Jeremiah 33:14-16; Luke 21:25-36
Hope changes the world.
Hope is a terrific energy … positive and empowering … hopeful people change their world … that world may be as large as India and the hope as powerful as Gandhi’s vision of a nation free of British control.
That world may be as large as the Berlin Wall, and the hope may be as powerful as a message, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!
That world may be as large as South Africa and the hope may be as powerful as Nelson Mandela’s dream of a people, white and black, freed from Apartheid.
That world may be as small as your home and the hope as powerful as a love that will not give up on a loved one who’s lost her way …
That world might be where you work … and the hope as powerful as a dream for fair wages and decent benefits …
That world might be where you worship … and the hope as powerful as a dream to go Nicaragua … or to craft an a new worship service the whole family can attend, including dogs!
Hope changes the world.
Hope is a terrific energy.
Today …
Light one candle for hope.
One candle?
How about a million?
Maybe a billion?
All over the world today, Christians are about the good work of hope …
Hope is energizing.
Hope is powerful.
Hope is always real.
No matter how daunting the challenge,
No matter how great the crisis,
No matter how serious the problem!
Hope sees light when darkness abounds.
Hope believes when vision fails.
Hope stands firm when fear stalks the soul.
Hope is a theological category.
A spiritual energy.
Hope is a God-thing!
Because God is about the big picture … the long haul … the whole shebang … the Alpha and the Omega!
And you and I have a chance go be a part of that … to live the power of hope for a world that’s gets stuck in a short-term panic … God stabilizes us, steadies us – lest we become frantic day-traders, buying and selling our lives, moment-by-moment … to live in the moment is to live unpredictably … to live in God is to live in hope!
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I’ve made.
There will be a time when justice prevails and righteousness abounds … when the people will be safe and sound.
So don’t give up! says God!
Never give up, because the days are surely coming!
But hope is never a cakewalk.
Just this weekend, the world’s financial markets are taking another big hit as Dubai stands on the verge of loan default – tens of billions of borrowed dollars and every other currency – to build lavishly in Dubai and all around the world, including the new City Center in Las Vegas … but declining oil revenues and a world recession threatens Dubai’s financial stability.
First, it was the mortgage industry.
Then the banking industry.
What did Jeremiah say? Distress among the nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
But crisis is a chance to hear God all over again!
When we’ve got the world by the tail, we tend to listen to ourselves and pat ourselves on the back.
But when things change, the sea roars, and things get crazy, we have a chance to listen to God!
In the midst of the financial upheaval, is God asking us some questions?
Have we lived over the top?
Have the nations of the world entangled themselves in a web of exotic financial transactions?
Have we lived beyond our means?
Have we put too many of our eggs in the wrong basket?
Lavish rather than loving?
Expensive rather than essential?
Impressive rather than modest?
Big instead of better?
Did we ignore the warning signs?
Did we put on blinders and keep on spending?
Did we forget the essentials?
Were we content to have our business leaders and politicians tickle our ears and promise us the moon? And no one will ever have to pay for it?
Where was the church in all of this the last 50 years?
Were churches too busy building their own empires to take notice of what was happening?
Were too many Christians scrambling to get to the top of the heap?
Did we turn Jesus into a formula for success?
Did we forget the essentials of life and family and faith?
Maybe we did.
And maybe God is helping us correct the course of the times.
Maybe God is helping us reconnect to what endures.
Maybe God is helping us find real hope again!
Jesus dares to say:
When it’s dark, look for the light.
When fear rises up, look for your redemption.
When things get crazy, stand up, says Jesus, and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!
Jesus tells a parable … a simple image of trees … when trees sprout leaves, you know it’s summer … simple and basic … when things seem crazy, the kingdom of God is near.
And then Jesus cuts to the chase …
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
That’s about as powerful as you can get.
What endures? What lasts? What stands the test of time?
The Word of Christ:
Love God with all of your heart, soul and strength and mind; love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Love one another as I have loved you.
There is no greater love than this: but to lay down one’s life for another.
Jesus invites us to put our money on the winning horse!
To set our sail to catch the wind of the Holy Spirit.
To anchor our life in the essentials!
As of late, we’ve all learned a little bit about essentials.
What counts and what doesn’t.
What’s real and what isn’t.
Pollsters are finding an unexpected happiness emerging in these hard times …
Families can no longer afford a fast and furious life style, so they’re spending more time together at home, around the dinner table. Folks are cooking more and eating out less; folks are playing games together, going for walks, and reading books; folks are wearing last year’s clothing, and guess what, the world hasn’t come to an end!
Families are discovering the joy of being families.
Rediscovering simpler pleasures and the smaller things of life.
A principle call SEA … S E A … Savor, Enjoy and Appreciate good things.
Jesus adds: Be on guard!
Why?
Because threats are real!
Dear friends, Islamic terrorists are real, but they’re not a threat to America.
Terrorists might blow up a building, but that’s all they can do.
Terrorists might take 3000 lives in a heartbeat, and that’s a terrible thing, but every day, 115 Americans die in auto accidents. That’s nearly 50,000 a year.
Every year, 32,000 Americans are killed in gun violence.
It’s estimated that 18,000 Americans die every year because they are uninsured and can’t get proper health care.
The real threats are never “out there somewhere.”
The threats are within.
The lack of moral courage.
The loss of compassion.
A shrunken social vision.
Impatience and greed.
Anger and envy.
Pride and jealousy.
Desire and ill-will.
These are the real threats to life.
Spiritual threats are far more dangerous to the world than a terrorist with a gun!
Sure, let’s be vigilant, and let’s do what we can to ease the world of terrorism … but let’s keep our sanity, and let’s keep our balance … shut your ears to the peddlers of fear and tune your heart to the purveyors of hope!
Two recent films portray the end of the world … if you wanna see spectacular special effects, go see “2012” – as the story goes, unusually intense solar flares bombard the earth with neutrons, heating up the earth’s core like a microwave oven, destabilizing the earth’s crust – the continents begin to slide around … you can watch the world come to an end … Randy’s giant donut rolling down the street, while LA slides off the continent into the ocean … Washington D.C. swept away in a tidal wave and the whole world engulfed … the story asks: when the chips are down, how will we behave?
The second film:
“The Road” tells a post-apocalyptic tale of father and son in a brutal world where starving gangs have turned to cannibalism.
The little boy says to the Dad, We’re the good guys, aren’t we?
Dad says, Yes we are, because we carry the fire, here, in our hearts.
Will we ever eat people? the little boy asks.
Never, says the father.
When the chips are down, to behave spiritually … when the chips are down, to give ourselves to great causes and heroic measures …
We’re the good guys, aren’t we?
Because we have the fire, right here, the fire of God’s love, the fire of Christ, the fire of hope!
And we don’t eat people.
What a metaphor of the world … eating one another … the powerful eat the weak; the overlords eat the slaves;; big nations devour little nations … predator gangs prey upon widows and shop-keepers … slavery in our world as never before; the horrors of the international sex trade … conglomerates eat up the competition; industrial farms gobble up the family farm.
And on the most basic levels of life:
Christians devour one another in heated debates and fierce battles about doctrine and dogma, who’s in and who’s out, and how the world was created. After feasting on one another, we wipe our mouths with the napkin of prayer and turn to God and sing, “How Great Thou Art!” and get all teary-eyed!
Christians can get real hateful with one another … say nasty things; write terrible emails; get uppity and snotty … refuse to forgive; never turn the other cheek; nurse a grudge and find fault with glee!
We eat one another regularly!
Or as Paul says: The whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another [Galatians 5:14-15].
So be on your guard, says Jesus.
Don’t ever waste a moment in hopeless living!
Look for the open door,
Search for the opportunity,
Seek out a chance to bless someone’s life.
Christian brothers and sisters, search your heart and if you find any anger in it, get rid of it … any pride, junk it … negativity and the spirit of complaint, kick it out … any bitterness, chase it away it … a long-held grudge, give it to Christ … and if you’ve hurt someone, go to them and work it out … hug a friend and tell them how great they are; put a smile on someone’s face today; plant the seed of hope everywhere you go.
Hope makes the difference!
Our hope in Christ.
Today, light one candle for hope!
Light a million candles for hope!
Hope changes the world!
Amen and Amen!
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