A Living Hope

In a Nutshell: The resurrection of Jesus conquers our deadly despair, and leads us to a living Hope.

Delivered: March 30, 2008 at Wythe Presbyterian Church, Hampton, VA
Author: Susan H. “Suzy” Cothran, Pastor
Scripture: I Peter 1:3-9

I always enjoy the fortune in the cookie after eating Chinese, and I save the ones I like. A recent one said, “Your happiness is intertwined with your outlook on life.” Yes, I thought, that’s true. I added it to the crowded assortment of clippings I already had taped or “magnetted” to the refrigerator door.

If that is true – that our happiness is intertwined with our outlook on life, it seems clear that a HOPEFUL, POSITIVE outlook would be the healthy one to cultivate. I know many people who express hope in their lives:

• “I hope I pass this exam…”
• “I hope I get that job…”
• “I hope everything is well with you…”
• “I hope I don’t have cancer…”

And sometimes I express that same kind of hope. But upon even the slightest examination, it becomes obvious that these so-called expressions of “hope” are really nothing more than thinly disguised wishes.

Everyone NEEDS hope in their lives. The one who doesn’t have hope is the one who is in despair. Isn’t that a practical definition of depression – having a sense of hope-less-ness?

One of the first European explorers to round the southern tip of Africa came through during a terrible storm. The ship was nearly destroyed and the men feared for their lives. So he named the place Cape of Storms. But when Vasco de Gama arrived at the same place, he saw ahead of him the jewels and treasures of India. For de Gama and those who came after him, the place was the Cape of Good Hope. (Concordia’s Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations, #469)

To a large degree, whether the situation is bleak or hopeful is determined by the perspective we choose to take. Is the glass half-full or half-empty?

Someone wrote this to contrast the perspective of the person who is hopeful versus the one who is pessimistic: “In the hills of life there are two trails. One lies along the higher, sunlit fields – where those who travel see afar, and the light lingers long after the sun is down. And one lies along the lower ground – where those who journey look over their shoulders with eyes of dread, and gloomy shadows gather long before the day is done.” (Harold Bell Wright, The Treasure Chest, p. 137)

But to take the contrarian’s perspective on this last, doesn’t Psalm 23 have something to say about those times when we DO travel the dark valley…? “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

It is not only that we choose our perspective on life. At times, we may find ourselves in situations and circumstances that threaten to undo us. It is not always simply that we CHOOSE to walk in the valleys. Sometimes we discover to our great disappointment that the sunlit highway has been posted with “detour” signs!

The person who wrote The First Letter of Peter knew that Christians sometimes do undergo suffering which is unsought and undeserved. Admonishments to “Keep your sunny side up!” sound like so much fluff and nonsense to people when they’ve done their best and their best just isn’t good enough. The recipients of this letter were undergoing persecution, probably under Nero. If Christian hope was going to sustain them, it would have to be STRONG, STUBBORN hope, and not just wishful thinking. The author doesn’t try to shield them from the reality that they may have to face hard times. Rather, he tries to let them see that the hard times themselves can provide opportunities for God’s grace to be made known.

The writer uses a comparison taken from metal-working. Just as gold, that precious metal, is purified through fire, so is the Christian’s faith. The fire separates out what is false or impure in the gold. The purpose of the fire is to enhance, not to destroy. Likewise, the trials we undergo provide the opportunity for refinement of our faith. One by one, the false hopes fall away and pseudo-faith gives way to genuine faith in God.

St. Francis de Sales once wrote: “Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God – whose you are – will deliver you out of them. He is your keeper. He has kept you hitherto. Do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms. Do not look forward [in dread of] what may happen tomorrow. Our Father will either shield you from suffering, or he will give you strength to bear it.”

The hope of the Christian is a “living hope” based in the experience of Jesus Christ as resurrected from the dead. Christian hope has no need of “whistling in the dark,” pretending all is well when it isn’t. It is based in FAITH that God will provide ultimate protection for us, even when the uncertainties and trials of this life deal us their worst blows.

On one of my “less than great” days at seminary, a classmate tried to console me in my troubles by making reference to Psalm 69: “Save me, O God … the waters have come up to my neck…” In my distressed state, I challenged her: “Yeah, but SOME people drown!” I had expected the retort to silence her, but she just said quietly and certainly, “Yes, some people DO drown. But even then, God is with them, caring for them, and receiving his own into the arms of love.”

“Our father will either shield you from suffering, or He will give you the strength to bear it.” When suffering does not have a happy ending, when the illness does NOT end in life but death, the Christian hope is that this is NOT the end. There is more to life on the other side of the grave than we can comprehend.

Because of Jesus’ resurrection, Christians experience a LIVING hope.” It is a hope in the living Christ, not a dead Jesus, who lived once upon a time but is now gone except in our memories. Like “living” water which flows from a perpetual spring, “living hope” is that which doesn’t dry up in the heat. What God gives us through faith in Christ is hope for living – a living hope.