What is Hope?

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
March 5th 2006
Communion Meditation
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“What is Hope?”
I Peter 3:8-22

Doing a sermon series on the doctrines of the church can be a dangerous exercise. If one is hoping to encourage increased worship participation this is probably the wrong way to accomplish such a task. In our culture, particularly in the churches, one way to loose people’s attention is to say the word theology or doctrine. I am either foolish or naive because that is precisely what I plan on doing during lent. When the church in North America continues to be seen as irrelevant by much of our culture we only feed this notion by our own inability to easily articulate what we believe. That is why it is worth our time to understand, to reclaim, and to even redefine and re-imagine what the foundations of our faith might have to say about our lives today.
In our scripture lesson this morning the writer of Peter’s letter has a tremendous amount of information to share. Only a brief reading of this letter makes it clear that the recipients of this letter were facing some pretty difficult circumstances. The suffering of that community is evidenced in nearly every verse of the letter. The goal of the writer is to encourage the hearers so they will not loose hope when faced with the persecution to come.
This letter serves to remind those who are suffering that they have not been forsaken by God. It is also a way of helping the believers stand strong in the midst of a rather chaotic world. This is nowhere more evident than in the passage from our reading which tells the hearers to be ready to give an account for the hope they have. Hope in the midst of chaos, hope in the midst of suffering, hope in the midst of injustice, hope in the midst of oppression, hope built on the foundation of Jesus. This is the core message of the letter of Peter.
At this point I find it necessary to point out and explain that I have never preached from this letter before. It has less to do with the letter itself and more to do with the ways in which this letter has been used by the church. Here are just a few of the reasons: “Slaves, accept the authority of your masters…Wives, in the same way, accept the authority of your husband… For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps... When he was abused, he did not return abuse.” As you might imagine, this book was a particular favorite of our slave-holding Presbyterian forefathers.
Fortunately we now understand that these passages were written for a particular place and time and not God’s approval for the institution of slavery. While it would be logical to do the same with the passage about wives, since they are tied together, there seems to be some confusion on this point. Since it is part of this letter it must be said, from the pulpit, that abuse of women is not biblically justified. Jesus suffering does not justify violence against women or anyone for that matter. And, any justification or belief about the subservience of women, found in this passage, is nothing more than an acceptance of the justification for slavery. This letter of Peter was written by and for people who were powerless. It was never intended as a tool for social control. Instead, it was intended to uplift and remind the hearers of the hope found in Jesus.
The hope mentioned in this letter, and other places in the bible, have become the foundation for the understanding of Christian Hope. To gain a better understanding of Christian hope we must say something about what it is not. Christian hope is not built upon any current social hope. It does not take its direction from the leading economic indicators. Despite some confusion on this next point it is not one and the same with the ‘American Dream.’ Christian hope is not built upon human progress or even our ever expanding and innovative technological society.
Contrary to some modern teaching, Christian hope is not passive. It does not teach us to look at everything that is wrong in our world, throw our hands up in the air and simply wait for life after death. This is not Christian hope at all. This sort of confusion about Christian hope is precisely the reason why Karl Marx called religion the: ‘narcotic for the masses.’ Instead, Christian hope or eschatology as it is known in theological jargon is so much more. Christian hope says that the church cannot accept the present reality of things as God’s intention for the world. It means, in the words of James Cone, “To believe in heaven is to refuse to accept hell on earth.”
If we are honest with one another, there are not many places in our world today where one can find hope. This lack of hope leads to a despair. The despair in our society is almost palatable. It manifests itself in a myriad of ways. Is it any wonder why so many people are looking for an escape when faced with the despair all around us? Instead of dealing with this reality we find it easier to escape through sports and recreation, through drugs, alcohol, sex and yes, even religious activity.
Unfortunately the avenues of escape no longer provide the haven they once did. We find ourselves living in a society where no one feels safe. An unfortunate consequence of all of this is that basic concern for other people can be seen as archaic, idealistic, foolish or worse yet, liberal. This lack of security built on despair rooted in hopelessness is not something which any politician or political party can address no matter how many promises they make. This is why a word about Christian hope is so desperately needed.
The reality of Christian hope says that despite the despair around us, we cannot disengage or join in the despair. However, if we plan to stay engaged, if we plan to follow the example of Jesus, we must get connected with the rich resources of Christian hope. One of the ways we do this is when we gather in this place each week. The practice of gathering helps us to remember that; God has and does act in history. Each week when we pray, “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” we are issuing an indictment of our world. Unfortunately because of the churches identification with the existing order, we have often missed this radical statement. And worse yet when we are asked, “How do you go on when everything is so wrong?” too often the best we have had to offer is some trite sayings or a misplaced hope in life only after death.
The words from this letter of Peter remind us that we do have a message of hope for the world which is so much more than a narcotic. Theologian Douglas John Hall says this about hope: “Christian hope heightens our awareness of what is wrong with the world… (It) gives us courage to live in the world.” Christian hope is not about understanding correct doctrine but about lifestyle. Christian hope is about our posture in the world. It is the way in which we witness to the hope we have found in Jesus. One of the best explanations of this I have ever heard comes from Cornell West. He calls this posture toward life a tragicomic sensibility. He says: “It is the ability to laugh and retain a sense of life’s joy – to preserve hope even while standing in the face of hate and hypocrisy.” This is indeed a tall order. In fact, it is too much to ask any one person to do on their own. Fortunately that is not the way of Christian hope.
We need one another. This is why we gather on this day to remember and renew the hope which is the ground of our faith. Despite some really rough times, we know hope that will lead us to act despite current realities. Christian hope, in the words of South African Theologian H. Russell Botman: “Tell(s) the story of God acting in history and what it means to us.” Today at this table and at that font, we have had visible reminders that we are called to be living witnesses prepared to explain the hope that sustains us. It is a message the world is dying to know and see lived out. – may we have the strength to do both. Amen.