Today we have lit the first candle
on the advent wreath—the hope candle. We have lit the first candle in this
season of anticipation, the season of advent, the season when the church waits,
in memory, for the coming of the Messiah, and waits his coming again.
Today, as this first candle burns,
we begin a new church year, a new cycle that will take us through Christmas, Epiphany,Lent, Easter ,and Pentecost. Through all of those days, Christian Worship
will be fueled by hope—hope which the world cannot give, but comes only through
the cross, and through the resurrection of Jesus.
Today
as this hope candle burns, its light breaks through the darkness to enlighten
hearts and minds to the reality of Christian hope—to the hope which this world
so desperately craves and needs, both as individuals and as a society--but so
rarely knows.
You
don’t need to be a theologian, philosopher, or psychologist to know that hope
is important, and that its opposite, hopelessness, is emotionally and spiritually crippling. You don’t need a
PHd in sociology to know that people in this world are looking for hope,
looking for a sign that the future will be different and better, that hands are
outstreached , reaching for just a bit of comfort.
Yet, where are people looking? Where are
people, in this time and place, investing their hope? Where are the popular places and sources people turn to to
satisfy that deep down longing for the good life?
Well, Money,
financial success—this is a popular source. The thinking behind this is logical
enough. After all, money means more resources, more security, less worry, more
comfort, more possibility, more pleasure. And this is certainly true—money can
do that.. But money can only go so far. There is a definite limit to its power.
So
where what else do people affix their hope? Well, people who are
suffering with various illnesses and struggling with infirmity, with emotional
and mental illnesses often turn to medicine and psychology. And while these
arts can and do bring healing, and
the hope invested in them is legitimate, they have their limits. There are limits to the healing sciences and arts. You don’t have to be
a medical doctor to know that there are diseases which cannot be cured,
injuries which cannot be healed, mental and emotional scars so deep that even
the best therapies cannot totally erase them.
Many
look to governments, politicians, and political movements to create real
sustainable change and give real, foundational hope to the world. Yes, history
has seen remarkable, incredible change—positive, progressive advances. Yet even
these cannot provide ultimate hope—because even the most progressive advance
cannot defeat the ultimate enemy.
In
the final analysis, it must be concluded that humans, by themselves cannot give
the world ultimate hope, because, at the root of our hope, at the core, at the
heart of the matter is the hope that death would be no more—that death would be
defeated, that death would be annihilated. That is the basic and fundamental
human hope—the death of death.
Now,
denial of the deathly undercurrent which flows beneath human life, can keep people going for a
while. People can move about their lives not thinking about this very much—that
is until it strikes either through a physical death or
the death of an important aspect of life—job loss, marital break-up,
loss of function and ability.
There
has been much talk about the acceptance of death, and the healthiness of that
acceptance, and that might be true as a person moves through grief and loss of
a loved one. But a moments reflection
shows that there is something fundamentally unacceptable about death, something
foundationally objectionable and revolting and wrong about this reality—and it has been that way since
human beings first walked the face of the earth.
It
is that way as human beings walk through barren landscapes, hospital wards, and
crowded shopping malls, impoverished neighbourhoods, during the course of the
next four weeks. True hope, which
is hope against this realty of death, cannot be given by the world. It cannot
be found in science. It cannot be found on the physical plain of life—it is
spiritual.
A
moments’ reflection shows that more people are expressing an interest in the
spiritual. “ I am spiritual but not religious” has become a popular statement,
especially in this city, over the last ten years. But what does that mean?
Well, it basically means I can pick and choose what work for me and what
doesn’t and live my life accordingly. I
decide. But where is the hope in
that? Where is the defeat of death in self-styled “take it or leave it “spirituality? I leave you to ponder that question.
But
as much as Christians might be critical of hip, New Age spirituality, we must
admit, that, at least, people are
asking those deeper questions.
A more genuine existence is being sought beyond superficial materialism.
People want to go to a deeper level, and it as that deeper level where the
Christian proclamation can be heard, where that most audacious statement can at
least be given a chance to be heard, where the seed of Christian hope can be planted.
A
few years ago, Barack Obama wrote a book called the Audacity of Hope—and this is title speaks a truth. For Christian
hope is audacious. For it is making an astounding claim, and that claim is that
death has been defeated, that through the life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus, the ultimate enemy has been destroyed. The tomb of Jesus was empty, so
will our tombs will be empty as
well.
But
the skeptic asks. Then why is death
present in our world today? Why is there so much suffering? The answer is that while death has
been defeated, the world still walks in darkness. Sin and evil feed on the darkness. Sin and evil feed on anxiety and
fear and doubt.
The kingdom
of God is the small candle which pushes back the darkness, the kingdom of God
is here in the here and now, it has yet to be established in its fullness. When that day comes there will be no
more darkness to push back—all will be light. That will happen when Christ
returns again in glory—and that return is what we anticipate today. That is the hope which shines in the
darkness—the hope that death and suffering will disappear from our lives.
Now
this hope is not a vague wish, like hoping for a new set of golf clubs for
Christmas. This hope is unlike any other hope the world has ever seen—because
it is fixed to a promise, God’s promise, the promise of an empty tomb who has
reversed the death sentence.
Living with the empty tomb on the horizon, changes life in the here and
now because it means that the deaths we suffer through and bear the scars of do
not have power over us.
In
the next four weeks, the church anticipates him. But in the next four weeks the
world will be anticipating something else. The holiday season has officially
begun, and the frenzy has started. The endless round of popular Christmas song
played through shopping centre speakers, the dash for the best deals, the round
of parties, the planning for dinners—the joy and stress of Christmas is upon
us. And there is a lot of pressure—pressure to be chipper and happy,
But this won’t be a particularly holly jolly time for everybody. For the
people struggling to make ends meet, who cannot give their children the best
toys, for the people struggling with infirmity, for the people grieving the
death of a loved one, for the victims of crime and accidents, Christmas will not be easy for people
who bear life’s heaviest burdens. For them the candy-cane coated frenzy will not be particularly life giving or
hopeful.
But
what is life-giving , what is hopeful is true Hope, true hope which shines in
the darkness, which pushes the darkness back.
We have symbolically lit that candle today and
boldly proclaim He who gives life. Yesterday, this congregation went down to
feed the poorest, most desperate people in this city with lunch, and
thereby shone the light of hope in their lives—if but for a moment. If but for a moment, we witnessed to the
Lord of Hope, the Lord of the empty tomb.
Through bowls of
stew, serving hands, and smiling faces, this congregation, individually and
collectively proclaimed Christ. We could make that proclamation because Christ
is our light, our light of hope,
whose shines in our hearts and shines in the darkness. We have been launched
into this new year of the church with God’s Word of hope—hope that God has and
will make all things new. May the newness of God’s coming kingdom shine in your
hearts and mind today and forever.Amen.
