Second Sunday in Advent
Theme: ‘Hope.........in Christ’
Hope
Some six or seven years ago,
in an interview, Bishop John Khamse of Vientiane in Laos, described the life of
the local Church, its pastoral ministry and about being Church in a communist
country.
The reporter asked: How do you foresee the future of the Church?
Bishop John said: Humanly
speaking, we have very little hope. Poverty and want -- these are the words that express
the reality we have to face every day as the Church in
Such reality makes us remember the Apostles in the Upper Room after the death of the Lord.
But the faith of Christians in
I have to say that our only
hope is in the Holy Spirit.
From Bishop John’s words, I
think we recognise the age old truth - that Christian hope is found at its
brightest, purest, most enduring not in the great times, of full churches and
packed pews - It is in the times of greatest difficulties, that Christian hope
that begins to shine brightest in the deepest darkness. That’s
the kind of hope the Church needs today, the kind of hope we need.
Well, this is the season when
we think of hope, the season of Advent.
So, once again, in this season
of hope, we ask - What is Christian hope ?
You might remember that last
week, we heard how right at the heart of the Bible...... we find that God gives all we need for the present, for
today............
In the book of Exodus we have
the whole story of how the Hebrew slaves, with no future whatsoever to speak
of, were given all they needed for each day.
In completely unknown
territory, the wide open desert, on their way to the land God had promised, a
new land, the Promised Land, On their way God fed them and nourished
them on the journey. The living God, having done great things for His people,
did not forget the small things, their daily needs, their daily lives. When
they were hungry He gave them manna each morning. When they were desperate for water, God gave
them water from the rock.
In fact perhaps that’s what we
are looking for this morning ! How do we break open the
rock, break it open so that hope pours out on us, for us, into us, in an
inexhaustible fountain ?
The Cross
You see, we have been redeemed,
saved at the Cross, once and for all, through Jesus Christ. Our sin is laid on
Him and taken away. The burden of our guilt, all that weighs us down is lifted
at the Cross. We are forgiven once and for all and forever - at the Cross.
Manna for each day
And as we journey on, God
feeds us and nourishes us on the journey. The living God, having done great
things for us in Jesus Christ at the Cross , does not
forget the little things, our daily needs, our daily lives. In God’s care we
are sustained, nourished, with all the rich treasures of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the manna, the bread of life for each day. And if the
way forward seems closed. But then it is, that
our Father in heaven breaks in: and with the touch of His grace, He opens a new
way for us where there was none.
We are redeemed,
God,
gives all we need for today.
Now, what of the future ?
Here’s what the apostle Paul
says:
Pauls declares that the
treasures of strength and faith, life and joy, in Jesus Christ we have now each
day, these experiences of God’s grace and love....... deepening life in Him take
all these together, says Paul. They are, the first
instalment of what is to come, the first part, here and now, of what is to come
in the future. Paul uses the
Greek word arrabone........ which means
a first instalment.
Willie Barclay quotes a letter
written in Greek in New Testament times: The organiser of a village festival
who’s invited some dancers to come writes - I have given the dancers an arrabone,
a first instalment. When they get here, when they have danced I’ll give them
the rest.......
Paul says: that at the moment,
we have
the
treasures of strength and faith and life in Jesus Christ but this is just the
first part of all that is to come. God has so much more for us in store in the
future.
that
is why
we
can speak of bright hope.
And to confirm all this, we
have the word of the Lord Jesus., the last words spoken to His disciples in
Matthew’s gospel.
The words are these: “ I will be with you always, to the very end of
the age............”
Here is the foundation, the
ground of wonderful hope for us ! Why
?
First: Because He promises His presence with us, now.
His words are these: “ I will be with you..........” Jesus
Christ, risen from the dead declares that He is with us. With each one of us,
with the Church, with all those who put their trust in Him. Jesus Christ, risen
declares that He is with us. We will always know, and be blessed us with
His presence, comforted, because we know Him near.
Second: Because He promises us His personal presence
Jesus says to his friends the
disciples........”Lo I am... with you” Here Jesus, risen
from the dead declares that He is present with the disciples. And He will not
leave the disciples as they set out into the world. Just as they knew Him and
spoke with Him on the highways and byways, in the towns and villages, the quiet
places in
The disciples did not know what was ahead, did not know the situations they would face, the persecution, the violence. But they did know that the Lord was with them, they could turn to Him at any point, and know Him close at hand. “I will be with you”. They were not orphans, they had not lost their Lord. No, the opposite - they knew instead this mighty fact, that He was with them - whatever happened.
Here
is a man who came to know Christ many years ago speaking of this same
experience:
“I
placed my trust in Christ fifty-two years ago, and he has never failed me. In
all of these years I have not once regretted the step I took. I can also say
that I never had any doubt about Christ. Of course, there were things that I
wanted to have clarified. But as to this one fact - the fact that Christ loved
me and gave himself for me on the cross - there has been no doubt. I am totally
satisfied with him. To me the most wonderful thing has been that God was in
Christ reconciling the world to himself because God is
love. For me there has been nothing beyond that; there is nothing beyond that.
I have never had any doubt that he is the perfect, complete revelation of God.
This certitude has kept me going against all kinds of opposition. If there had
been anything short of this, I would have gone back long, long ago.
The
pivot, the center, the grip of the whole thing has been Christ. I claim nothing
for myself. It is his doing, not mine. If I had to choose again a thousand
times, I would do exactly the same thing. Even in the darkest moments, I have
never regretted it. When people say that I have given up a
great deal, I tell them that I have not given up anything. I have
received more from him than I can ever say. “
When Jesus says “ I will be with you always, to the very end of
the age............” He says them to us !
When He says: “I am with
you........I will be with you......” this is a fact, this is a mighty promise, a true thing. Hear
His words,, take them to yourself........ I am with
you, I will be with you. This is His Word to you....... let that sink deep down
into the foundation of your soul and rest there. And you will find strength for
the present, and unshakeable hope for the future.
For, at the Cross, He bought
us with a price...... He gave His life as a ransom for us,
this is how much He loves us. So, having given Himself for us - will He leave
us or abandon us ? No,His
word is “ I will be with you always, to the very end of the age............”
So, then, through all the
seasons and changes of life, through the time when doubt threatens, through the
time when loss drains us, we will look and we will hear the word of Jesus “I
will be with you...........”
And this,
right to the very end of life itself........... for
the word of Jesus is “Lo, I am with you always”.
And it is not the strength of your
faith or mine that matters His promise does not depend on you........ it is Christ’s unshakeable promise to you. He who is Lord of all. And so, when the tides run fast, the
waters of life deepen, the current runs strong, too
strong. His word to you........ laid deep in
your soul....... is I am with you always, I will be with you always to the
verye end of the age.
When we hear the risen Jesus
Christ say this, we know that He has the present, and
the future in His care. And this, surely is where
hope, genuine, solid, enduring hope begins to take deep root in us, in place of
fear, doubt.
His word to us is this: I
am with you always, I will be with you always to the
verye end of the age. To the end
of the age - He walks with us through the present, through this life, and right
to the conclusion of all things.