An Altogether Hope

An Altogether Hope 1 Peter 1:3-4 Hope was an important part of my childhood. My parents got divorced when I was still a baby, and I never really knew my dad. But my mom raised me in my grandparent's house, which I'm very thankful for. Since my dad wasn't around, my grandpa became my father figure. But right before my 11th B-Day, he died. I was crying at his funeral, and I'll never forget what my grandma said to me. She saw me crying, hugged me, and said, "Do you know why you're crying? It's because you loved him." I'll never forget those words, and it was the words I kept thinking of a few years ago at my grandma's funeral. Those words have touched me deeply for over two decades, and I've continually found hope in love. After my grandpa passed, my Uncle Bob became a father to me, and he still is to this day. He taught me fatherly things, the importance of saving money, going to school, and even how to fish. It was my Uncle Bob who also got me into racing. He tired the Boy Scouts first, which didn't stick, but racing sure did. He spent every weekend with me, going racing. I loved racing, and no matter how hard a week I was having, I always had hope for Saturday nights when I got to race! For years, we went every week until one Saturday, my Uncle called me and told me we couldn't go because he was sick with the stomach flu. I was disappointed, and he knew it. But an hour later, to my surprise, who was knocking at the door? My Uncle Bob. My sadness made him cry because he loved me, and even sick on his stomach, he drove through town and was willing to take me racing. It was then that I realized just how selfish I actually was. I had an Almost Hope because my hope was in the wrong place; it was focused on me. Likewise, Advent has always been a special time for me. Growing up in my grandparent's home, we always decorated for Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend. My mom would get out all the Christmas boxes, and together we would decorate the house. That tradition still lives on today now that I have a family of my own. Every Thanksgiving weekend, out come the boxes, and up goes the tree. I've always had hope in this time of year, but as I get older and watch my own kids hang ornaments, I've come to realize that my hope is not just in traditions. While traditions and family memories bring those warm fuzzy feelings, my hope is now in the One who made this season possible in the first place, Jesus Christ. An Almost Hope is solely looking inward at yourself, but An Altogether Hope is looking outward, widening your view and seeing that you are part of God's family. An Altogether Hope means stretching yourself as a Christian and seeking to serve the well-being of others. It's not just your family, but the world, and since you're in the world, then you ought to seek God's guidance and show the gift of hope in Christ to a world that desperately needs it. I cry as I watch my family, and the world, as I remember my grandma's words, "Do you know why you're crying? It's because you love them." Hope through traditions. Hope through memories. Hope in sorrow. Hope in joy. Hope through tears. And through these years and tears, my hope has shifted from myself to others, and the meaning of Christmas has changed from what a person gets to what a person gives. It's not the big moments of racing on Saturday nights or pulling down box after box of Christmas decorations. It's the simple moments of watching my loved ones. It's sitting outside and admiring God's creation. It's the simple things that are breathtaking. The simple things that brings tears to our eyes. The simple things that our hope is centered around. You might want a really big present for Christmas, but in all truth, what's wanted more is not the gift, but the simple hope of the one who remembered to give you a gift. God remembered you and gave you His biggest gift of all, His only Son, Jesus Christ. God is there through your sorrow and your joy. And as so many of us have learned, it's the simple things that mean the most. Christianity is a simple faith. Love God, love your neighbor, and confess Christ as Savior. It's not about doing more good deeds than bad ones. It's not about saying certain things or at certain times. It's not placing all the effort solely upon yourself to do things to become right with God because "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). An Altogether Hope means accepting struggle, resting on God, and looking forward to the well-being of others. In a world where we see poverty, hunger, disease, and destruction, people long for hope. But An Altogether Hope is not wishful thinking. The Greek word for Hope is Elpis, which means a "confident expectation," not wishful thinking. Biblical hope is the expectation and belief in the fulfillment of God's promises. Hope is what God will do in the future, and for Advent, we look to what God has done in the past, so we have confident hope in the future. Hope is not blind because the proof of God surrounds us. Advent allows us to see God acting for our future by looking into the past as our Savior was born. In a simple manger, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, was born. Christians have a "living hope" (1 Peter 1:3), and our faith is not blind because our hope is seen through God's promises being fulfilled in Jesus Christ! An Almost Hope is selfishly looking only at yourself and wishfully thinking that things could be different. As the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:19, "If we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world." Christianity is simple, but living as a Christian, not so much. Christians have a long history of being persecuted. But remember what Jesus said in John 16:33, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." "Take heart!" because An Altogether Hope looks beyond your surroundings and troubles to a "living hope" in "Christ Jesus who came into this world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15). This "living hope" in Christ Jesus lives inside every believer through the Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit living within you, you become an Agent of Advent in sharing Christ's hope to the world. Another Agent of Advent who lived a life of sharing hope was John Wesley. In England, John Wesley was a hope-bearer to the oppressed. He witnessed pain and poverty, but instead of going to the king or queen, Wesley directly went to those in need because An Altogether Hope meets people where they are. Wesley didn't complain, talk a big game, voice his opinion about what should be done, then sit back and grumble. He also didn't wait for people to come to a church building. He did what God commands us to do; be the church and bring hope to the people by sharing Christ. It's like how God told the world, "I'm going to come to you! And here I Am," said Jesus. It's not about showing up to a beautiful church, wearing your Sunday best, or carrying a covered dish. The people Wesley was trying to reach were just trying to survive, so he carried his cross and delivered hope to them. That's the difference between an Almost Hope and An Altogether Hope: One stands at a distance watching and talking while the other persistently pursues. One offers common cliches while the other goes to the hopeless and offers light in the darkness. The poor might not have transportation to Church. They might feel embarrassed because they don't have the fancy clothes they falsely think they needed nor the money to bring a covered dish. That's one reason why God tells us to "Go!" If you want to know what hope looks like close up, then look into a mirror, because we carry it with us! It can be the hardest, yet the simplest thing you do, to just "Go." Not to complain. Not to wishfully think something was different. Not to be a verbal villain and bad mouth people. Not to Almost Hope someone else will do the work. But simply to "Go." The hope of Christ moves through us so it can be born again every day of the week, not just on Sunday. An Altogether Hope is not easy, and sometimes you may be tempted to just stay at home because the task seems overwhelming. But listen to today's Scripture, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." God brings a "living hope" to all of His children, no matter where they are. When God breathes new life and hope into you, it's not something that people are just told about; it's something they should actually see! Dorothy Day is a great example of what hope seen in everyday life looks like. She was not perfect, but she was bold in her faith and walked alongside the marginalized and provided hope. Dorothy Day writes, "Young people say, 'What good can one person do? What is the sense of our small effort?' They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time; we can be responsible only for the one action of the present moment. But we can beg for an increase of love in our hearts that will vitalize and transform all our individual actions, and know that God will take them and multiply them, as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes." What a great attitude of hope! The challenges in life can create a space for hope to become visible, and once you've experienced it, nothing can ever take its place. Hope doesn't hold onto comfort. Hope comes when we have little or nothing to hold onto, even if it's only five loaves and two small fish. Think of the Christmas story. I can't imagine that Mary and Joseph felt comfortable while on their journey to Bethlehem. Have you ever met a pregnant woman who wanted to ride 90 miles on a donkey or be the man who had to walk, pulling them along? I doubt it. Not long after Jesus' birth, Mary and Joseph traveled to Jerusalem to present Jesus in the Temple for the required purification rights that Jewish law demanded. Here they were, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus at the center of money and power, but who had none themselves. Advent reminds us that hope was coming for all people, including those who have no money or power. And just to make a point, God sent this message to and through people who also had neither money nor power. Mary and Joseph didn't have much, yet they brought Jesus into the world. It was the common shepherds who first heard the news of Christ's birth, not the rich and powerful. It wasn't King Herod who welcomed Christ's birth; it was the foreign magi who embraced the Hope who had been born Immanuel. People back then were used to listening to Kings or Roman Officials for big news. But now, people are listening to foreigners and scruffy shepherds. The same thing happens today, doesn't it? People are quick to listen to the President, a Governor, or those who are well-educated and highly-trained. But what would happen if, instead, people were quick in listening to pastors, preachers, and those Christians whose salvation story is forever upon their lips because of the transforming and life-giving hope they've found in Christ Jesus? Hope, not wishful thinking, breaks into the unexpected places where people often can't afford much. When you're comfortable, can you hear an angel's voice? Or God's? But when somebody is in some form of pain, they seem to hear and see much more easily. Pain can lead to hope because it requires hope. What else can sustain you when life gets hard? This has been true for me, at least, because if I were still working at some of my old jobs, I never would have seen or heard God as I do now as a pastor. God specializes in taking our alleged weaknesses and uses them as our strength. I've never really minded being in front of people, but I have found throughout life that nobody respects or listens to me. For some reason, my biggest weaknesses have been leading and speaking so people can learn. When God called me to become a pastor, I felt the burning desire, but in the back of my mind I was like, "Ya right! I'm not a natural leader, and people never listen to me no matter how much I talk." But God took that preconceived weakness of mine, used His strength, and made me a pastor for His glory. And now, whether people are listening to me or not, I'm always speaking to a full church, because all of heaven is listening. Realize that An Altogether Hope doesn't require you to put on your Sunday best. Hope, not wishful thinking, comes when you let yourself be real. Allow God to strengthen your weaknesses, and He will handle the rest. John Wesley was an Agent of Hope who wouldn't take no for an answer from the church. And when the church didn't agree with him and wouldn't let him speak, he went somewhere else where people would listen. Even from a graveyard, Wesley preached life while standing atop his father's grave. Wesley remained real, and he didn't let power or his status quo get in his way because his hope was in God. Wesley birthed a movement that continues today. Even though the Church of England was corrupt, hope came when Wesley and a few others were unwilling to stay silent. Instead of simply saying the words, "Thy kingdom come," Wesley was filled with hope and allowed God to use him. Wesley went to where the people were because then, like now, we must be willing to "Go" and show up even in the strangest of places. After all, that's where God goes. Showing up in that way is An Altogether Hope seen in action. That's where Jesus was born, the King of Kings, born in an Inn. 2000 years ago, Hope arrived as a baby. Hope was laid in a manger - literally a feeding trough - a sign that the generations to come could feed on this "living hope." Immanuel showed up in the last place anybody would choose to give birth, showing us that there is no place beyond Hope's reach. Like the shepherds, the magi, the apostles, and disciples, hope travels. It first came to me as a child. It was fostered through my relationships along the way. Today, my hope has traveled to anyone who hears me preach. And I pray that this hope continues to travel outward, from you to others, growing from an Almost Hope to An Altogether Hope. My grandma spent years crocheting. She crocheted an afghan for everyone in the family and gave literally hundreds away to those who needed a warm blanket, children, the poor, the homeless, and the elderly. Sometimes I would watch her fast hands crochet without even looking, and I was always amazed at how she could take different colors of yarn and make them into a beautiful afghan. As each color was added, it contributed to the beauty of the whole afghan. But what would happen if nobody was willing to "Go?" To go to the strange places and stand on a grave to preach the kingdom of God and the "living hope" we have in Jesus Christ? I know that I can't end poverty by myself, but I can follow Christ, let "His kingdom come" through me, and at least add another color to the afghan. When we all do our part, the afghan takes shape, but the Afghan is not complete without each person. Your story can give hope, so share it! So, what if all the pieces of our lives were sewn together? Would we see common threads of hope? Would your pieces teach me something about God, and vice-a-versa? By seeing the common threads, would we, as followers of Christ, experience An Altogether Hope? Not an Almost Hope with a narrow focus, but An Altogether Hope with a wide focus that goes beyond your circumstances and surroundings, and as verse 4 says, "into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you." A hope that goes beyond this world, this life, and this day. So, if you long for more or find yourself shedding a tear, "Do you know why you are crying? It's because you love them." What, or who, do you love? Where is your hope? I pray your hope is established in love and founded upon the mercy of Christ and His glorious resurrection. O Come All Ye Faithful, to An Altogether Hope. To a "living hope." AMEN 2