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.