When you're at the end of your rope...
Hope can be an elusive thing.
Just ask Sara Eberhardt. To be more precise, ask her parents.
When Sara was 3 years old in 1994, her mother took her to the doctor for a routine check-up.
The appointment ended up being far from ordinary.
The doctor felt something abnormal around Sara’s stomach; a biopsy revealed a bilateral Wilms tumor, or cancer in both of her kidneys. The dreaded "c" word. Nothing could possibly take away one's desire to see good in the world quicker than a situation you're not sure you can find your way out of. If you've been there, as a parent or as a person, you know the feeling.
It is during this time of the year that many people are faced with the stark reality that life truly can be harsh and unforgiving. We learn in these times that we either flee or fight. Life has a way of putting us flat on our backs looking up. Do we get up or lie there? Life can suck just right out of us, life.
There's only one place to go when we reach this spot in the road. Hope.
The nation of Israel found itself in just such a moment.
Downtrodden under Roman rule. Worn by the rigors of Jewish law.
Hebrew people found little be joyful about. They found it hard to love anyone. Peace was not found in their hearts.
And, then the promise of all promises was fulfilled.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d] (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Can you imagine the moment?
We discussed at one point the moment when the angel appeared to Mary.
Now, the same angel appears to Joseph as well. I wonder how he handled it?
Well, scripture suggests that he was scared and confused before the angel spoke to him.
How was he after? He takes it all to heart and does exactly when he needs to do.
Was he truly righteous? Was he just scared out of his mind?
Hey, an angel appearing to someone must be a traumatic moment.
Never been there, but to be in the presence of something holy and glorious; it can't be easy.
Here's what I see in Joseph's actions. Hope.
And, what is hope? Well, it's about time we looked at that.
Hmmm. The scripture suggests that he went right to Mary and brought her home to be his wife.
No delay. No contemplation or over thinking the moment. Hope has a way of doing that. When we actually have our focus on what can be it causes use to do things we might not normally do.
When I knew this was going to be my subject today, HOPE, the first thing that came to my mind was the movie The Shawshank Redemption. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you take it in, just once. The message of hope is central.
Here we have a man named Andy Dufresne. His wife cheated on him and then was tragically killed. The police immediately come after him as their prime suspect and lock him away in prison for the rest of his life. Knowing that he is innocent, but coming to grips with the idea that he was not the perfect husband and quite possibly pushed his wife away, Andy still has hope. If a truly good movie is doing it's work it causes us to put ourselves in the shoes of the character and feel what he is feeling.
We go through all kinds of things in life, but do we truly deserve to be walked all over? To be downtrodden and left without a breath of life left in us? The character Andy Dufresne has been through it all behind the walls of this prison. But, he still hangs on to the idea of hope. That one day a wrong will be righted and he could go free to live in the world again.
Cancer has a way of robbing a person of the basic freedom to live. It can feel like a prison.
Life becomes a series of tests. One can feel like a lab rat and not a human being.
The treatments. The doctor visits. The inability to simply eat a meal or walk through the house.
In the case of Sara Eberhardt, at the age of 3, she endured 65 weeks of chemotherapy, one week of radiation treatments, and surgery to remove one kidney. As a 3-year-old, cancer may have taken away her hair and her kidney, but not her passion for life.
Chicago Sun-Times film reviewer Roger Ebert suggested that The Shawshank Redemption is an allegory for maintaining one's feeling of self-worth when placed in a hopeless position. Andy Dufresne's integrity is an important theme in the story line, especially in prison, where integrity is lacking. If you've seen the film, do you remember Andy talking with his friend, Red (played by Morgan Freeman) about that subject, HOPE? Red had been in prison for a long time. Never thought he'd see the outside ever again. Finally, Red is amazingly paroled. Once on the outside, he finds a letter from his friend. Andy had this line in his letter...
Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
And, the big line from the movie. Red repeats it as he packs up and leaves town.
Years later, the thriving 21-year-old senior at Winona State University in Minnesota is an active, passionate volunteer. For the past four years, she has been co-president of her university’s Colleges Against Cancer® program, raising funds and awareness and encouraging her fellow students to participate in Relay For Life® events on campus.
“From the little girl who was diagnosed with kidney cancer, to the strong-willed American Cancer Society volunteer I am today,” says Eberhardt, “I’m standing tall, as an 18-year cancer survivor, ready to finish the fight against cancer!”
Hope is truly one of God's favorite things.
Without it we have nothing. Do you sit there and simply listen to what I'm saying on Sunday?
Or, does all of this bring you to a place of purpose in life? To help others in need. To show love to someone who has nothing. To share joy with someone who needs a lift. To pray for peace in a dark and dank situation. To hope and put that hope into action.
Many of you put your hope in me as I came here to be your pastor.
This past week, I put my hope in you and you did not disappoint.
For many of you, the hope is that I can bring this church back to a place of prominence again.
My hope is that you might truly grab hold of this faith in Christ and in doing so, can be the light of the world to a community in need of one great thing. HOPE.
God's favorite things can be found in our everyday lives. As simple as a gesture filled with love.
Go and be what God desires most. His favorite things.
Hope can be an elusive thing.
Just ask Sara Eberhardt. To be more precise, ask her parents.
When Sara was 3 years old in 1994, her mother took her to the doctor for a routine check-up.
The appointment ended up being far from ordinary.
The doctor felt something abnormal around Sara’s stomach; a biopsy revealed a bilateral Wilms tumor, or cancer in both of her kidneys. The dreaded "c" word. Nothing could possibly take away one's desire to see good in the world quicker than a situation you're not sure you can find your way out of. If you've been there, as a parent or as a person, you know the feeling.
It is during this time of the year that many people are faced with the stark reality that life truly can be harsh and unforgiving. We learn in these times that we either flee or fight. Life has a way of putting us flat on our backs looking up. Do we get up or lie there? Life can suck just right out of us, life.
There's only one place to go when we reach this spot in the road. Hope.
The nation of Israel found itself in just such a moment.
Downtrodden under Roman rule. Worn by the rigors of Jewish law.
Hebrew people found little be joyful about. They found it hard to love anyone. Peace was not found in their hearts.
And, then the promise of all promises was fulfilled.
Matthew 1:18-25
New International Version (NIV)
Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d] (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Can you imagine the moment?
We discussed at one point the moment when the angel appeared to Mary.
Now, the same angel appears to Joseph as well. I wonder how he handled it?
Well, scripture suggests that he was scared and confused before the angel spoke to him.
How was he after? He takes it all to heart and does exactly when he needs to do.
Was he truly righteous? Was he just scared out of his mind?
Hey, an angel appearing to someone must be a traumatic moment.
Never been there, but to be in the presence of something holy and glorious; it can't be easy.
Here's what I see in Joseph's actions. Hope.
And, what is hope? Well, it's about time we looked at that.
Definition of HOPE
intransitive verb
1: to cherish a desire with anticipation <hopes for a promotion>
2 archaic : trust
transitive verb
1: to desire with expectation of obtainment
2: to expect with confidence : trust
Hmmm. The scripture suggests that he went right to Mary and brought her home to be his wife.
No delay. No contemplation or over thinking the moment. Hope has a way of doing that. When we actually have our focus on what can be it causes use to do things we might not normally do.
When I knew this was going to be my subject today, HOPE, the first thing that came to my mind was the movie The Shawshank Redemption. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you take it in, just once. The message of hope is central.
Here we have a man named Andy Dufresne. His wife cheated on him and then was tragically killed. The police immediately come after him as their prime suspect and lock him away in prison for the rest of his life. Knowing that he is innocent, but coming to grips with the idea that he was not the perfect husband and quite possibly pushed his wife away, Andy still has hope. If a truly good movie is doing it's work it causes us to put ourselves in the shoes of the character and feel what he is feeling.
We go through all kinds of things in life, but do we truly deserve to be walked all over? To be downtrodden and left without a breath of life left in us? The character Andy Dufresne has been through it all behind the walls of this prison. But, he still hangs on to the idea of hope. That one day a wrong will be righted and he could go free to live in the world again.
Cancer has a way of robbing a person of the basic freedom to live. It can feel like a prison.
Life becomes a series of tests. One can feel like a lab rat and not a human being.
The treatments. The doctor visits. The inability to simply eat a meal or walk through the house.
In the case of Sara Eberhardt, at the age of 3, she endured 65 weeks of chemotherapy, one week of radiation treatments, and surgery to remove one kidney. As a 3-year-old, cancer may have taken away her hair and her kidney, but not her passion for life.
Chicago Sun-Times film reviewer Roger Ebert suggested that The Shawshank Redemption is an allegory for maintaining one's feeling of self-worth when placed in a hopeless position. Andy Dufresne's integrity is an important theme in the story line, especially in prison, where integrity is lacking. If you've seen the film, do you remember Andy talking with his friend, Red (played by Morgan Freeman) about that subject, HOPE? Red had been in prison for a long time. Never thought he'd see the outside ever again. Finally, Red is amazingly paroled. Once on the outside, he finds a letter from his friend. Andy had this line in his letter...
Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
And, the big line from the movie. Red repeats it as he packs up and leaves town.
Get busy livin' or get busy dying.Hope can push us to do something we might not normally do. Sara Eberhardt knows this to be true.
Years later, the thriving 21-year-old senior at Winona State University in Minnesota is an active, passionate volunteer. For the past four years, she has been co-president of her university’s Colleges Against Cancer® program, raising funds and awareness and encouraging her fellow students to participate in Relay For Life® events on campus.
“From the little girl who was diagnosed with kidney cancer, to the strong-willed American Cancer Society volunteer I am today,” says Eberhardt, “I’m standing tall, as an 18-year cancer survivor, ready to finish the fight against cancer!”
Hope is truly one of God's favorite things.
Without it we have nothing. Do you sit there and simply listen to what I'm saying on Sunday?
Or, does all of this bring you to a place of purpose in life? To help others in need. To show love to someone who has nothing. To share joy with someone who needs a lift. To pray for peace in a dark and dank situation. To hope and put that hope into action.
Many of you put your hope in me as I came here to be your pastor.
This past week, I put my hope in you and you did not disappoint.
For many of you, the hope is that I can bring this church back to a place of prominence again.
My hope is that you might truly grab hold of this faith in Christ and in doing so, can be the light of the world to a community in need of one great thing. HOPE.
God's favorite things can be found in our everyday lives. As simple as a gesture filled with love.
Go and be what God desires most. His favorite things.
