Sunday
12/18/22 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Hope Is Coming Among Us!” (“The Reclaiming Hope” Series: Part 4 of 5)
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
New Testament Scripture: Romans 1:1-7
Gospel Lesson: Matthew
1:18-25
With the COVID-19 Pandemic at bay, and
with us not having all of the restrictions on us that we once had, I
prayerfully created a sermon series, many weeks ago, for the season Advent through
Christmas Eve called “The Reclaiming Hope” series. We are back to a relatively
normal level of functioning, so we can once again have hope for the future. So
far in this sermon series, I have talked about how Jesus is “The One Who Is, And
Is To Come,” about John the Baptist and us being called to “Prepare The Way Of
The Lord,” and Jesus making “All Things New.” We await in this season of
Advent, the memory of Christ’s birth on Christmas, we are called to invite
Christ into our hearts daily, and we are called to anticipate Christ’s triumphant
return to earth.
So, pandemic at bay, check. Relatively
normal functioning again, and we “Reclaim Hope,” check. Maybe for some of us
this morning though, hope is in short supply right now. I find it ironic that I
chose to preach this sermon series weeks ago, and that weeks ago I did not know
that our beloved Great American grocery store would close. If this is not bad
enough, my sermon for this morning is called, “Hope Is Coming Among Us!” If “Hope
Is Coming Among Us” on Christmas, in our hearts, and one day with Christ’s
return, then why might some of us perhaps not have a lot of hope.
In Melissa and I having been here in
Sidney for about five-years now, we often hear of this Sidney that once was
years ago. I heard about the movie theater, all the stores, the commerce, and
yes also all the bars. I heard about a Sidney that seems to be very different
than the Sidney we moved to about five-years ago. Except, here is the thing
friends, I never knew the Sidney back then, or any of our other neighboring
communities back then. All I know is the Sidney and our neighboring communities
as they are now. I know that we have had two major floods in the past twenty
years, we have lost houses, businesses, and we certainly have our social and
economic struggles here in Sidney and the Tri-Town area. If this is all true, then
how can Pastor Paul preach a sermon today called “Hope Is Coming Among Us!”
Further, how can Pastor Paul have a sermon series called “The Reclaiming Hope
Series?” He must be a little out there! Or maybe a lot out there!
These are certainly great questions to
ask, but what I can tell you is this, when Melissa and I got to Sidney in June,
2018, we met some great people. Sidney, and the Tri-Town area have some great
people. We have some people that sacrifice for others, and that do a lot for this
community and for the surrounding communities. We in Sidney and the Tri-Town
area should be proud that we have so many good and loving people. People that
are still trying to open businesses, people that are still generous, and people
that still want to see Sidney and the Tri-Town area improve.
I know that this is true for me, and
since I was not here when Sidney was at its height, all I know is the Sidney and
the Tri-Town area that we have now. You see, next Sunday, almost two-thousand
years later, we will remember and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. I have heard and I have read about what the world was like when Jesus
was born. Yet like what Sidney used to be, we are now here now in a very
different time. Can the goodness of Sidney and the Tri-Town area still live in
us though, even if Sidney and the Tri-Town area used to be very different? Can
the coming birth of a baby named Jesus still soften and change hearts and it did
for so many two-thousand years ago? I think so. So, I have hope, do you?
Today after our church service we
are going to have a luncheon to honor the Wescott family and all the workers
from the Great American grocery store. Maybe when the grocery store closed,
some of us lost hope. For a short period, I myself felt like that the only
Sidney I have ever known was dying. Yet, we are called to “Reclaim Hope,” and whether
we like it or not, “Hope Is Coming Among Us” soon on Christmas. This hope is a
child named Jesus, who will teach us a radical new way of living and loving.
This reality is coming whether our beloved Great American grocery store is
opened or not. We move forward friends, because we have no other option, and we
are stronger together.
With all of
this said though, it can still be hard sometimes to see and to have hope. It
can be easier to give up, to become bitter, indifferent, or even angry. As
Christians, we are children of resurrection. We are people of hope, because of
the hope that we have in Jesus. Jesus is coming to this earth on Christmas, he
is going to grow up, love, heal, forgive, and die for us all. This reality is
true whether things are good, whether we are in peace or at war, and is true whatever
Sidney and the Tri-Town area looks like.
In our
reading for this morning from Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, the Psalmist asked God for restoration.
The Psalmist says to God in Psalm 80:7:
7 Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved (Ps. 80:7, NRSV).
Maybe we feel this way this morning, about our lives, about
Sidney, about the Tri-Town area, or for me, about my Chicago Bears. When Jesus
was born in Bethlehem nearly two-thousand years ago, life for most of the
people was terrible. Things were hard, and many did not have a lot of hope. Yet
Christ and his birth that is coming every Christmas, is a reminder that God is
with us. No matter what, we have God, and we have each other. If things are good,
we have God and we have each other. If things are bad, we have God and we have
each other.
In our reading for this morning from Romans 1:1-7, the
Apostle Paul begins this reading once again, saying:
1 Paul, a servant
of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of
God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets
in the holy scriptures, 3 the gospel concerning his Son,
who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and
was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of
holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through
whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of
faith among all the gentiles for the sake of his name, (Rom 1:1-5, NRSV).
The
Apostle Paul, and countless others for the last two-thousand year have had hope
in Jesus Christ and in the community faith. A great comfort for me is to know
that in churches like this one, we have kind and loving people that care for each
other and that we stay connected to each other. Whatever the future of Sidney
and the Tri-Town area looks like, I believe I will have more hope and feel
stronger if I am connected to the Sidney United Methodist Church and the people
of Sidney and the Tri-Town area.
Even
though “Hope Is Coming Among Us” soon as a baby named Jesus Christ, we can also
pursue that hope together. We do not have to do this in isolation, and we do
not have to worry about the future of Sidney or the Tri-Town area by ourselves.
This church is still strong, and the relationships and the love in this church
for each other and for this community are still strong. This is not something
that is going to change anytime soon, as we are in season where we are called
to “Reclaim Hope.” If we have hope, if we have hope in Jesus, hope in each
other, and hope in what this community and the surrounding communities can be,
don’t you think that our future will look brighter? Don’t you think that we are
stronger together? I know that I do, and I believe churches like Sidney United
Methodist Church are churches that are working to keep Sidney and the Tri-Town
area strong. I also believe that the hope of Jesus Christ is alive in this
place, and alive in the hearts of our people.
Friends,
we need to have hope, and we need realize that “Hope Is Coming Among Us” on
Christmas morning, whether we are ready for it, or not. On this our Fourth
Sunday of Advent, we hear in our gospel of Matthew 1:18-25 scripture for this
morning again about the birth of Jesus Christ. How many of us think that birth
of Jesus is significant? I would argue that Jesus is the single most transformative
figure in the history of the world, and our culture has been transformed by his
gospel, his love, and his grace.
In looking at our gospel of Matthew
1:18-25 scripture, we, as I said, once again hear about the birth of Jesus
Christ. This is what it says once again:
18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Jesus (Mt. 1:18-25, NRSV).
This Jesus, who we will celebrate the
birth of next Sunday on Christmas, will grow up and offer hope to countless
people. This Jesus will love, heal, forgive, die for us, rise again, ascend
into heaven, and will return one day in glory. Not only this, but this same
Jesus also tells us that in the end, when it has all been said and done that
love, mercy, righteousness, holiness, and kindness will win. Evil, anger, hatred,
sin, and death will lose and be destroyed. I have hope in Jesus, is his birth,
life, death, resurrection, and return. I have hope in this church, and we have
hope in Jesus and each other. Further, I am reminded of what Matthew 1:23 says
for this morning, once again:
23 “Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”
The promise of Jesus, Emmanuel, through thick and thin, is that “God is with us.”
As I said, I have heard that the
Sidney and the Tri-Town area that Melissa and I moved to five years ago is very
different now than it once was. Even so, we still have good people, we still
have caring, love, kindness, and because of this, dear friends, may we also
have hope. “Hope Is Coming Among Us!” Hope can transform us. Now is the time
for us to come together, in places like the Sidney United Methodist Church, so
that we can be stronger together. We don’t have to do this alone, we can be
part of a loving, supportive, and wonderful community like this. If we can do
that, if Jesus loves us, then we can have hope now and well into the future.
Like many of you, Melissa and I were grieved
when the Great American grocery store closed here in Sidney, but we still have hope.
I have hope in Christ, I have hope in all of you, and I invite to share hope
with each other, in places like the Sidney United Methodist Church. A church where
is everyone is welcomed, where is everyone is loved, and where lives are still
changed.
Friends
may we “Reclaim Hope,” and may we realize anew that “Hope Is Coming Among Us!”
God bless you and may the hope we have in Jesus Christ fill us this day and
always. Amen.
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