THOSE WHO HOPE IN THE LORD

A sermon by George R. Pasley

Isaiah 40:21-31; Mark 1:29-39

Hope is a precious thing.

Let me tell you two stories that illustrate the precious nature of hope.

The ancient Greeks knew hope was a precious thing. They told the story of Pandora, the first woman, who was given an assortment of seductive gifts by the various gods at her creation. Among these gifts was curiosity.

Pandora herself was a gift to the race of men, retaliation for the theft of fire. At her entry into the human race, she carried a jar from Zeus. The jar was filled with all sorts of evils that, if released, would plague the race of men.

Pandora was curious. She could not resist opening the jar to see what was in it- and when she opened it, a vast assembly of evils emerged.

Now, a speaker should never be sure that his audience knows any particular thing, but I am sure that most of you know the story did not end there.

Pandora quickly realized the tragic nature of her mistake, and sealed the jar. But from inside the jar she could hear a tiny, plaintive voice, begging to be set free. For a while- a great while, considering her curiosity- Pandora resisted the urge to let loose the producer of that small voice, but at last she opened the jar one more time- and hope emerged.

The Greeks knew that in the presence of great evil and suffering, hope is a very precious asset. When I Pandora’s story as a second grader, I understood immediately: There is much in this world that will cause despair, but there is also hope, and without hope we are crushed.

Yes, hope is a precious thing- in the words of the poet Emily Dickinson, who likened hope to a bird that sings, “And sore must be the storm/ That could abash the little bird/ That kept so many warm.”

Hope is precious, and essential.

Hope is so precious and so essential that we absolutely must keep its tiny flame burning.

How well I remember reading the story of Eddie Rickenbacker, the World War One flying hero who was shot down over the Pacific in the early days of the second world a war. He and his companions survived a landing at sea, and lived adrift on rubber rafts for 24 days. Their food ran out after three days, and they clung to hope.

But Rickenbacker knew there was a danger that some would let go of hope, and he kept a very close eye on his companions. Sure enough, one gave up- and tried to slip off the raft into the sea. Quick as a flash Rickenbacker grabbed him, and pulled him back in.

Two of the men in the rafts- Rickenbacker, and James Whittaker- wrote books about their experience, and both reported that all seven survivors became Christians during their experience. Their story tells us something: Part of our mission as Christians is to keep the tiny flame of hope burning in every person we meet. As water and air are to our bodies, hope is to our spirits.

In the Christian tradition, hope is one of the three most precious things: faith, hope and love.

Hope is essential to our faith. Given the knowledge of our sin, faith in the love of God would not be possible without hope.

Hope is a precious thing. We simply cannot be Christians without hope.

Hope is a precious thing, but it is also fickle thing. I dare say, there are an awful lot of people in this room who have experienced the failure of a particular hope of some sort, and the loss has been unforgettable and nearly unbearable.

Life is like that. So when I read the story of that whole village gathered around Jesus door, I knew why they were there: all their life they had been looking for someone they could place their hope in- and there he was, Jesus.

On that day in Capernaum, there were many who placed their hope in him, and none of them were disappointed.

Later on, we know that some were disappointed because they were convinced he would do things a certain way, and he did them differently than they had hoped. He died on a cross, he was dead and buried.

But their disappointment was turned to joy when he rose from the grave.

So let us pray, and pray boldly, and let the prayers never cease. But let’s also hold each other to hope, because while we grieve the wait for resurrection can be a very long wait. But while we hold each other to hope, let’s learn to hope in Jesus, and not our preconceptions about the way we think Jesus will have to do things.

But let’s get back to what Jesus did that day in Capernaum. It was a lot!

He cured many, so many that he was working until way past dark. I can’t help thinking about that on a day when we install officers in the church. Jesus worked very hard, and he got up early and started at it again.

We have a tendency to expect a lot from the church, and officers of the church have a tendency to feel obligated to do a lot.

Go ahead- I won’t discourage you!

But I will warn you- none of us are Jesus, and we won’t be Jesus, no matter how hard we work. If we flap our arms 15-18 times a second, we still won’t be hummingbirds- but we’ll get very tired very fast. If we try very, very hard to be Jesus, we still won’t be Jesus, and we’ll get tired even faster.

Our task as Christians is to hope in the Lord, not be the Lord, and our task as a church is to hold Jesus in such a way that others will be invited and encouraged to place their hope in him, for those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.”

Jesus knew there was a lot of work to do. When they came looking for him, excited that so many were placing their hope in him, he was pretty matter of fact about how MUCH work there was to do: “Let’s go to the neighboring towns,” he said, “because that’s why I’m here.”

But I noticed something: Even Jesus didn’t think he had to do it all by himself.

He had a long and a very busy day, and most likely he went to bed late because I’m sure that his disciples had a lot of questions to ask him. But he got up early.

He got up early, but it wasn’t so he could start working some more.

He got up early so he could pray, and that tells me that he wasn’t placing his hope in what he could do as a man. Instead, he was placing his hope in what his heavenly father could do through him.

So if that’s the way it was for Jesus, why should it be any different for us?

I can’t think of any reason, and neither should you.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.