When entered into faithfully, Advent is a frustratingly wonderful season of awkwardly waiting for God to act on the promises God has made.
Advent is a season firmly planted in kairos time, yet it requires an annual examination of chronos time, the ordinariness of our everyday lives. It is a season between times: it only makes sense when we look to the future, the past and our present, in that order.
Advent, more than anything else, compels us to look toward the Second Coming of Jesus, when the new heavens and new earth will be fully united. Biblical poems, prophecies and proclamations abound: A giant city with gates always open, rivers of living water, trees of life, mountains that summon the kingdoms of the world to God’s presence, banquet tables laden with abundance for all people. These overlapping visions proclaim a future when God is the focus of all things, relationships thrive, peace and justice reign, sin is healed, sorrows are soothed.
Greg Mamula
Advent calls us to stay vigilant in the present to the ways of Jesus, for we do not know when these things will occur. Staying vigilant is difficult work.
The Burma Advocacy Group is part of the American Baptist Churches USA family and embodies this Advent vigilance. Formed after the military coup that removed Myanmar’s democratic government on Feb. 1, 2021, BAG includes more than 30 ecumenical and nonprofit organizations committed to the well-being of our Burmese neighbors and fellow believers.
“Advent calls us to stay vigilant in the present to the ways of Jesus, for we do not know when these things will occur.”
The BAG advocates for refugee-based educational training worldwide through fundraising, humanitarian support and government engagement. As a body of Christian believers and American Baptists, we monitor policies, statements and decisions that directly affect diaspora Burmese communities and those still suffering inside Myanmar.
To remain vigilant, we must be honest about the recent past.
Since the coup in 2021, Myanmar has descended into a humanitarian crisis:
- More than 3.5 million people are internally displaced
- More than 22,000 people are being held in arbitrary detention
- 75% of the population live below or just barely above poverty levels
- Christian churches are explicitly targeted with bombings, fires and mass arrests.
In March 2025, a massive earthquake added to the devastation, killing nearly 4,000 people and leaving more than 6 million people in need of assistance. In many areas, the military junta blocked international aid from reaching the intended people.
The crisis worsened with the closure of USAID under the current administration, which has cut off the largest source of humanitarian aid to refugee camps along the Burma-Thailand border, eliminating food, medicine and other needed resources for refugees.
On Nov. 25, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ended the Temporary Protected Status for Burmese nationals residing in the U.S., claiming Myanmar is now safe for return and the junta’s Dec. 28 elections are “free and fair.”
These claims are demonstratively false and contradict several U.S. government statements, including the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s recommendation in its 2025 annual report to redesignate Burma a “Country of Particular Concern” for its “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
In November, bipartisan House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations leadership condemned Burma’s “sham elections.” A detailed letter submitted to DHS by more than 150 organizations, including our Burma Advocacy Group, provided verified evidence of ongoing airstrikes, forced displacement, religious persecution and the absence of any legitimate ceasefire or democratic process.
The tragic shootings of U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe in Washington, D.C., Nov. 26 have resulted in a rapid response involving broad immigration policy changes, despite no known motive connecting the attack to broader immigrant communities. These changes include the Dec. 2 announcement that the government is halting green card, asylum, naturalization and other immigrant procedures for 19 high-risk countries, including Myanmar. Furthermore, a re-examination of those already granted legal immigration status is under way for individuals who arrived in the U.S. since Jan. 20, 2021. These announcements only worsen already terrible situations.
“Such conflicting statements reveal political overreach, not fact-based decisions.”
The stark dissonance in these policies is troubling. How can Myanmar be “safe enough to return to” on Nov. 25, yet be considered so dangerous by Dec. 2 that all immigrants from the past five years require re-evaluation? Such conflicting statements reveal political overreach, not fact-based decisions. Our Burmese and other immigrant communities are suffering because of the prejudices of others.
Advent also urges us to reflect on our current situation and find ways to wait faithfully and actively for the coming kingdom. We light one candle each week, gradually revealing the harsh realities of life. The painful realities of immigration challenges, war, abuse, systemic racism, generational poverty, economic uncertainty, climate change, Christian nationalism, destructive partisanship and sexism reveal that things are not as they should be.
This honesty is vital to our vigilance. Only when we face the world as it is can we live into the world God intends.
Such honesty leads us into hope-filled action.
Here are some actions churches, leaders and communities seeking to offer Advent hope to others can do:
Connect with Burmese congregations in your region. ABC Nebraska has 18 Burmese churches representing Kachin, Chin and Karen people. Many members have been here for more than 20 years. However, recently arrived asylum seekers, TPS recipients and others engaged in immigration and naturalization are now in danger of losing work authorization, driver’s licenses, medical coverage and legal protection. Reaching out to pastors and members can offer needed solidarity and community connections.
Engage with your local city, county and state governments to see if there are local resources to immigrants whose legal processes have been disrupted through no fault of their own. Encourage them to advocate for better treatment of local immigrant communities who contribute to the economy and social fabric of your community.
Contact your local congressional representative and senators. Ask them to request DHS correct its factual record. Ask them to rescind the TPS termination or shift to Deferred Enforced Departure status. Ask them to investigate how DHS reached its conclusions without evidence. Ask them to investigate the legality of the Dec. 2 statements. Urge them to consider H.R. 1689 (Haiti TPS Restoration Act) as a legislative model should TPS require reinstatement.
Sign and share two national petitions that already have been prepared and are circulating: Petition to Congress and petition to the president to extend TPS for Burmese refugees. LINK
Advent invites us to live in the tension between what is and what is yet to be. It invites us to see the brokenness the kingdom of God seeks to heal clearly. Advent helps us name the injustices, while hoping for God’s kingdom on earth as in heaven. Advent calls us to act where we can, advocate where we must and trust that God’s new heaven and new earth will make all things right.
Advent requires awkwardly waiting for God’s promised future. Our Baptist distinctives compel us to stand with our Burmese and other immigrant communities. Our long history with Burma and our Baptist heritage bind us. Our Advent hope gives us the courage to remain vigilant. This hope helps us to know what Advent knows, that a light shines in the darkness and has not overcome it.
Greg Mamulasa serves as executive minister for the American Baptist Churches of Nebraska. He is the author of Table Life: An Invitation to Everyday Discipleship, exploring how shared meals can deepen community and spirituality. He hosts the “Mission in 5” podcast, discussing various facets of church life and ministry.
This article originally appeared in The Christian Citizen and is used her by permission.