Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Third Sunday of Advent - 12/17/17 Sermon - “Expecting Hope" ("The Hope of Christmas" Series - Part 3 of 5)

Sunday 12/17/17 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Expecting Hope”

(“The Hope of Christmas” Series – Part 3 of 5)

Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Gospel Lesson: John 1:6-8, 19-28

          Friends, sisters and brothers in Christ, welcome again on this the Third Sunday in this season of Holy Advent. This season of wonder, love, joy, peace, mercy, and hope.

          The past two Sundays, I have been preaching a sermon series called, “The Hope of Christmas”. My “Hope” through this sermon series, no pun intended, is for us all to discover anew, or even more, the “Hope” that is Christmas. In this season, and in the season of Christmas that is to come, how can we find hope in all that Jesus Christ is? How can we find hope in a baby in a manger, a savior that comes into our hearts daily, and a savior that will return one day in glory?

          As we look around our country and our world, we so often see great poverty, pain, and inequality. Some of us in the midst of this ask questions like, “where is God in all of this?” As we sit here this morning in the midst of this holy season, we have California wild fires, we have brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico that still might not have water. We have people dying in African countries of malnutrition and easily curable diseases. We have wars, we have greed, and etc., and etc.

          Someone could easily ask, “Pastor Paul, how are we to have hope in anything, in the midst of all that is going on in this world?” This is certainly a very real and a very hard question. As many of us will have fruitful and bountiful Christmas celebrations, some of our neighbors will have virtually nothing this Christmas. So where is the “Hope” this time of the year, and in general? Is there any hope to be had at all?

          In the first week of this sermon series, I preached on “The Hope of the promised Messiah”. In the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible, prophets like Isaiah and Zephaniah prophesized that the Christ would come. These prophesies were made hundreds and hundreds of years before that first Christmas and manger scene in Bethlehem. Despite their circumstances though, despite whether the people of Israel were living in captivity, or if they were free, these prophets had “Hope” in what the living God could do. Not only this, they had “Hope” in what the living God could accomplish through them. “Hope” my sisters and brothers, isn’t merely waiting for God to fix and intervene in everything. I do believe that God can intervene and can fix anything if God wills it. Yet, I feel that the power of God in us, the power of Jesus Christ, is a great part of our “Hope”. The believe that through Jesus Christ nothing is impossible.

          Last week, my sermon was called, “Preparing the way for Hope,” as John the Baptist was preparing the way for the coming of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist believed that Jesus would emerge as the Messiah, and that it would happen very soon. Our gospel lesson from the gospel of Mark began last week with a scripture from the prophet Isaiah. In this scripture, the prophet Isaiah was prophesying that someone would come and prepare the way of the Messiah, of Jesus Christ. Isaiah was predicting the person, ministry, and calling of John the Baptist. For this reason, I believe that the gospel of Mark intentional began with a scripture from Isaiah that says that John the Baptist would:

“Prepare the way of the Lord” (Mk. 1:3b, NRSV).

          Many of us are also preparing for Christmas in our homes, among our families, and hopefully within our hearts and our souls.

          My sermon title for this morning is called “Expecting Hope”. So if we believe that Messiah, Jesus Christ is coming, if we prepare for his coming, can we expect the “Hope” of God to come through? I think that we can. Is there terrible things going in this country and in the world? There are. Yet God is still moving, and is still moving in us. God, Jesus Christ, is the hope that is coming among us, but God can also use us to be “Hope” for people that desperately need “Hope”.

          When we see something awful, whether in person or on television, we can pray that God will intervene. Perhaps God will, but we can also through the power of the Holy Spirit do something to alleviate suffering, oppression, and hurt in the world. We can expect “Hope” in part, because God can use us to be “Hope”. As United Methodists, we live “Hope,” because this is what we do.

          I saw a powerful example of “Hope” last week that almost brought me to tears. It happened so suddenly. So there I was last Thursday, delivering a “Thinking of You” Christmas cheer basket to member of the Homer Avenue UMC, who lives on one of the nursing home floors at the Cortland Hospital. As I waiting to see this woman and give her, her “Thinking of You” Christmas cheer basket, I saw something that almost brought me to tears. No, it was not a flyer for ALDI, if you were wondering, as I love ALDI. Instead, there was a young woman who worked at the hospital who was sitting with a woman who appeared to have very advanced Alzheimer’s. This woman seemed unresponsive, and seemed to not be able to communicate, not able to move much of her body, and she would just stare off to the other side of the room. Well, this young woman who works at the hospital and was sitting with her, held her hand and sang her Christmas Carols. The young woman had a beautiful voice, and while the woman that she was holding the hand of seemed unresponsive, this young woman wanted to show her some love, some Christmas cheer.

          At first, I thought this young woman must have been her granddaughter, but then she came in and checked on the woman that I was there to visit, who I finally was able to give her, her “Thinking of You” Christmas cheer basket. I then realized at this point that this woman was an employee of the Cortland Hospital. I told her that she had a beautiful voice, and that if she was looking to join a church choir I could point her in the right direction.

          What this young woman did for this older and unwell woman was so sacrificial, so Christ-like, and so loving. In a season where I “Expect Hope,” I am seeing “Hope,” and trying to be “Hope” everywhere. How is this working for you?

In our United Methodist Church hymnal, we have a hymn called: “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”. This hymn, which is number 196 in your hymnal speaks of the “Hope” that we have that is coming in Jesus Christ. In this season we can claim this “Hope,” we can live this “Hope”. How are we doing with this?

This morning in our gospel of John reading, like our gospel of Mark reading from last week, we are given a reading on John the Baptist. It is interesting that we would have a reading on John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus Christ, two Sundays in a row. In this reading, we again have the prophet Isaiah quoted, regarding John preparing the way for Jesus Christ. It is spoken a little differently in this gospel though, as this reading begins by saying in John 1:6-8:

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light” (Jn. 1:6-8, NRSV).

          So again, we have the notion that John the Baptist is preparing the way for the Messiah, for Jesus Christ. Yet it also says that John the Baptist came:

“as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him” (Jn. 1:8, NRSV).

          So John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord, for Jesus Christ. Clearly though, he had hope, he “Expected Hope”. John the Baptist “Expected” that the “Hope” of Jesus Christ would come. This hope changed him, and it changed many people around him. Does this “Hope” change you? Does this “Hope” inspire you to move forward, to make a difference, to go out into the world and live this “Hope”? This is the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in us.

          In this gospel of John reading, much like the gospel of Mark reading from last week, John the Baptist Baptized people, declared that the Messiah coming soon, and that this Messiah was far greater than he was. Yet since John the Baptist believed this so strongly, and with such passion, countless people around him did to.

          Friends, I am not Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus Christ has already been born, lived, was crucified, and was resurrected. The seasons of Advent and then Christmas are times to prepare for and expect Jesus to show up, even though he already did so long ago. We await the return of Christ, but until that day, or until we go to be with the Lord, let us have “Hope” in the one named Jesus Christ, and his gospel. Let us believe that Jesus is real, risen, and abundant. Let us in this season of Advent and always take this “Hope” into a world that knows Jesus not. Let us not only “Expect Hope,” let us live it every day. Let us do this, so that we can continue to transform the world into all that Jesus called us to transform it into, as we await the kingdom to come. If you see a need, if you see suffering or oppression, then help to stop or alleviate it in Jesus’ name. Let us now and always have “Hope,” and “Expect Hope”. Amen.