The Business of Hope

It's easy to be disappointed isn't it? Think back to just two weeks ago and Christmas morning. Can any day so filled with expectations ever measure up? No way.

The big things: career, income, relationships, families . . . you must feel that some, if not all, of these aspects of your life aren't quite enough.

The English writer Samuel Johnson said that ". . . (in) the completion of almost every wish is found a disappointment. "

I'm willing to bet that disappointment is second nature to most of us. Mostly what I feel is personal disappointment. I'm forever wondering about where I've fallen short. Have I loved Louie well enough? Have I given my all to this parish? Am I letting work slide?

Disappointment is so common in our lives that it shapes our outlook on the world. We become "realists." Realism is just the codification of disappointment I think; it's the structure from which we hang our low expectations.

To avoid a feeling of perpetual disappointment we allow ourselves to hope for very little. This has always been my stumbling block to meaningful prayer. I can't bear the disappointment of God being silent in the face of my earnest plea, so I rarely ask her for anything.

I see lots of "realists" around me in this congregation, particularly when the subject of the new sanctuary arises. The "realists" talk about our plans being too ambitious and not feasible. There are those who believe the congregation can't raise the money. There were those who said that neighborhood objections would stop the project. There are those who doubt we could ever fill the new space.

I find the "realistic" objections somewhat ironic in a Christian congregation. Is there any institution more founded on hope than a church? Aren't we as faithful Episcopalians executives in the hope business?

Let me share just a selection of hope references from Scripture.

*Psalm 25: ". . . (you are) God my Savior and my hope is in you all day long. "

*Lamentations: "The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him."

*Second Acts: "Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope."

*Romans: "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations."

*Second Corinthians: "On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us."

In a quick search, I found 180 Biblical references to hope. It's clear that as Christians we live a life predicated on hope, which is really a close cousin to faith itself.

We routinely take a leap of faith when we repeat the words of the Nicene Creed. There is nothing in our faith that can be "realistically" verified.

"We believe in One God, the Father Almighty."  "We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God." "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life." Not one of these statements can be proven. We believe they are true. More importantly, we hope they are true, just as we have hope in our eternal salvation, the ultimate gift of God's love and Christ's sacrifice.

As professed Christians, we are called to subvert our realism in favor of God's hope. I don't know anyone who does this better than our rector Nancy Lee. She is the CEO of hope here at St. Thomas'.

Nancy Lee sees possibilities everywhere she looks. She sees each parishioner for everything they have been and can be. She looks at our park and sees a bright, welcoming, radically hospitable home for the beacon of progressive Christianity that is St. Thomas'.

Is that vision anymore unlikely than what we answered today in the renewal of our Baptismal vows? We were asked: "Do you believe in God the Father?" We responded: "I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth."

Is the vision of a new sanctuary any more unlikely than the savior of mankind becoming incarnate in the form of an infant child born to a poor couple living in an obscure corner of the Middle East? Certainly not!

If you think that this much hope is farfetched, then you only have to look at today's readings to find a solid foundation for reaching for the unrealistic. Isaiah says "he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed . . . (the Lord has) taken you by the hand and kept you." We have the ultimate power behind us each and every step we take. This kind of support can only make us hope-filled.

If you struggle to hold on to hope, however, you'll find lots of company. I'm helping mentor an Education for Ministry group in the parish. We're in the first year of a four-year program and our focus has been on the Old Testament. We've spent several sessions reviewing Exodus. Those who followed Moses out of Egypt were forever losing their hope. In their time of fear, Moses' followers preferred a past which was familiar, though unpleasant, to the unknown dangers of the present and future.

When the Israelites complained about thirst and hunger, however, God delivered water from a rock and bread from Heaven. Time and again, the nation of Israel despaired. Time and again God responded. The message in Exodus is that God provides for Israel whatever is necessary for her life.

Like those early Israelites, we will find that God is always there to provide what is necessary for our hope. The greatest sign of this commitment is Jesus. John writes "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

In today's reading from Acts, Peter testifies that Jesus is "the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

Matthew says God called down from Heaven at Jesus' baptism to say "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." We've got the all-powerful Father, his well-pleasing Son and the life-sustaining Holy Ghost to remind us of the limits of realism and the power of hope of raise our expectations.

The incarnation of Jesus at Christmas gives us present-day Christians our Moses. This Epiphany season honors the three wise men for recognizing the power of our new Moses. Let our prayer today be that we share in the Magi's recognition and use God's power to kindle and enflame our hope.

John Carter

January 9, 2011