Year A
Advent 2 2016
Text: Romans
15:4-13 – The God of all hope
Of all
the qualities that Paul could have assigned to God it's interesting that he
refers to God as a God of hope.
We
live in a world where hope is sought after so badly in so many ways because
people want to be sure about their future
Knowing
that their future is secure gives them hope for the future.
I read
in the news last week about a 14 year old girl diagnosed with terminal cancer.
She
requested that her body be frozen in a process called cryogenics which will
maintain her body until science discovers a cure for her cancer and be able to
give her the rest of her life back.
What I
find sad about this story is that the God of hope doesn't just offer her her
life back again but a life that has no end.
Even
if science was able to give her back the rest of her life sometime in the
future, like Jesus did for Lazarus and Jairus's daughter, like Lazarus and
Jairus's daughter she would have to face the reality of death again.
The
God of Hope however offers her a life where there is no more suffering or
death, no more crying or mourning.
The
world seeks hope, whether it be by hoping to win the lottery, hoping to own
your own home, hoping to retire with a nice amount of superannuation,
the
world sells hope to us but it is a hope that is never guaranteed.
Something
can always go wrong.
Christian
hope is different because of the one through whom hope comes.
Christian
hope comes from the God of hope and therefore whatever God promises will
eventuate.
Paul
links hope with joy and peace when he says:
May
the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace.
Having
just spent 2 weeks on holidays cruising around New Zealand there was a lot of
joy.
Time
away from the hustle and bustle of work – the joy of touring around and seeing
a different part of the world – the joy of being on a cruise ship with fine
dining and just being able to sit back and relax.
But
like all holidays they come to an end and then the joy is only a memory.
Like
Christian hope, Christian joy is different to the joy that the world gives.
The
world gives physical joy but that joy is temporary.
The
worldly joy is more linked with happiness.
Christian
joy is different because it is not based on physical joy or happiness but a joy
that comes from our Christian hope knowing that our life is on a journey
towards heaven.
So
even when a Christian is going through a time of difficulty and sadness, joy
can still be a reality.
And no
matter what life experience we are going through, even the most trying of
circumstances, we can experience Christian joy even if there is no sign of
physical joy.
I have
seen Christian joy in the faces of those I have sat at their side on their
deathbed.
There
is no more physical joy for them but their lives are filled with Christian joy
knowing that they will soon be in the loving arms of God.
And
that Christian joy can only come from their Christian hope which is given to
them by the God of hope – the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul
in fact says – suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character
and character produces hope – and hope does not disappoint us. (Romans 5:3).
And
through that hope Paul says we rejoice in our sufferings!
Can
you imagine the world telling us to rejoice in our sufferings?
And it
is that joy and hope that gives us something else that the world cannot give –
Christian peace.
As
Jesus once said – I give you a peace the world cannot give. (John 14:27)
As St
Paul said – the peace of God that goes beyond all understanding. (Philippians
4:7)
It is
a peace that comes knowing that whatever circumstances we are going through
there is that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel – and that light is
Jesus Christ, the light of the world.
There
is nothing in this life that can give you the hope that Christian hope gives to
us.
However,
because of our human nature we keep looking for hope in the wrong places.
We
keep going back to the physical hope that the world gives.
We
look at our possessions, our careers, our money as symbol of hope.
We
worry when we feel we don’t have enough to make our future secure.
And
the world takes advantage of your insecurity to draw you deeper and deeper into
fear and away from God.
The
world sells a hope of a secured future, the joy of knowing that you don't have
to worry about the future and peace knowing that your future is secured but
guarantees nothing.
But
the God of Hope, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is about a different
future.
God
offers hope of our eternal future.
Worldly
hope, joy and peace is always contingent on worldly matters.
A
global financial crisis can wipe away hope of the future
A
diagnosis of a terminal disease can wipe away all joy for the future.
World
trauma – wars, famine, disease, terrorism, floods, droughts and bush fires,
global warming can wipe away our peace in an instant.
But
nothing in the world can take away our hope of eternal life.
As
Paul says – nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
(Romans 8:38-39).
So the
life of the Christian will always be one of wavering between earthly hope and
Christian hope because of our insecurities – just like Adam and Eve did..
We are
so tempted to put our hope in physical things that we can touch and see rather
than Christian hope that is lived by faith – as the writer to Hebrews says –
faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see
(Hebrews 11:1).
And so
the message of John the Baptist is a valid for us today – repent for the
Kingdom of Heaven is near.
To
repent means to turn back to God away from human insecurities.
For
John the Baptist hope was always about the Kingdom of Heaven.
But
even John wavered in the midst of his suffering when he wanted confirmation -
Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?"
(Matthew 11:3)
And so
too, we are going to question in those times but we need to repent.
The
Kingdom of Heaven is what life is all about.
Life
is not about possessions or success.
Life
is about putting all our hope in reaching our Heavenly home.
And as
John said – the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
It is
a breath away which nobody knows when their last breath will be.
And if
the Kingdom of Heaven is our hope then everything else in life doesn't really
matter.
If we
don't get to own our own home but reach our heavenly home what does it matter.
If we
don't rise to the top of our profession but reach our Heavenly Home to live in
the presences of Almighty God, what does it matter?
If everyone
seems to exceed you or you don't achieve your worldly hopes and dreams, what
does it matter when you reach your heavenly home and never have to experience
disappointments ever again?
But
Paul was insistent that our joy and peace does not start only when we have
reached the Kingdom of Heaven.
No, it
begins now because our Christian hope brings the future hope into a present
reality.
So he
says things like - our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour
from there, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20)
And,
since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above;
For you have died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians
3:1-4).
And
that means we live our lives now as citizens of heaven, as John says – the
Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
For us
it is already here because our certain Christian hope means our eternal life
has already begun even though we are not there yet.
If we
live our lives worried about the future then we don’t fully understand what
Christian hope means and offers, just like John when he asked – are you the one
or should we expect another.
When
our hopes become focused on worldly assurance then we will never be assured.
That
doesn’t mean we shouldn’t plan for the future but we should live by faith
trusting God when times are uncertain.
And
when we live by our Christian hope then we know that our future is mapped out
for us as Paul says - we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do
good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
So may
the God of hope continue to strengthen you faith so you may continue to find
joy in this life amidst all the doom and gloom that the media reports on and
find the peace that comes from knowing Christ our Lord allowing you to wait
again this Advent season for our Lord to return – come Lord Jesus come.