Have Hope

December 4, 2016 Romans 14 Second Sunday of Advent Have Hope One brief, sunny morning a woman looked out her living room window and was amazed to discover a dead mule on her lawn. Immediately she called the sanitation department and asked them to remove the carcass. But by the time the work-crew arrived, she had changed her mind. She gave the men $100.00 each, instructing them to carry the mule upstairs and to deposit it in the bathtub. After they had dutifully followed her instructions, one of the workers asked why she wanted the dead mule in her bathtub. She said, “Well, for 35 years my husband has been coming home at night, throwing his coat on the rack, grabbing the newspaper, plopping into the easy chair and asking, ‘What’s new?’ Tonight, I’m going to tell him.” What’s new this Christmas? Every year we plop ourselves down in the Christmas calendar and ask: What’s “hottest?” Who’s got the most popular gift? What’s the best of the best? What toy/gizmo requires a five-hour wait in line? Every Christmas season there is some new sound, or flavor, or decoration, or game, or cell-phone “app” that defines the cutting edge of “cool.” And probably the memory of waiting in line, clawing through a crowd, falling into debt, will linger longer than the “new,” “cool,” “hot” thing you suffered for. But wait a minute? Isn’t the exact opposite equally true? It’s the “old” stuff that we hanker after and hunger for. We hang the ratty old homemade ornaments on the tree. We crave the same old cookie recipes. We want to hear the old arrangements of the familiar carols we heard as kids. The candlewax spotted tablecloth is reinstated. That strange cheeseball thing reappears. So much of the joy of Christmas Is the sameness of it all — Always the wreath upon the door, The festoons in the hall; The mistletoe hung overhead, The squeals at getting captured: The sparkling tree that holds its viewers Silently enraptured. The same beloved ornaments, The candles and the bells; The same old Christmas stories That Grandpa always tells The same old battered angel Once again adds to the joy — It’s stood atop the tree each year Since Grandpa was a boy. The merry family gatherings — The old, the very young: The strangely lovely way they Harmonize in carols sung. For Christmas is tradition time — Traditions that recall The precious memories down the years, The sameness of them all. Helen Lowrie Marshall (1904-1975) So which is it? Sameness or Newness? The Christmas spirit tells us that we need to stick to tradition, but the bible reminds us that Christmas is not about staying the same, it is about doing things differently. It is not about putting out the same old Christmas decorations, it is about the world being shaken upside down and us having to put it back together again. Perhaps Donald Trump’s winning is a part of God’s plan to shake the whole world apart, and for the faithful people to put it back together again. But I don’t want to talk about politics this morning, I want to talk about out faith. About our faith. About our preparations for the Christmas to come. In the midst of tradition, what will we do next. Usually on the second Sunday of Advent, I always stick to the gospel lesson of John the Baptist telling us that that kingdom of heaven is near, or the old testament lesson of Isaiah telling us of a new world with Emmanuel – God present. But this year I want to reflect on Romans. It has a powerful lesson for us today. An Advent message. A message guaranteed to shake up our Christmas preparation. Paul encourages us to have hope. But not just any hope, but hope through endurance and encouragement. And that encouragement can only come through reading the scriptures. Not just reading them, but thinking about them and applying them to our lives. More importantly applying the bible to the way we treat one another. Paul says to welcome one another the way Christ welcomed you. Imagine hope like one artist does, as a woman sitting on a rock, battered a nd bruised holding a harp and all of the strings are broken except one. The strings represent the elements of our lives, like our family, our job, our friends, our resources. Even though all of the strings are broken, there is one that is not, and that is the one that she plays constantly. That one string represents Jesus Christ. When everything else in life is meant to be broken, Jesus is our hope, our strength, our endurance, our encouragement. The message of Romans however, is that hope is not just the foundation of our individual lives, but it is the foundation of our fellowship as Christians. And it is our fellowship that draws and attracts others to Christ. That is why he reminds us to welcome one another, the way Christ welcomed us. Our strength relies on the way we treat one another. Paul spells out the marks of fellowship what should be present in the way we treat one another. The marks of fellowship are consideration of one another, a place where scripture is studied and we are able to draw our encouragement from what we read, We should have fortitude, hope, harmony and praise. Where do we stand in the marks of fellowship? What do we do well, what do we need to work on, what needs to change? Christmas and advent is a time for us to examine ourselves and to walk a better way to Jesus. But in order for us to change, we have to be able to have hope. I think it was Winston Churchill who said that there are no hopeless situations, on hopeless people in those situations. Anything can change, if we just trust in God. If we remember that is why Christ came into the world, to remind us that anything can change in the presence of God. A miracle is just around the corner. We just have to believe, and live in that belief. I want to share with you stories about the power of hope and living hopeful life. SERMON ILLUSTRATION Trapped Ice Climber Remembers His Father's Words In June of 1992, Jim Davidson and Mike Price climbed Mt. Ranier. On the way down from the summit, the two climbers fell 80 feet through a snow bridge into a glacial crevasse, a pitch-black, ice-walled crack in the massive glaciers that cover Mt. Ranier. Mike Price died. In his book The Ledge, Jim Davidson tells the story of his miraculous survival and courageous climb out of the crevasse. Throughout the book, Jim reflects back to his childhood and young adult years, describing his relationship with his father. As early as Jim can remember, his father had shown what some considered an almost reckless confidence in his son. Jim worked for his father painting high, steep-pitched roofs and electrical towers as early as age 12. The work terrified his mother, but Jim's father kept communicating his belief that Jim could accomplish great things if he pressed through adversity and kept going. As Jim stood, bloodied and bruised, on the two-foot wide snow ledge next to the body of his climbing partner, he heard the voice of his father. The years of inspiration that Jim's father had invested in him flooded back into his mind and washed over him with encouragement. With minimal gear and no experience in ice climbing at that level, Jim spent the next five hours climbing out, battling fatigue and the crumbling ice and snow that threatened to bury him. Throughout his ordeal, Jim kept recalling the words of his father. Five grueling hours later, thanks to his father's words, Jim climbed out of the crevasse to safety. What words of encouragement has the living Christ offered in your life? How has your heavenly father encouraged you in your life. What obstacles do you need to overcome with Hope, endurance and encouragement. Another story… SERMON ILLUSTRATION Cook Offers Encouragement and Prayer at Children's Hospital A 2009 article in the Chicago Tribune told the story of Bettye Tucker, a Christian cook who works the night shift at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. She has been doing her job for 43 years—28 of them on the night shift. She sees a steady stream of parents in her job, many of them frightened and weary. On one particular night around the time the article was written, Miss Bettye (as she is referred to by all who know her) served food to a mother whose three-year-old fell out of a second story window that morning, another mother whose seventeen-year-old was battling a rare form of leukemia, and a third mother whose eighteen-year-old had endured seven hours of brain surgery. Their stories break the heart of Miss Bettye, and—as one coworker interviewed for the article says—"that's why she feeds every last one of them as if they had walked right into the 'too-small' kitchen of [the] South Side brick bungalow [where she lives]." A member of the hospital's housekeeping crew adds this about Miss Bettye: "You need someone to bring you life, and she brings it in the middle of the night." A picture of Miss Bettye that accompanied the article shows a woman with a beautiful smile. It's hard to imagine how much that smile would mean to a suffering parent or child. She says, "When I ask, 'How you doin' today?' and they say it's not a good day, I say, 'Don't lose hope.' When the nurses tell me it's a bad night, I say, 'I understand it's a bad night. But guess what? I am here for you. I'm going to get you through the night.'" Another picture shows Bettye sitting down, head bowed, over a meal. "I'm a praying lady," she says in the article. "I pray every night, for every room and every person in the hospital. I start with the basement, and I go up, floor by floor, room by room. I pray for the children, I pray for the families, I pray for the nurses and the doctors. … I say, every night while I'm driving in on the expressway, 'Oh, Lord, I don't know what I'll face tonight, but I pray you'll guide me through.'" The reporter behind the article, Barbara Mahany, offers these words about Miss Bettye: "Just might be, that divine helping on the side is the most essential item on Miss Bettye's menu. The one she stirs in every broth, and every whisper. The ingredient that makes her the perpetual light shining in the all-night kitchen." (5 reviews) This is the Christmas where everything will change. Because this is the Christmas where hope will be apart of everything that you do and every interaction that you do. Amen. Other illustrations…… SERMON ILLUSTRATION Trapped Ice Climber Remembers His Father's Words In June of 1992, Jim Davidson and Mike Price climbed Mt. Ranier. On the way down from the summit, the two climbers fell 80 feet through a snow bridge into a glacial crevasse, a pitch-black, ice-walled crack in the massive glaciers that cover Mt. Ranier. Mike Price died. In his book The Ledge, Jim Davidson tells the story of his miraculous survival and courageous climb out of the crevasse. Throughout the book, Jim reflects back to his childhood and young adult years, describing his relationship with his father. As early as Jim can remember, his father had shown what some considered an almost reckless confidence in his son. Jim worked for his father painting high, steep-pitched roofs and electrical towers as early as age 12. The work terrified his mother, but Jim's father kept communicating his belief that Jim could accomplish great things if he pressed through adversity and kept going. As Jim stood, bloodied and bruised, on the two-foot wide snow ledge next to the body of his climbing partner, he heard the voice of his father. The years of inspiration that Jim's father had invested in him flooded back into his mind and washed over him with encouragement. With minimal gear and no experience in ice climbing at that level, Jim spent the next five hours climbing out, battling fatigue and the crumbling ice and snow that threatened to bury him. Throughout his ordeal, Jim kept recalling the words of his father. Five grueling hours later, thanks to his father's words, Jim climbed out of the crevasse to safety. Children’s Sermon…… Object: the heartbeat of each child. Good morning, children. This is the first Sunday of the most exciting month. How many of you know what month this is? That's right, December. It seems that all of the other months, like January and July and October, are in the calendar so that they will get us to December. I know that you like December because of a very special day. What day do you like so much that comes in the month of December? That's right, Christmas. There is something else that gets us to December every year that is even more important than the dates or months on a calendar. I want you all to choose a partner and be very quiet so that you can listen for a steady sound. [Let them all select some partner.] Now, I want you to take turns and listen for a sound that you can hear in each other's chest. [Show them by letting someone listen to your chest and vice versa.] Do you hear that beat? What is that sound that you hear? The heart, that's right, and your heart sounds exactly like your partner's heart. Did you notice how steady it is? Thump, thump, thump, over and over again your heart beats out the same rhythm. We could call your heart "steadfast." Can you say that word with me? "Steadfast." We must be steadfast, too. Day after day, year after year, the Bible tells the same story of the wonderful things that God did and still continues to do. When we are sad, joyful, afraid, excited, or however we feel, we should read the Bible and listen to God's teaching. Even now while we are waiting for Jesus to come and be born in our world again, the place that we go to look for him is the Bible. The Bible gives us hope. So remember this: The Bible teaches us to be as steady and dependable as our heart is. God wants us to be in rhythm with him. The next time you listen to a heart beat, remember how good it is for us to be steadfast in God.