Evening of Advent 4B

Hope

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

A man approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, "Eighteen to nothing--we're behind." 

"Boy," said the spectator, "I'll bet you're discouraged." 

"Why should I be discouraged?" replied the little boy. "We haven't even gotten up to bat yet!" [http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/h/hope.htm]

I think we could all learn a thing or two about hope from that young ballplayer...

And that’s what this 4th Sunday in Advent is about: hope. But let’s not forget how we’ve gotten here. The first week, we talked about NEED - our need for a Savior. Then in the 2nd week, we heard about PROMISE - God’s promise to rescue us from our fate and save us by providing the ultimate sacrifice - His own Son. In the 3rd week - last week - we heard about FULFILLMENT…the fulfillment of God’s Promise to us, and the sure knowledge that God is trustworthy, and that He always fulfills His Promises.

So that brings us to this week - the close of the Advent season: HOPE. So what is Hope? It’s a trusting expectation that something good will happen, right? We trust in *something* when we have hope. “I hope I pick the right numbers for the big Lotto jackpot,” right? Where is your hope in that situation? Luck, more than anything. Or maybe “I hope I do well on the test today” - that one might involve a little more divine intervention than luck…but probably some of both.

Hope for a Christian, though, is different. It’s different because our hope comes from Jesus Christ. It’s not “cross your fingers” hope. This is hope based on the trustworthiness of God…the faithfulness of God…the God who always remembers and keeps His Promises to His people. The God who over and over again in Scripture makes sure His Promises are kept.

The lessons we heard tonight begin with Malachi - that prophet we find at the very end of the Old Testament. His is the last book before we get into the story of the Savior. In this passage, the prophet tells us that God has written down the names of His Faithful people and has heard their cries, and He will be merciful to those who fear Him - the righteous. And the righteous have something the wicked do not: the righteous have hope. They know that the Lord will show mercy to them.

In the very short section from Psalm 118:17-18, we also see that the Psalmist has hope in God. Even in the worst of times (“The Lord has disciplined me severely”) this writer knows that God is gracious and merciful, and that in the end, God’s love for him will ensure that death will not win. The Psalmist has hope.

In Acts chapter 1, Jesus speaks to his disciples one last time before his ascension to heaven. He tells them that they are going to receive power from the Holy Spirit, and with that power they will go out into the world and be Christ’s witnesses. They will continue the work that had begun in Jesus, and His Church will grow and build using their own hands, feet, and mouths. The future is promising for these chosen ones and for the world they will bless with their work. There is hope that is about to spread, and will continue spreading until Christ’s return, as described by the 2 angels.

The gospel lesson from Luke chapter 21 tells us about how Jesus will return. When He does, the whole planet will know that He has come back…there will be signs everywhere that it has happened. In His return, Jesus will gather His church - those who believe in Him - for them to realize the promise He made to them: that they would be saved for all eternity. Their redemption is made possible in Him. In His return, it becomes reality. The promise of God is fulfilled, for ever and ever.

These verses we’ve shared tonight are just a few of the many examples of God’s Word that give us hope, that show us why we can have hope, that help us to remember where our hope comes from. God has made promises to us, and we can see that His promises are always fulfilled; God always keeps His Word.

In a dark year like 2020 has been, this gives me great comfort. When everything around us is telling us to be afraid: be afraid of that other political party, be afraid of that candidate because he’s going to ruin the country, be afraid of these extremist groups who are destroying our cities and burning our businesses to the ground, be afraid of this virus… every news channel, every social media platform… it’s all been about fear for the last 9 months. If I listened to all of it, I’d never leave my house. I’d just be afraid, constantly.

But that’s not who God made us to be. That’s not how we live our lives as children of the Most High God. That’s how someone who has no real hope would live. We have a God Who gives us hope. We have a God who always keeps His promises, and who has ensured eternity for us. We have a God who tells us over and over again: “do not be afraid”. So instead of being “people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming into the world,” let us instead “straighten up and raise our heads,” because we know our redemption is secure. Let us live in faith and hope, because God has given us something to hope for. Let’s look forward to the arrival of the Christ, the Savior who *is* our hope.

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.