Hope

Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Church Episcopal

June 18, 2017

6 Proper A

          “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace” was released in 1999,when our sons were 9 and 12.  The debut of this film was greatly anticipated at our house, and while we did not go on opening day, we went shortly thereafter, and shortly thereafter that, and some us of went again short after that.  Over the course of a very few weeks, between the four of us, I think we had seen the film some 20 odd times.  At a mere three viewings, I was clearly the least interested. 

          I do not actually remember a lot about the film all these years later, as I never partook of the subsequent watchings once the video and then the DVD were released.  But my favorite line out of all the Star Wars movies is in “The Phantom Menace.”  The great philosopher Yoda says to young Anakin “Fear is the path to the dark side.  Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate.  Hate leads to suffering.” 

          Whenever I hear the words of Paul this morning in the letter to the Romans, I think of Yoda’s words.  But where Yoda’s warning ends with suffering, Paul begins there.  Suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope and hope does not disappoint us.  Paul does not say that hope does not disappoint us because we always get what we hope for, but because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

          Yoda’s words somehow seem more realistic than Paul’s, unfortunately.  We seem to have evidence every day about the darkness fear, then anger, then hate can cause.  Seeing suffering as something that leads to hope rather than misery seems a little more far fetched.  Yet this morning, both the story of Abraham and Sarah, and the teaching of Jesus have something to tell us about suffering and hope.

          By the time the Lord appears to Abraham this morning, God has promised Abraham no less than three times that his descendants will number the stars in the sky and he will become the ancestor of many nations.  But in order to be the ancestor of many nations, at least one child is required.  Sarah is barren, a cause of great suffering under normal circumstances and even more so when the barrenness seems to mock God’s promise.  Sarah has taken matters into her own hands and given her servant Hagar to Abraham so he can have a child with her.   But this morning, God again promises Abraham that he and Sarah shall have a son together.  By now Abraham and Sarah are so advanced in age, that the very thought made Sarah laugh.  But Sarah does conceive and bear a son, which brings her much laughter and joy.  Her long suffering does produce endurance, and perhaps character, and certainly hope as she and Abraham now have the future God promised.

          This morning, we also hear Jesus commission his disciples.  The commissioning starts off well enough.  Jesus sends the twelve out to proclaim that the Kingdom of God has come near, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons.  That sounds like a pretty good time.  Then the twelve are told by Jesus not just to pack lightly, but to pack nothing.  They are to depend on the hospitality of those they serve.   The disciples have already left everything to follow Jesus, so receiving hospitality probably sounds like an upgrade.  Then Jesus tells them that they won’t always meet with success.  While the disciples would no doubt prefer a 100% success rate, we all know that most new ventures are not 100% successful.  Some of them had probably spent long days fishing and caught nothing, or had little to show for a day of tax collecting, so a bit of failure could be taken in stride.

          But then Jesus tells them that he is sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves, that they will be handed over to councils and flogged, and that they will be hated because of the name of Jesus, and persecuted.  This is not what the disciples signed up for.  They signed up to follow Jesus.  Casting out demons, and curing the sick was one thing.  Being hated, persecuted, and flogged was another matter all together.

          But Jesus tells them not to worry.  The Spirit of God will speak, and presumably work, through them.  If they can endure to the end, they will be saved.  Jesus has moved from telling them to trust in the hospitality of strangers to telling them to trust in God, which will enable them to endure.  Suffering produces endurance, which produces hope, which, Jesus promises, will not disappoint them.

          We may not face hatred, persecution, and flogging for our faith, nor we will likely conceive a child at the age of 90 or 91 like Sarah. But most of us do, on occasion, experience challenging times when suffering makes us question God’s promise to us, challenges our endurance, and leads us to wonder whether fear might be a more appropriate, or certainly easier response than hope.   The words of both Yoda and Paul ring true.  Over and over again in scripture, the opposite of faith is not doubt, but fear.  Fear often leads to anger, to hate, then to more suffering and we wind up in a very dark place.  In the midst of whatever challenges we face, Abraham and Sarah show us, and Paul and Jesus call us, to trust in the promise that God is with us.  God’s presence will help us to endure, which gives us strength, which will lead us to hope.  Hope is possible all because God’s love has been poured into our hearts and will never let us go.

                                                                                      Amen.