Hope Abounds!
Posted on Nov 13, 2016 by David Whetter
Grace and peace to you from God, our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in each of us.
Whenever we read texts like Luke 21, and then we look at the world around us, it is awfully tempting to think Jesus was predicting the very times we are living in. In fact, there are many famous religious leaders who insist on interpreting scripture this way. Remember after 9/11 the Rev. Jerry Falwell, appearing on The 700 Club, blamed those terrorist attacks on certain groups and organizations he characterized as promoting “an alternative lifestyle” and trying to “secularize America.” And after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Rev. Gerhard Wagner, an Austrian priest wrote that Katrina was God’s wrath on us resulting from the indescribable amoral conditions of New Orleans. And of course we are all very familiar with similar claims by the Westboro Baptist Church out of Topeka for any number of things.
However, I would like to go on record, and you can quote me on this, and say all such interpretations of scripture and life events today are ‘hogwash.” Jesus, 2000 plus years ago, was not predicting specific events that would occur in the future. In fact, Jesus wasn’t predicting any events, nor was he predicting the “end times,” as we like to talk about these days with such stories. Instead, he was offering a story of hope. Jesus was using imagery and language that we call apocalyptic.
For most of us, such literature is confusing and often seen and interpreted literally. But in in ancient times, such apocalyptic stories were used to get one’s attention and then offer assurances to the faithful that they should keep their trust in God even when facing the most challenging of circumstances. In today’s world it would be like starting a story with “Once upon a time…’ When we hear such a story, we know the story is not a literal truth, but instead it is a story that has meaning for our lives and it usually has a happy ending. In the Luke story today, while describing the terrible events, Jesus tells his listeners not to be afraid (Luke 21:9). Jesus wasn’t naming things that would have been hard to presume would happen in the future. In every time there are false prophets, wars, natural catastrophes, and so on. We have them today. The point Jesus is trying to say is this, when bad things happen, and they will, we should “not be terrified” (21:9) or go around proclaiming these are signs of God’s judgment and the end (21:8). Instead, we should trust that God remains present in our lives. Instead, such passages are intended to provide comfort and assure us that in any situation, no matter how difficult things seem, God will not abandon us and that God will ultimately prevail.
This past week, we held our national election. Some are saying this election was the most divisive and corrosive political campaign in history. Words on both sides of the aisle were hurtful and harsh. With the election over, many now feel the terrible things will happen. I was deeply saddened Wednesday morning myself when it was over, but not because of who won, but because it is evident to me based on how this country voted that we are a nation filled with anger, filled with fear, filled with anxiety, filled with hate, and filled with self-centeredness. It seems most people believe we are a nation filled with leadership that is more interested in preserving self-interests than in seeking change for the common good. People on all sides of this election feel betrayed. But, remember Jesus’ words, “do not be terrified” (21:9). The promise we have today is that God will not abandon us and that God will ultimately prevail. This doesn’t mean each of us should not work hard to overcome the hatred and division that exists in this nation, but we ought to do so with love, humidly and compassion, knowing that God is present and in this place. And as Christians, we are called to confront these issues and seek resolutions that include caring for the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the immigrant; all those that our system ahs somehow cast aside, or forgotten.
And tough times are not just about our nation or the world. For the past 11 months, right here at Salem, we have begun to aggressively seek to begin change here. We have agreed that we need to address our facility issues. We are in the midst of changing our Sunday morning worship opportunities and beginning January 8, we will be offering a worship service at 9:15 in addition to our 8:00 and 10:30 services, which will effect many of other ministry offerings on Sunday mornings. We have aggressively sought to be a more welcoming faith community and in doing so, we have extended an open hand to the LGBTQ community and others. We have continued to grow our food ministries and today we are serving almost 40 families per week and providing food for Children’s Memorial every 6 weeks. Our Teen ministry has grown substantially and overall our ministries are thriving. But all of this has stretched us physically, spiritually and financially. Yes, we have added many new members over the past few years, but we have also had some leave because they do not like some of the things we are doing, or not doing. At times it might seem like things are falling apart, but in the midst of all this chaos, today we can hear Jesus say, do not be afraid. Today, we can hear Jesus offer us that hope that abounds that in the midst of all of this, God is present. God is working to bring about God’s will and you and I get to be part of that if we are willing to be God’s witnesses. It is in times like this that Jesus says, “ I will give you words and a wisdom” that you will need.
Today your leadership has asked you to come prepared to make you commitments for 2017. In a few moments, you will be invited to come forward and place your regular offering in one basket and your 2017 pledges in the other. My prayer is that each of you as a family has prayed as to how you can bless and support the mission in which God has called Salem. I pray you have committed your time, your talents and your financial resources to this mission. If you haven’t decided, yet, that is fine, I pray you do so in the near future. But, however you choose to support this incredible ministry, I hope and I pray that you know that hope abounds here. We need not fear for God is at work, both in us and through us, for the health of this congregation and this world that God loves so much. In our story, which is God’s story, hope abounds and that is cause for celebration not fear. Amen.