Advent is a season of anticipation—a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. It’s a time of hope, peace, joy, and love, yet these can feel elusive in a world that often feels like it’s been turned upside down. Enter Bizarro Superman, a character from the comic book universe who embodies inversion. Everything Superman stands for—truth, justice, and the protection of humanity—Bizarro twists into its opposite. He creates chaos where there should be order, confusion where there should be clarity.
In the Bizarro world, love doesn’t conquer fear; fear conquers love. It’s a distortion of the powerful promise in 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” In a Bizarro twist, our cultural and political climate sometimes seems to reflect the opposite: “Perfect fear casts out love.” This inversion creeps into our hearts through a steady stream of news, social media, and divisive rhetoric designed to keep us glued to our screens, scrolling endlessly, and feeling more afraid than ever.
Media, Fear, and Doom-Scrolling
The media, for all its virtues, often thrives on fear. Headlines scream for attention, algorithms serve us outrage, and debates grow more polarized. Fear keeps us engaged, doom-scrolling into the wee hours, convinced that if we just learn one more thing, we can somehow regain control. This isn’t a critique of staying informed or advocating ignorance—it’s about recognizing how the constant flood of fear-driven narratives impacts our hearts and minds.
When we live in a state of perfect fear, we grow closed-minded, defensive, and suspicious of others. Fear shrinks our capacity to love, making us less willing to extend grace to those who think differently. Worse, fear keeps us from being curious—about the world, about others, and even about God.
Advent: The Antidote to Fear
Advent calls us to do the opposite. It invites us into a posture of curiosity and openness. When Mary learns she will bear the Christ child, her first response isn’t fear but a question: “How can this be?” Her curiosity leads her into a deeper relationship with God and a profound act of love—the willingness to bear and nurture the Savior of the world.
Advent encourages us to pause and attend to what makes us hopeful, not just what makes us afraid. This isn’t about burying our heads in the sand or ignoring the very real issues around us. It’s about choosing to engage the world from a place of love rather than fear. What would it look like to approach our political and cultural divides with curiosity rather than defensiveness? What if we asked, “Why does this person think this way?” instead of “How can they possibly believe that?”
Fear Not, Love More
The angels proclaim, “Fear not!” as they announce Jesus’ birth. It’s a recurring theme in scripture because God knows how easily fear takes hold of the human heart. Fear tells us there’s not enough—enough safety, enough resources, enough love to go around. But the story of Christmas tells us the opposite. In Christ, God comes near, entering into our mess and brokenness with an abundance of love.
This love, if we let it, has the power to unseat fear. It moves us to act not from self-protection but from self-giving. It nudges us toward compassion, even for those we see as enemies. It opens us to the possibility that God is working in ways we can’t yet see or understand.
The Practice of Advent Curiosity
What if, this Advent, we stopped giving fear the final word? What if we set aside time each day to notice where fear is creeping in and consciously chose love instead? Here are some ways to practice this:
- Turn Down the Noise: Limit time spent on news and social media. Instead, focus on stories of hope and acts of kindness.
- Ask Better Questions: When confronted with views or actions that frustrate or scare you, ask, “What might this person be feeling or experiencing?” or “What can I learn from this situation?”
- Cultivate Connection: Spend time with people who make you feel grounded and loved. Share a meal, a story, or even a laugh.
- Make Room for Christ: In the busyness of the season, carve out moments for prayer, reflection, or scripture reading. Let God’s love recalibrate your heart.
- Act in Love: Fear often paralyzes, but love moves us to act. Find one small way to embody love each day—a kind word, a generous gift, or a simple act of service.
Perfect Love in a Bizarro World
The world might feel upside down at times, but Advent reminds us that God is in the business of setting things right. Love, not fear, is the heart of the gospel. Jesus’ birth flips the script of despair, offering hope where there was none.
We can resist the pull of Bizarro fear—not by ignoring the problems of the world but by refusing to let them control us. Instead, we can lean into the perfect love that casts out fear, trusting that God’s kingdom is breaking through, even now.
This Advent, may we prepare our hearts to receive Christ not with fear but with love. May we become curious about how God is moving in the world, and may we join in that movement with open hands and open hearts. After all, the good news of Christmas is that love—true, perfect, and divine—always gets the final word.
Advent Blessings,
