Hope in God’s Grace

I like westerns, movies and books. Of course I’ve always been a little bit of a cowboy. I like the action in westerns, and the simple story lines which usually involve a little guy going up against someone like a big greedy cattle baron, and then a hero stepping in to right the wrong, a sort of David and Goliath analogy. The language is often a lot of swagger. But, one of the main things I enjoy are the quips and quotes of simple cowboy philosophy, and sometimes theology that are spoken, and when you think about some of those quick statements there is sometimes a golden nugget there to pick up on to ponder.

One of my favorite westerns is Monte Walsh, the one with Tom Selleck playing the lead role. The story is about a time of change when the usefulness of the cowboy is being diminished by more modern ways of ranching, and managing range land. After a particularly hard winter that killed several cows while Monte and his partner, Chet, are assigned to a line shack in the mountains to watch over the herd, Monte and his partner find themselves being a couple of the few cowboys that the ranch is retaining for the next season. While they were in the line shack through the winter, a big corporation had bought the ranch, and were reducing the number of cowboys they would employ. It was an unsettling time for the cowboys. Their whole way of life was changing. When Monte and Chet agreed to the terms of employment, the range boss introduces them to the new foreman. Monte says, “How ya doing?”, and the foreman replies, “Better, now that I gave up hope.” There’s one of those nuggets I mentioned. It’s a cowboy way of saying, “If I don’t expect anything out of life, I won’t be disappointed.” The attitude tends to focus on just what’s here and now with little consideration of what lies ahead. Living without hope. It seems like a dreadful thought. A thought that is vanquished by the knowledge that we can trustfully hope in all that God has promised

This is the first Sunday of Advent, a season when we celebrate with anticipation the birth of our Savior. A season in which Christians yearn for God to join us in the form of Christ Jesus.

The scripture lesson this week may not at first seem to apply to this season, but if we consider it, we may find one of those nuggets of truth that points to our theme of hope today. From 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, the Apostle Paul writes:

The New Revised Standard Version Salutation

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6 just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

What we read here is a salutation of the first epistle or letter to the church in Corinth. It’s sort of like us writing to someone and saying, “Dear Friend, I have been thinking about you and thought I’d drop you a line or two. I hope this finds you well.” It is a typical method Paul used in his letters to the different churches to whom he wrote. Paul thanks God for the grace that God has given to them, as they wait for the revealing of Jesus Christ. The church in Corinth had grown large, and had gotten messy, with petty jealousies, greediness by the more well to do members, and dividing up according to status, or who the members thought they should follow, and declare as worthy of their loyalty. Paul told them they had abundant spiritual gifts of preaching, teaching, prophesying, speaking in tongues, and those who could interpret those utterings, so the church was not lacking in that way, and that Jesus would strengthen them for the day they would be called before our Lord. Paul was telling them of the hope they could have for the day Jesus would be revealed. And while Paul is specifically referring to Jesus being revealed in the end, Jesus was first revealed the Son of God at his birth. The Corinthians were waiting for the coming of Christ, we are anticipating with hope the birth of the Son of God.

What is hope as we read about it in scripture? Some may say that hope is a sort of wishful thinking. I hope I don’t get a speeding ticket, I hope I get a raise, I hope my children do better than I did, I hope my grandchildren come to see me. These indeed are types of hope. Hope for things that we are uncertain of in the future. Hope for peace in the world, hope for an end to poverty, hope for a cure for cancer. Hope for some things is sometimes accompanied by anxiousness, nervousness. Like a hope for a new job when we have lost one, hope that the money hits the bank before the check we wrote is cashed, hope that our child gets home safely when they begin driving. But, is this the type of hope that Paul describes, or that Jesus inspires? In Romans 8:24-25 Paul writes:

The New Revised Standard Version Future Glory

24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Christian hope is so much more than just wishful thinking. Christian hope involves a fervent desire, and confident expectation of God’s being with us through the Holy Spirit. Pope Francis has said that Christian hope is anticipating something that is already completed. It’s done. As we talked about last week concerning an attitude of gratitude, hope is also a state of being; an attitude of positive trust in something we are assured and absolutely confident is going to happen. Christian hope does have the future in focus. But, what we find is that when we are filled with hope, it changes how we act, and feel in the here and now.

Consider preparing to go on a trip and your travel plans include connecting flights that are not spaced out very much. You have to be at your final destination by a certain time because you have other plans for when you arrive, like catching a ship for a cruise that is scheduled to leave one hour after you land, and will leave with or without you. As you prepare for the trip you are anxious about whether your flights will each arrive on time. You’re nervous, and irritable, and packing feels hurried. If your first flight is delayed, it could mean missing your connecting flight, which could make you late for and possibly miss your ship. But as you’re preparing for the trip, you get a text on your phone that says, “Dear Mr. White, just letting you know that your flights are in progress and will be on time.” Just being assured that all is going as it is supposed to relaxes you, and you are able to more comfortably prepare for your trip. It is a similar thing with Christian hope.

But, you say, “Dan you just quoted Paul as saying that hope is not for things seen, but those things not seen.” And you would be correct. But, here is what the big point is. The promise of God is like that text on your phone assuring of what is going to happen. Christian hope is that we are so assured of what we know is going to happen in the future, that we anticipate it with ultimate confidence. This type of hope for things in the future effect how we act in the here and now.

As we have all experienced, bad things are going to happen in life. Some have the impact of knocking us down. And sometimes the hits just keep coming, and we begin to feel really down. But, if we maintain our hope in Jesus Christ, it can protect us from despair, cynicism, and resentment. I don’t know his last name, but I once heard an Episcopal priest named Father Matthew from an All Saints Church doing a homily on hope, and he said these things. “Despair crushes you, hope lifts you up. Cynicism corrodes you, hope rejuvenates. Resentment breaks down relationships, hope strengthens relationships. If we have hope does it mean we will never feel despair, or be a little cynical, or resent certain things? Of course not. But, with hope we can be protected from being overcome by them.”

Christian hope is based on the certainty of the promises of God. We can be certain because of what Jesus Christ has already done. God loves you, Jesus died for you, the Holy Spirit fills you, and the God of the universe holds you in the palm of God’s hand, assuring you that you will one day abide with him.

This is the hope we have as we anticipate the birth of Jesus in this season. Author and theologian, David Prior, wrote, “In giving us God’s son, God has given us all God has; he can give us no more; we have everything in Him.” The hope born to us is the assurance, the absolute confidence that God is with us, our Immanuel. Keep this with you, and rejoice in the birth of this eternal hope for mankind. Amen

Pastoral Prayer:

Our gracious and loving heavenly Lord, we thank you for gift of your son, Jesus Christ. Through him we have the hope of one day living in your mighty kingdom, abiding with you in all eternity. The hope that Jesus brings, frees us from the bonds of our existence in a world of uncertainty. In Jesus, the light at the end of the tunnel, becomes the light of heaven in our lives. Thank you, Lord, for your saving grace and your gift.

Dear God, we lift up today, those who are ill, those enduring pain, those anticipating test results, and those in recovery from surgeries. We trust that you will be with them in their times of need, and that they will feel your presence through the Holy Spirit.

Lord, we see a world that needs you. The problems we face seem almost insurmountable. But, we know that for you, nothing is impossible. Guide us and teach us how to come together in love, and unity. Help us to find kindness in ourselves, and a spirit of cooperation that will lead us to your answers.

Be with those, Lord, who are growing tired in the fight against the pandemic, those who care for the afflicted, and place their lives in jeopardy for us. Give them strength and patience, Lord, as they go about their appointed duties to save those they can save, and make comfortable those we eventually may lose to the virus. Remind us, dear God, to do our parts to reduce the spread of the disease that has ravished our country, and those around the world. We place our trust in you.

Also, dear God, we ask that you be with our school teachers, that they be encouraged, while they must adapt everyday to new circumstances in their efforts to impart knowledge to those who will one day be our leaders, and others who will do their parts in sustaining and supporting your creation. They give so much, Father, and we ask that you bless them in their efforts.

Be with this church, Lord, that its people stay safe, and help us to remember each other as the body of Christ in this season in which we anticipate and celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus. And in his name we pray. Amen

Communion:

After communion:

Benediction:

May you go with the everlasting hope that Christ brought to the earth, and be assured of God’s grace in your lives. Amen