Hope (Advent)

Hope seems to be this thing that many people long for. Without hope people give up. The lack of hope makes people depressed, removes them from joy, it causes them to completely remove themselves from others. Hope is a powerful thing, it can be the very thing that keeps someone sane during an intense situation. In fact, hope is an ever-present theme in many modern movies.

“The first night’s the toughest, no doubt about it. They march you in naked as the day you were born, skin burning and half blind from that delousing s__t they throw on you, and when they put you in that cell… and those bars slam home…that’s when you know it’s for real. A whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it.”

“I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don’t want to know. Some things are better left unsaid. I’d like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can’t expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a grey place dares to dream. It was as if some beautiful bird had flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.”

“I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don’t want to know. Some things are better left unsaid. I’d like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can’t express in words, and it makes your heartache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was as if some beautiful bird had flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.”

“Here’s where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don’t forget. Forget that there are places in the world that aren’t made out of stone. That there’s a – there’s a – there’s something inside that’s yours, that they can’t touch.”

“Dear Red. If you’re reading this, you’ve gotten out. And if you’ve come this far, maybe you’re willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, don’t you? I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I’ll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready. Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well. Your friend. Andy.”

“I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain…I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”

When I look around today, what I see isn’t hope.

There are continued news stories of shootings at schools and concerts, constant political bickering that breaks up friendships and families, a theme of violence in music and television, drugs and violence running rampant in the streets and in our homes. Even though we all crave hope, we desire to have it, we are filled with everything but hope.

I think that many people would use “hopeless” as an adjective instead of “hopeful.”

Are we hopeless?

Is there absolutely no hope left in this world? Are we doomed to be surrounded by pain, agony, and harshness for the rest of eternity?

I argue no.

It seems that we are asleep. We are spiritually asleep. Harshness, crudeness, violence, pain, agony…it prevails the very things we call entertainment and then we wonder why things seem to be so twisted. I’m not suggesting that violent video games create violent people, but I’m certainly not saying that violent movies make someone Mother Teresa.

When I was substitute teaching I would often play music for the students, if they behaved. I remember getting on Spotify and trying to make a playlist of songs that would be appropriate for the students to listen to in school, while also trying to make sure it was music they would enjoy.

I went into the Top 40 chart for America and every single song except for 3 had “explicit” written next to it. These songs weren’t only explicit because of swear words but the messages they were sending. Dehumanizing women, promoting promiscuity, violence, outrage, drug use, greed… the list is endless.

The things that we have put into ourselves, whether through books, movies, video games, tv shows, Facebook articles, the news…it seems to be putting into a spiritual sleep where everything seems hopeless.

However, Paul says in that we need to “wake from sleep.” We need to find time to step away from these distractions, these things that put us asleep, and spiritually wake up! The men’s group just recently read “The Theft of America’s Soul” by Phil Robertson and I’m going to paraphrase one of the best things he said in the book, “You can’t sin, you can’t be evil when you are out in the woods with no distractions and God’s Word.”

Paul tells us to wake up. Phil tells us to wake up. I tell you, and myself, that we need to wake up. When we are able to wake up, to step away from all of the brokenness in this world, when we remove those distractions and focus on God, we see that there is and will always be hope!

When we do this we see that there is indeed Hope!

We have hope.

That hope comes from Jesus Christ.

Paul reminds the Romans that salvation is nearer now than when they first became believers. He is saying that with every painstaking second that goes by, salvation is one-second closer. Maybe that’s just the hope we need, salvation through Jesus Christ.

I know that when I am having a rough day I sometimes search and search and search for something to make me happy. I’ll eat my favorite junk food, try to read something funny, watch a television show…nothing works. At the end of the day, I still feel a bit hopeless and down.

However, when I am suffering, or having a rough time, or struggling, and I rely on the hope that is given to me through Jesus Christ, I find relief. I find hope. The current situation doesn’t seem to be the end, for each second that passes is one closer to salvation.

Our source of hope needs to be Jesus. It needs to come from our remembering of the fact that Jesus Christ was born the Son of God, lived a holy life filled with ministry and goodness, He died and took on the burden of our sins, he rose from the dead and conquered death, and he ascended into heaven. That gives me hope.

It gives me hope when I see pain in this world, when I experience pain, when I hear the word “hopeless.”

I am never hopeless. No situation will ever make me hopeless. Sad, sure. In pain, I bet. But hopeless? Never.

Christ’s death assures me that there will always be hope. I can find comfort and hope in salvation.

During this season of Advent, we not only prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ but that He will be coming again. That one day He will represent us in front of God and allow us entry into the Heavenly Kingdom.

Today’s advent theme of Hope is something that we must all hold onto. When we feel lost, broken, beaten…there is hope in Jesus Christ. Remind yourselves of that. Every. Single. Day. “I have hope because of Jesus.”

No person will bring you hope like Jesus.

No substance will bring you hope like Jesus.

No relationship will bring you hope like Jesus.

No movie, television show, or music will bring you hope like Jesus.

Stope searching for hope in all the wrong places, and find it in Christ, daily.

And, when you come across someone who seems to be “hopeless,” remind them that there is no such thing. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we are never hopeless.

Take this season of Advent to be hopeful.

Hopeful in our faith in Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Hope (Advent)

Intro