering this season with an overwhelming passion to worship Jesus to the fullest.

As for the question asked by the commenter ‘Am I headed for hell?’. The answer is I don’t know; that’s between him/her and God. I do believe that until we enter into a relationship with God in which we are so overwhelmed by his love that our only response can be worship, then we are not experiencing the fullness of life that God longs to share with us.

I think that’s part of the Advent Conspiracy. As Christians we are called to live, liberated from and challenging those things in this world which damage, debase, dehumanise and ultimately destroy us as human beings. That's a conspiracy worth being part of.