Webster defined hope as “a desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.” He also spoke of a “belief . . . grounded on substantial evidence.” When we speak of “hope against hope” we express hope even when the situation looks hopeless.
When Jesus came the Hebrew people were hoping against hope. They were about to lose hope. Many of them had given up hope for the promised Messiah. The official religious institution in Jerusalem seemed empty and self-perpetuating. It offered little hope for hurting people. Meanwhile the brutal Roman regime became more brutal and oppressive. Expectations for a better day, and the reasonable assurance that it was possible, waned.
Yet at the time Jesus began his ministry there was renewed hope. Old prophecies from Daniel calculated the days to the time of the coming of Messiah, and those days were just about fulfilled. John, the obscure prophet in the wilderness, arose to call people to repentance and to baptize them into a new order, a new kingdom of the Messiah, soon to come. Many flocked to hear him in the desolate places of the wilderness, many entered the waters of baptism, and sought to enter the kingdom. They renewed hope, saw the possibility of a new day into which they would live. Baptism became the portal of hope, the entry to a new kingdom and a new life.
Folks still remembered and recited promises of hope from the psalms and the prophets. The Lectionary texts we use today are a few of the many Scriptures that gave hope and promise to languishing people. For example, men who went to synagogue every morning for prayer heard and recited excerpts from Psalm 146, one of the “hallal” psalms. God is worthy of praise because we can trust him to help us in time of need. He is the creator of heaven and earth and sea, and all and all that is in them. He opens blind eyes, straightened bowed backs, executes justice for the oppressed, and gives food to the hungry. He gives freedom to prisoners, watches over strangers, and relieves the fatherless and the widows. He loves and execute justice. Against the brutality of everyday life under the Romans, there was hope.
Prophets like Isaiah were evoked to give hope. “Say to those who are fearful-hearted, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come like a vengeance, with the recompense of God; he will come and save you.’” Isaiah promised a future where blind eyes would be opened, stopped-up ears would hear, and lame legs would run and jump. Dry desert ground would turn to fresh water springs. Despite the severity of everyday life under the Romans, there was hope.
So when Jesus began his ministry Scriptures like these flooded the minds of people about to lose hope. They gathered around him just to see it come to pass. Word spread so quickly even foreigners flocked to him to see if it were true. Once Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon hoping to get a few days’ rest. No such luck. A Syro-Phoenician woman, descendant of Israel’s enemies of the past, sought out Jesus to rid her daughter of demonic torment. He ignored her, and then insulted her, but he could not get rid of her. “Even disgusting dogs get leftovers tossed out by wasteful children!” Fair enough, Jesus said, and he sent the woman home with the hope of finding her daughter delivered and whole. She was not disappointed.
Since his vacation was busted Jesus went home where crowds thronged him again. Some people brought a man deaf and mute, with the hope that Jesus would touch and heal him. After all, the prophets and the psalms tell of a day when blind eyes will be opened and deaf ears will be unstopped. Jesus took the man aside, put fingers in his ears, and looked up to heaven. With a sigh he said, “Be opened.” He was.
Everyone was amazed, but Jesus told them to no avail to keep it to themselves. They couldn’t help it. They were filled with so much hope. They just had to tell. Jesus gave them glimpses of the future reality with healings here and there, but in reality it was hope deferred to a later time, when the resurrection would complete the work Jesus began at the cross to make all things new.
This should resonate with us men. As I mentioned in a previous journal entry we are creatures of hope that is constantly deferred. But we cannot afford to lose hope. Like those of Jesus’ time who entered the kingdom through baptism, we also enter a new realm of hope through baptism. We live as though it were here, even though it is not altogether here. We still have oppression and injustice in the world, but we also have the guiding example of Jesus and the grace of the Holy Spirit to continually give us glimpses of our eternal future, glimpses of hope.
How do we live into that hope in the present time? The Lectionary this week points us to James, and to practical advice for living in impartiality and justice. Respect and treat people the same way regardless of social, political, or financial position. Live by the ”royal law“ and love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18). Don’t just give warm wishes, but kind and practical gestures that actually meet needs, and give glimpses of hope for a better day to come. James pointedly reminds us that “faith without works is dead,” and lets us know our hopes for eternal life after the resurrection are futile unless we are doing something to bring it to pass in some practical and tangible way now. Faithful kingdom building now brings the eternal kingdom even closer. And it fuels hope for the weary, so they have strength to look up and see that their redemption draws nigh.
Men, hope against hope. Even when it looks hopeless and you feel nothing will ever get better and the Lord will never return to begin the eternal kingdom, contine to hold out hope. Pray the psalms of hope. Declare the prophets of hope. Rehearse the victories of hope in Jesus’ ministry. Live in ever-present hope with impartial love and relevant justice.
When Jesus came the Hebrew people were hoping against hope. They were about to lose hope. Many of them had given up hope for the promised Messiah. The official religious institution in Jerusalem seemed empty and self-perpetuating. It offered little hope for hurting people. Meanwhile the brutal Roman regime became more brutal and oppressive. Expectations for a better day, and the reasonable assurance that it was possible, waned.
Yet at the time Jesus began his ministry there was renewed hope. Old prophecies from Daniel calculated the days to the time of the coming of Messiah, and those days were just about fulfilled. John, the obscure prophet in the wilderness, arose to call people to repentance and to baptize them into a new order, a new kingdom of the Messiah, soon to come. Many flocked to hear him in the desolate places of the wilderness, many entered the waters of baptism, and sought to enter the kingdom. They renewed hope, saw the possibility of a new day into which they would live. Baptism became the portal of hope, the entry to a new kingdom and a new life.
Folks still remembered and recited promises of hope from the psalms and the prophets. The Lectionary texts we use today are a few of the many Scriptures that gave hope and promise to languishing people. For example, men who went to synagogue every morning for prayer heard and recited excerpts from Psalm 146, one of the “hallal” psalms. God is worthy of praise because we can trust him to help us in time of need. He is the creator of heaven and earth and sea, and all and all that is in them. He opens blind eyes, straightened bowed backs, executes justice for the oppressed, and gives food to the hungry. He gives freedom to prisoners, watches over strangers, and relieves the fatherless and the widows. He loves and execute justice. Against the brutality of everyday life under the Romans, there was hope.
Prophets like Isaiah were evoked to give hope. “Say to those who are fearful-hearted, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come like a vengeance, with the recompense of God; he will come and save you.’” Isaiah promised a future where blind eyes would be opened, stopped-up ears would hear, and lame legs would run and jump. Dry desert ground would turn to fresh water springs. Despite the severity of everyday life under the Romans, there was hope.
So when Jesus began his ministry Scriptures like these flooded the minds of people about to lose hope. They gathered around him just to see it come to pass. Word spread so quickly even foreigners flocked to him to see if it were true. Once Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon hoping to get a few days’ rest. No such luck. A Syro-Phoenician woman, descendant of Israel’s enemies of the past, sought out Jesus to rid her daughter of demonic torment. He ignored her, and then insulted her, but he could not get rid of her. “Even disgusting dogs get leftovers tossed out by wasteful children!” Fair enough, Jesus said, and he sent the woman home with the hope of finding her daughter delivered and whole. She was not disappointed.
Since his vacation was busted Jesus went home where crowds thronged him again. Some people brought a man deaf and mute, with the hope that Jesus would touch and heal him. After all, the prophets and the psalms tell of a day when blind eyes will be opened and deaf ears will be unstopped. Jesus took the man aside, put fingers in his ears, and looked up to heaven. With a sigh he said, “Be opened.” He was.
Everyone was amazed, but Jesus told them to no avail to keep it to themselves. They couldn’t help it. They were filled with so much hope. They just had to tell. Jesus gave them glimpses of the future reality with healings here and there, but in reality it was hope deferred to a later time, when the resurrection would complete the work Jesus began at the cross to make all things new.
This should resonate with us men. As I mentioned in a previous journal entry we are creatures of hope that is constantly deferred. But we cannot afford to lose hope. Like those of Jesus’ time who entered the kingdom through baptism, we also enter a new realm of hope through baptism. We live as though it were here, even though it is not altogether here. We still have oppression and injustice in the world, but we also have the guiding example of Jesus and the grace of the Holy Spirit to continually give us glimpses of our eternal future, glimpses of hope.
How do we live into that hope in the present time? The Lectionary this week points us to James, and to practical advice for living in impartiality and justice. Respect and treat people the same way regardless of social, political, or financial position. Live by the ”royal law“ and love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18). Don’t just give warm wishes, but kind and practical gestures that actually meet needs, and give glimpses of hope for a better day to come. James pointedly reminds us that “faith without works is dead,” and lets us know our hopes for eternal life after the resurrection are futile unless we are doing something to bring it to pass in some practical and tangible way now. Faithful kingdom building now brings the eternal kingdom even closer. And it fuels hope for the weary, so they have strength to look up and see that their redemption draws nigh.
Men, hope against hope. Even when it looks hopeless and you feel nothing will ever get better and the Lord will never return to begin the eternal kingdom, contine to hold out hope. Pray the psalms of hope. Declare the prophets of hope. Rehearse the victories of hope in Jesus’ ministry. Live in ever-present hope with impartial love and relevant justice.
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