Matthew 5:13-16
What do you put your hope in? What are your hopes and dreams?
We all have little hopes every day: I hope I'm going to find a parking space when I get to work; I hope the local supermarket hasn't run out of fresh bread; I hope my daughter remembered to put tea on. We have bigger hopes too: I hope my children will get good grades in school; I hope my friend won't be made redundant; I hope my health remains good as I get older.
So what is hope? Is it personal or reliant on others?
Well, hope is a desire, a feeling or belief, that something we want to happen or achieve has a good probability of coming to pass. Usually there is evidence, either real or imagined, that gives cause for our confidence. Hope is an expectation that events will turn out for the best. And hope can be placed in a person or thing, usually because that someone or something gives us cause for hope.
You and I are cause for hope. As the Church of Christ, we are the hope of the world.
Now there are lots of bible verses about hoping in God:
Psalm 25:5 ; Psalm 42:5&11 ; Psalm 62:5 ; Acts 26:6 ; Ephesians 2:12 ; Colossians 1:27
1 Timothy 4:10 "That is why we labour and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all."
But what about hoping in us? Well, there's one verse that immediately springs to mind:
Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The God of hope, the one in whom we place our hope, can fill us with so much hope that we overflow and spill out that hope to the people around us. St Paul recognised this when he was writing to the Thessalonians:
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. [1Thess1:2-3]
For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. [1Thess2:19-20]
The Thessalonians' hope was in their Lord Jesus Christ … … and that hope inspired them to endure everything, all the difficulties & challenges that came as part and parcel of being members of the early Christian Church … and that hope and endurance was a witness to those outside of the church, which Paul & Timothy recognised and commended in their letter.
And it only takes a little hope to make a difference in people's lives:
Dr Sasa, founder of Health & Hope, a healthcare charity in Myanmar, functioning with UK support, says on their website:
“It is my greatest joy to see hope, that precious gift, return to the faces of our people, who have suffered so much for so long. Hope in the faces of children when we opened their first nursery school in a newly built Community Health and Education Centre. Hope in the faces of our Community Health Workers as they realise how the simple act of boiling water, can prevent death and could save the lives of their family. Hope in the faces of our students who are now learning they are free to dream about a better future.”
Gavin & Sally Murray, founders of Just-Ice, an ethical social enterprise here in Derby, do what they do (in fact were brought to Derby by God specifically to set up this project) because they wanted to create
“a social enterprise where you have great fun making the best premium ice cream you've ever tasted, using only natural and fair-trade ingredients; [and create] employment for survivors of human trafficking, restoring their dignity and giving them hope and a future.”
But it doesn't have to be a huge or long-term venture like either of these. Baking a cake for an isolated neighbour, or helping them with their garden; offering to lift shopping into the car-boot for a mum with a frustrated toddler. Little things that show someone cares, that God cares about them as a person or family. And I'm sure we could all tell stories of simple words or actions we have given or received that brought hope back into someone's life.
There's a fine line between hope and love. When we show love, we bring hope.
But there's another side to hope. The Church of Christ being the hope of the world.
Suzanne Benner, in her article Jesus came to bring hope, writes:
“When we as believers speak of hope, we don’t mean a desire that may or may not be fulfilled. No, our hope is certain. [we have a] hope for the future, that we will be redeemed. Hope for the present, that we are not alone, but are loved and have purpose. [and] hope even over the past, that our failures are not greater than God’s power to transform.”
We have hope because Jesus forgave us. It's a hope that's real and alive, because Jesus is alive in us, and He offers to transform our hearts, minds, and actions daily.
We have a hope because knowing Jesus brings contentment regardless of material possessions and joy despite difficult circumstances. Nothing can destroy this hope because it’s stored in heaven where no earthly power can touch it.
We have a hope, even when mundane, painful, and stressful events threaten to overwhelm us, because Jesus renews our hope whenever we seek Him.
The world lacks hope. Human beings are clamouring to fill their empty lives with stuff. Abuse, addiction, illness, and broken relationships surround us. People need to know that Jesus came to bring hope, that He is our hope, and that our hope is real and alive.
As the Church, a little piece of God's kingdom here on earth, we have a responsibility, the right even, to demonstrate our hope to the mundane world around us. Can I take you please to the book of Hebrews, first to Chapter 10, to one of my favourite bible passages:
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. [19-25]
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, and spur one another on! Spurring involves movement, transition, change. As we learn more for ourselves about the love and hope we have in Jesus, the more we can, and should be prepared, to tell other people about it!
Then, in Hebrews 6: Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity [v1], … to take hold of the hope set before us [that we] may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. [v18-20]
We have an anchor for the soul, it is our security and our 'ticket' to enter the inner sanctuary and be in God's presence. There is no greater, no better thing, than to be in the presence of our Creator Father, who knows and loves us. But it is our right and responsibility to share that love and knowledge with our friends, colleagues, even strangers we meet on the bus!
Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.” “You are the light of the world.”
If salt loses its saltiness, it's thrown out and trampled underfoot. If light is hidden under a bowl, then the house remains in darkness.
Have you ever been in a pitch dark room and lit a single candle? As your eyes adjust, the tiny flame seems to almost physically push the darkness back. It only takes a little light to make a big difference. It's the same with salt, it only takes a little salt to flavour a good meal.
Likewise, in Matthew 13, Jesus told the parable of the yeast: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” It only takes a little yeast to make a whole loaf rise. And it can take only a little hope to turn around a hope-less situation.
But the hope that we offer needs to be real. It needs to be based in real faith, in the real salvation of Jesus Christ. And it needs to serve a real purpose.
The secular world accuses the church of its lack of relevance to the general population. But my question is: 'who's moved?' In a world where people are becoming more isolated by 'social media' and less trusting of fellow human beings over racial fears and the threat of terrorism, then Almighty God, our loving and relational Heavenly Father, is being forced out, not seen as relevant to a selfish and self-centred world.
And we, his church, are being cast out too. But we can reverse the trend. Through our saltiness and yeastiness, demonstrating real, valued relationships of true love and integrity, we can show God as still being relevant. We can restore the Light, force away evil.
As Albert Einstein said:
"Evil is the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.”
Without God, without hope, there is nothing.
The world needs hope. The real hope of Jesus Christ. God hasn't abandoned the poor and needy, because they have us, God's Church, his Hope to the World. And we must continue to stand tall, like a lighthouse standing against the raging storm, to shine out the Light of Jesus and the Hope of God through the power of the Holy Spirit, to push back the darkness so that the world can see again. So the world can grow in Faith, Love and HOPE. Amen.