FOREVER HOPEFUL
( A Sermon Synopsis by The Rev. Ernest R.
D. Smart)
Scriptural references: Psalm 130 and 1 Peter 1:3-9
St. Andrew’s Christian Community,
Sunday, September 23, 2007
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I heard last year that the newest
edition of Webster’s Dictionary contained over 40,000 new words. So may I ask which is your
favorite? No response? Then, which is your favorite word in all of
the English language?
It would not be difficult to draw up a
short list at least. At the top of my
list lies the word HOPE.
We use the word HOPE many times every
day in ordinary ways related to weather, appointments, vacations, etc. But what is HOPE?
At a deeper level many psychiatrists
and counselors will tell you that the number one problem in society today is
the lack of hope, leading to a sense of hopelessness and despair through
purposelessness and uncertainty. Indeed,
that is what the word “despair” means – without hope.
So this morning we ask about
hope. What is it? Where do I find it? How does it work?
We could turn to Omar Khayyam, of course,
to the familiar words:
The worldly hope men set
their hearts upon
Turns ashes – as it
prospers; and anon,
Like snow upon the
desert’s dusty face,
Lighting a little hour or
two – is gone.
Pretty depressing,
yes? Then we have something more
positive from the poet, Alexander Pope:
Hope springs eternal in
the human breast;
Man never is but always
to be blessed
With many other valiant and personal
attempts to describe HOPE, the true authority on HOPE is without doubt Holy
Scripture.
Hope runs like a connecting line
through every one of the 66 Books of the Bible.
Hope belongs to the world of practical spirituality. Hope is a gift from God. It was hope that kept the children of
The reward of such faithfulness is
joy.
Hope therefore should be seen and
understood as one of the three pillars of the Christian Faith – 1 Corinthians
13 – faith, hope, and love.
Let us grasp hold of the power and
energy of such hope. Many of you will be
familiar with the story of Corrie Ten Boom and the
accounting of her terrible experiences in a Nazi Concentration Camp during the
Second World War. It is hard for us to
imagine the desperate conditions of such camps – the filth, the starvation, the
disease, the harsh working conditions, the dehumanizing treatment by the S.S.
guards. Read her book again, “The Hiding
Place,” a reference to the secret place in her home where Jewish friends could
be hidden. Corrie
was arrested along with her aging father and younger sister, Betsie.
It was the message of God’s love found
in Holy Scripture which gave Corrie and her sister
the God-given gift of hope. Here was no
pious and vague hope but a driving energy which she shared with all the other
prisoners, in spite of their wretchedness.
Such hope from God is limitless.
Hundreds of other examples could be
given.
Hope, as a gift from God, is alive and
well today. Look at the story of Habitat
for Humanity, giving hope to thousands of people who yearn for a home of their
own. Or look at Shepherd’s Clinic,
giving hope to thousands of people who are good working people but cannot
afford even basic health care. HOPE is
also a major contribution to the world of healing for everyone. O that ALL might be relieved of their fears,
their anxieties, their sense of hopelessness, and not least their fear of
death. Hope is God’s gift to create a
deep-seated confidence in the future, starting with today and forever.
As a congregation, what is it that God
wants of St. Andrew’s? Like other
Christian communities which take their faith seriously and joyfully, we are
called upon to be PEOPLE OF HOPE. We
take God’s gift of hope and we live it.
We enjoy it and we share it with a world which is desperate to hear its
message.
Ultimately we find our hope in Jesus
Christ, the Hope of the World.
So let us, each and all, be forever
hopeful. We have good reason to be.