A hopeful homily?

Holden Evening Prayer

July 15, 2020

Romans 5:1-5

A reading from Romans,

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Please pray with me,

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable and suitable in your sight, O God, our rock, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen. 

And hope does not disappoint us…

But what about when it does? 

When have you been disappointed by hope?

Or rather…been hopeful and then experienced disappointment. 

Or let down? 

Or lost hope? 

It happens, right? 

You hoped that the outcome of a conversation would be different this time, but it’s not.

You hoped that we would be together in the sanctuary to see the butterflies in the season of Easter. 

You hoped that you wouldn’t need to postpone your wedding….(again)

You hoped that the planned vacation would still work out somehow…

I posed the following questions on my social media feeds:

Question 1: When have you hoped for something and been disappointed? 

Question 2: Where do you see hope now? 

Here are some of their responses…

I had hoped for a permanent teaching position for 4 years through 6 different long-term substitute positions and interviews.

I had hope every test result day for my mom that her numbers would show treatments were working.  I had hope that she would be the cancer miracle.

A job interview when I hoped for the position, but received the unsuccessful candidate letter.

Hope that a husband and wife would have many happy years together where they could travel and enjoy life together. 

Hope for a marriage for life with a spouse who would celebrate shared gifts, differences and abilities.  Disappointed to discover after several years that who he wanted was a silent housekeeper, baby producer who would do as he said or there were consequences.  With healing work to recover, there is a future full of hope, friends and colleagues who love me just as I am…a unique creation of God’s hands and I get to help others who have been silenced find their voices again. 

I hope that my brother will make more of an effort to contact our mother.

I hope that I have the relationship with my daughter that I have with my mother. 

At one time, I hoped I would be considered for a promotion at my job, where I had put my heart and soul in for the last 12 years – only to find out that was never even a thought for the higher ups. 

I hope that we have made the right decision for our granddaughter and that the opportunity provides her space and allows her to thrive. 

On a lighter note…one person was in high hopes when they bought the fridge with the door ice dispenser…big BIG disappointment. 

One friend shared her experience from Monday,

This whole year has been one disappointment after another, it seems. “We’ll see each other in a few weeks” turned into months, turned into Zoom EVERYTHING, and we all have learned that can only be vaguely similar and never a substitute for connection and human contact.

But... we had our recital yesterday. After months of online classes and a single 15-minute-or-less rehearsal for each piece (and for my high school girls a couple of covert parking lot meetups to get themselves more confident because they can’t stand to let themselves or me down), we all masked up and sanitized our hands and did what we love. Outdoors, under a tent, during a spontaneous tornado warning and downpour that were not in the forecast, followed by intense heat and sweating. And trains going by that were not on the schedule. And a motorcycle revving up next door making us all think the speaker blew out.  It was a bit of insanity and a bit of magic and a bit of grace in this dark, sad time.

And they gave me hope. Hope that togetherness will happen again even if we have to bear the storms (and the locusts and the plagues). It was a reminder that although we are all reinventing our reality, life is not cancelled, Love is not cancelled, art is not cancelled, commitment is not cancelled, friendships and beauty and God are not cancelled.

Amen, sister.

Which leads us to the second question…where do you see hope now? 

I see hope in my granddaughter…

I see hope in my kids…

I see hope in my grandchildren…

I see hope in my daughter…in her ideas and suggestions, in her eyes when she plays outside, in her face when I’m reading her a book, and in her questions about what is happening. 

I see hope in all the beautiful nature blooming and providing fruit, vegetables and flowers.

I see hope in my kids, but even more so, I see it in my mom – who holds on to the hope and prayer that there is a kidney somewhere that will be available for her. 

I see hope in the young, the next generation. They seem to ‘get it.’

I don’t know if you heard that…but so much of our hope resides in the young that surround us.  The youth that live with us or in our communities and in our world. 

The youth and youngsters who have the ability to see the world with eyes full of wonder, to ask the difficult questions, to respond in new ways and to change the world as they do. 

I’m looking at you…youth…kids…young adults…you are providing tremendous hope right now…for so many people (no pressure, right?) 

Your words.

Your actions.

Your care and compassion for those in our world who have been mistreated, forgotten, hurt or abused because of skin color, gender, sexual orientation or ability is making a huge impact right now. 

I don’t say this put more pressure on you, but to lift you up in the eyes of others and for you to see yourselves in the light of hope. 

As you continue to live out your baptismal promises, you inspire the rest of us and fill us with hope. 

Keep being you. 

We will be watching.  And as we do, we are encouraged and filled with hope through all that you say and do. 

And…the rest of y’all…if you are looking for hope? 

If you are in need of that encouragement? 

Look to the younger among us…

Let their actions of love and compassion inspire and encourage you. 

To lift your voice.

To learn something new.

To respond with compassion and care.

To live out Christ’s love and Christ’s light this day and all days.

And may the peace, which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, and let all God’s people say, amen.