Hebrews 6:19-20
Hope is the Anchor to My Soul
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Paul's Vision and His Thorn
1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
John 14:15-17
Jesus Promises Us the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Romans 8:18-30
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Matthew 5:1-12
The Beatitudes -The Sermon on the Mount
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Luke 6:17-26
Sermon on the Plain
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon,18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
23 "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
24 "But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
I do not have anywhere near the faith that St. Paul had as he traveled and spoke and wrote his epistles about Jesus Christ...Troubles often seemed to follow him, as some non-believers were constantly attacking him...And besides these outside troubles, he also had a thorn in his flesh that tormented him...He had prayed to God three times to remove this thorn, but the LORD did not take away this internal trouble and pain he had...Life was not always the easiest for St. Paul as he traveled and tried to spread the word about the gospel of Jesus Christs...And maybe St. Paul when he writes the words, when I am weak then I am strong -is telling us our human weakness displays and shows the divine power of God...
When I was young, I thought it would be good if my life would be easy, be comfortable, and be prosperous...Later in life, I was one of those Jesus followers, who do not find faith easy...And it maybe was because of my thinking about life and how it should be and how I wanted my life to be...Faith has come both with anxieties (I have had generalized anxiety disorder for over thirty eight years) and doubts, more often than I would like...However, in between the doubts and the anxiety -I have always had this hope...And I believe this hope has came from the Holy Spirit that God indwells in us...And the Holy Spirit, this Spirit of Truth that helps us when we need it...This Spirit helps us in our weakness, and when we are weak...
But being a believer, I had hoped for many years that Jesus would take away any and all thorns I had had and make my life easier and comfortable...Since Jesus died for my sins, then hopefully my problems would leave or begin to go away as a believer...That did not and has not happened for me...The thorn remains...But amidst the thorns their somehow is this idea of hope, this Light that tells me He is near, that His grace is near...And He sends His angels, who maybe a brother, or a friend, or someone, or something like a book an author, or something that brings additional hopes...He also gives us love to help us through things...And through these experiences, these hopes and these loves, these things are not forgotten...
This hope is not easy to explain, but then neither are the years that have passed as the thorn works away at troubling one...There is something mysterious in this hope...And if I believe in the letters of St. Paul, this mystery is His grace...There is something much bigger than one's thorn, and in this we find this grace, His grace...
For me following Jesus has not been a lot about laughing and exuberant feelings of happiness, as I read the Bible and the four gospels...I still have days of despair...When I have these days of troubles, I think of Job, and pray to God and His Son for help...For me, after reading the four gospels and reflect on what He has said -the gospels are not about life being easy, and comfortable, and prosperous...Jesus' great Sermons -the Sermon on the Mount and Sermon on the Plain have taught me that....
I believe my following Him has been more like the lyrics written by Leonard Cohen...My path to Him has not been not so much a victory march, but a long and broken Hallelujah...But I must quickly add, it has been a Glorious Hallelujah...