The Power of Hope

 

Text: Matthew 24:36-44

Focus: Hope

Function: First Sunday of Advent, Hope

³⁶“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so, too, will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Then two will be in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴²Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Good morning and welcome to Advent as we spend the next 4-5 Sunday’s celebrating and understanding the meaning of Christmas and the belief that God saw the struggling of humanity, clothed Himself in an human body, walked among us and showed to us, a different and a better way of living.

As we focus on advent, we focus on 4 constant themes to remind us of different parts of our spirituality that keeps us centered in the purposes to which God has called us.

Those themes are Hope, Peace, Love and Joy.

Today, the first Sunday in Advent, we focus on hope.

Our text to illustrate the need and power of hope comes from the apocalyptic teachings of Jesus where He predicts the destruction of Jerusalem.

It is a passage about being watchful and waiting. I guess one of the sins that we have to overcome is dissipation. Or specifically to this sermon, dissipation as Spiritual Laziness.

And to me, that is why the constant, year after year reminder of the same themes are important. They keep us focused on the most important things. Advent helps us focus on the love Jesus wants us to express for others.

We speak of the Christmas Spirit and celebrate a time when people stop the business of life to examine the importance of relationship and community as they give gifts and celebrate together.

We light lights to give to us a sense that the darkness can be overcome by light. It is a beautiful metaphor against the dark cold of winter. It gives to us a sense of security and warmth as we take time for the extravagance of decorating, meals, cards, gifts and worship services.

Without hope, it seems to me, that none of this is possible.

I suppose, in the context of Advent, that hope relates to us as faith. The passage that we looked at reminded us to have faith even when it seems like nothing spectacular is happening.

We have faith that the King of peace, who will bring justice to the oppressed, is indeed coming. And we don’t give up that hope.

To have hope in the coming of Jesus, to me, is to have hope in power of the Holy Spirit to transform me into someone who does not feel the need to pay back evil with evil, but like, Jesus can forgive those who have harmed me.

To have hope in the coming of Jesus, to me, is to have hope in humanity and Jesus’ purpose to transform society into a caring and nurturing environment instead of a dog eat dog environment where only the toughest thrive.

Jesus came that we might thrive. In another passage where Jesus speaks of the thief who tries to rob us from God’s blessings in our lives, He said, I come that they might have abundant life.

But hope and faith are different. Faith is trust. Hope is believing in the possibilities and searching for them in the way that we live our lives before God.

Believe in the possibilities. That is a powerful statement. When we look at the world as it actually is, we can lose hope.

It is a violent place. It is a jungle out there. It is an every person for themselves environment and Christ Jesus came along to help us see that there is a better way of comporting ourselves.

Our business practices, for example, I don’t believe, should be dog eat dog, but win win so that everyone prospers.

Hope leads us to being the kind of people who aid and and assist others because Jesus lived His life in a sacrificial way on behalf of others.

Hope helps us to overcome the despair that we can sometimes feel when the darkness seems to be closing in.

Hope is us lighting a candle in the darkness instead of cursing it. Hope is us not giving up despite what we see.

I remember the Sunday sermon that I preached 24 years ago after the Columbine massacre.

I stood up and assured the people that in the end, good will triumph and that we should not lose hope.

This has been another particularly shocking week. I am so tired of the mass shootings that we are experiencing. I don’t have anything to preach anymore about it. Back then, 24 years ago, I was an angry preacher and I vented the communities anger and outrage against the senseless loss of life. And now, it is commonplace. I need hope to overcome the despair that it causes. The passage reminds us to keep focusing on the coming of Christ no matter what we see in the world around us.

We, as people, need to find someone to blame. We blame mental illness. I lay partial blame on the NRA’s marketing campaign of fear and freedom that has kept us from limiting access to weapons from people who are not fit to carry them. We can blame the politicians for their gridlock on the situation when 80% of us want some sanity in our gun laws. And then there is the frustration with access to mental health for these people. The list of blame can go on and on.

But the problem with blame is that it merely leads us to anger and frustration. For me, it leads me away from hope.

Let me beg a line from my favorite Christmas hymn, O Holy Night. “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new an glorious morn…”

I love the imagery, the thrill of hope. Beyond faith, or trust, there is an emotion aspect to hope.

Hope is less of a cognitive decision as it is a feeling. So, the author uses the term, the thrill of hope.

But it is also a cognitive decision. I believe that it is something that we allow to happen.

I have been taking the time to speak with the homeless on the street corners when the traffic lights are long enough.

I make sure I look them in the eye, ask them how their day is going and try to give them the dignity of being human. Instead of a condescending look of derision as I give them a dollar, it is important to lift up their spirits and give to them a sense a worth.

That is another line from the hymn, O Holy Night.
“And the soul felt its worth.”

Sometimes you can see a spark of hope in their eyes as someone else treats them like they have worth. We, brothers and sisters, are Jesus in this world today and it is up to us to share the good news with everyone we meet. I don’t mean preach at them, but I do mean love them as much as you love yourself. Even the homeless.

Our text today leads us to ponder the meaning of the coming of Jesus. It very much leads us to allow ourselves to have hope for the future and spread that hope in any way we can.