Hopes & Dreams

Well, Christmas is almost here.  What are you hoping for?  What are you longing to “see under your tree”?  Is it world peace, a more civil society, fewer endangered species, the Eagles playing well, or a new sweater?  There’s something about the season that draws me into a more reflective state of mind, to take stock and to want something better, to be better.  Last week I preached about it in terms of “coming clean”—that’s the “repentance” John the Baptist was calling us to.  It’s funny how the season seems to create opportunities for all this.  It is after all the “season for giving,” and not just presents, but presence, of giving of ourselves to others in accordance with an ideal that is bigger than ourselves.  All of that seems to permeate “the season” in a way we don’t see at other times of the year.

            What are you hoping for?  ‘Hope’ is one of those words that is used a lot this time of year.  It is a spiritual word.  “For in hope we were saved.  Now hope that is seen is not hope.  For who hopes for what is seen?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:24-25).  The Jewish people had been waiting for the coming of the Lord in the person of the Messiah for hundreds of years when Jesus was born.  But he wasn’t what you’d expect—a baby King born in a stable.  Even when his ministry was happening, he still wasn’t what you’d expect—healing the blind, the lame, casting out demons, and associating with the poor.  When asked if he is “the One,” Jesus replied, “What do you see?”  The blind and the lame are healed, the poor hear good news… (Matthew 11:2-6).  He showed them the self-giving of his ministry.  The very thing the people were hoping for was right there in front of them!  But they had to be told that.  That God’s self-giving was in the person of Jesus—Emmanuel, “God with us.”  And the church has been telling people ever since all of the ways, “the Lord is come.” 

            This is another spiritual reality.  The very thing we’ve been hoping for is often right in front of us or right around the corner to be waited for.  God keeps coming to us, with mercy, forgiveness, love, and grace, and the occasional bucket of cold water.  While we wait and hope, let us also look for the signs of his arrival in our lives and in the lives of others. 

Peace,

Pr. Christian