Hoping for Hope

Hope

So, what are you hoping for for Christmas? Most of the time when people ask us that question they are thinking of things you would like to acquire that you have been wanting. That is a much easier conversation to have that the one you might have if you were to talk about what you really hope for on a much deeper level, that is, assuming that you have not giving up on the idea of hoping.

Hope is not always as easy as it might at first seem. Real hope is not just wishful thinking, or "pie in the sky" kind of stuff that remains blind to what is really going on around us. Rather it is a clear eyed look at all that surrounds us in the world which often makes hoping quite challenging, and a decision to hope in spite of it all - and this, not in denial of what is real or practical, but in order to embrace what is indeed the most real of all - that which, along with faith and love, still remains (1 Cor 13;13) when everything else is gone - hope.

This is a season that is all about hope, which comes to us as we embrace and celebrate the amazing gift of God to us in the person of Jesus. It is a season for remembering the stories, for paying closer attention to the light that has continued to shine in the darkness, but which the darkness neither understands or has been able to extinguish. It is a time to renew our commitments to putting aside the things that we sometimes place o

Luke

(NIV)

1:26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

you may now dismiss your servant in peace.

For my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and the glory of your people Israel.”

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

ur hope in that resist the light, or come between us and the light, leaving our lives full of shadows. It is once again about renewing the gift of hope.

If you would like to listen to the sermon once again (or perhaps for the first time) as Pastor Ken reflects on this, you can access our sermon library by clicking here.

If you would like to access the live stream version, you can do that by clicking here.

Additional Note from Ken Curtis: If you would like to explore this theme even further, here is a link to a sermon preached by Greg Boyd on the same topic - developed in some parallel (although also some clearly unique ways as well. This was a nice surprise to come across as I listened to the Woodland Hills Church Podcast while running on Sunday morning the day after I preached the sermon above. I enjoyed the sermon, and thought you might too (and, besides, he is a better speaker :-) ). It is interesting that God seemed to be impressing very similar themes on at least two preachers on different ends of the country during the same week. You can access his sermon by clicking here.