March 21, 2004 - Rev. Dee Cooper - "A Hunger for Hope"

Scripture: Hebrews 6:13-20

Opening monologue:

Are you here by the Cross, asking these questions? God, where are you? I want to put my trust in you. I have brought all this baggage, this pain, this doubt, this fear and I am standing at the Cross, afraid to open myself up-afraid to jump in midair because I wonder if You will catch me? There is a part of me that wants you magically to lift me out of these circumstances. There is a part of me that wants a helicopter to rescue me. But I'll wait. But I'll wait to see how you will come.

This morning we are continuing our sermon series on "The Hunger for Wholeness". We are looking at the "Hunger for Hope". And just as this the person in the drama you just heard hopes and clings for the hope that there is something more than all the circumstances before her, so we too desire and crave something more of substance that hope is. I am reading from Hebrews, chapter 6.

Hebrews 6:13-20
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,
14 saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you."
15 And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise.
16 Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.
17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath,
18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.
19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain,
20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchiz'edek.
(RSV)

There is a lot in this passage so I am going to try and unpack it slowly for you for there is a lot of history contained in it. But it begins when God made a promise to Abraham. Because God had no one greater by whom to swear, God swore by himself, saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained a promise.

Now if you recall, Abraham was given a promise by God -- a covenant by God. If you recall the reason why: God chose Abraham because of a parallel. Remember God does not withdraw anything to save this world. God withheld nothing, not even His own Son. And if you remember, what was asked of Abraham was to give up his son, Isaac. Abraham took him with the full intention of killing his son if God needed. God rescued Isaac at that moment. This is what the passage is saying. Due to the fact that Abraham was considered worthy, God made him a promise and has kept it through generations.

Human beings, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves; an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute. When this kind of covenant is given or made, there is no disputing it-it's set in stone. It's solid. In the same way, God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise (this is us) the unchangeable character of His purpose-it will always be there. He guaranteed it by an oath, by a covenant so that through two unchangeable things in which it is impossible that God will prove false. We who have taken refuge, those of us who sought shelter, might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope that is set before us. We have this hope -- a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul-an anchor of the soul. A hope that enters the inner shrine, behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, was a high priest forever according to that of Melchizedek.

This goes back to the understanding of the ancient temple where God was seen as residing in the holy of holies. The Ark of the Covenant was there. And there was a curtain there -- a veil and beyond that was a place where only the high priest could go and beyond that was the common people. And only once in a great while would one of the most righteous high priests be able to go into the holy of holies and offer a sacrifice. It was an once-in-a-lifetime event. And if you recall, when Jesus was crucified, the curtain to the holy of holies was split. It was separated because no longer was that the way we needed to approach God. Jesus had established a new covenant.

This is the Word of God. Let us pray.

Gracious God, as we open up our lives to you -- as we step out of the platitudes that we often try to encourage ourselves with and go deeply into your Word and receive hope from your promise -- use us, inflame us, remind us of your love, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen

Are there any sailors in this crowd? Any sailors, any naval men or women, any people who do boats? Sailboats? Powerboats? You all aren't any fun! There are a few. Well, those of you with this vast wisdom of ocean experience, I have a question for you. What is an important part of a ship? The rudder. Are there other parts you need to have on your ship? What about the mainsail? I looked these things up; I don't know what they are. What about the winches??
And shackles and I am told lights, compasses, and whistles are very important. A whistle is essential to have on a boat. But according to the Practical Sailor and Powerboat Report (there is a Website called this), the anchor or the mooring is one of the vital pieces on a ship. I want to share with you what they say about this. "Experienced boaters know the importance of reliable equipment and being prepared for the unexpected". That's interesting -- being prepared for the unexpected. "The anchor works in either ocean or lake, sand, clay, gravel or mud even the thick grasses and weeds, offering unprecedented reliability under a wide variety of conditions and it could save your boat." Moorings keep the boats attached and even in the realm of hurricanes and great storms, moorings keep your boat from sailing away.

Now I think it is important when we start talking about hope that we have to dissect it from optimism. And this is going to be stretch for some people because they are so interlaced, intertwined in our society that we often think of them in the same manner. But there is huge, huge difference between hope and optimism. To do this, I went to John Ortberg and a test to determine how big an optimist we are. And so, I want you to thank about this: if you are big optimist or a little optimist. And I am going to read some statements to you and big optimists are global and little optimist is much smaller. And this is audience participation so it is OK to yell things out.

• Today world peace will break out. That's big optimism.
• Today I will find a parking space at church. For some folks, that's big. On Easter Sunday it will be even bigger.
• Today I will remember where I parked at church. Depends on how old you are.
• Today I won't get caught in traffic on the 405. For some that's big; for others it depends on what time you're traveling.
• I believe the Red Sox will win the World Series this year. That's a big one.
• I believe the Chicago Cubs will win the World Series this year. See, I actually think that is a HUGE one.
• I believe that Jesus will come and return to His people. That's a Big One.
  
• I believe that the Red Sox will win the World Series before Jesus returns.

So we have an idea of optimism. We've got a test for how we think of things. But one of the tests of Christian hope is what distinguishes it from optimism. Christian hope stands up to any reality. Christian hope stands and stares in the face and names any reality that is before it. It does not dismiss and does not minimize. Christian hope does not sing happy platitudes like the sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar. Christian hope does not sing about "don't worry, be happy." It's not even an attitude change. And a lot of times we try to adjust our attitude; that is counter-cultural to what we hear. But Christian hope is not about our attitude. I know a pessimist and he is Eeyore through and through and he has more hope in his life than a lot of people who are optimistic. For you see, hope stares reality in the face. Hope does not minimize or neglect what is happening here. Hope is not something we jump out of and have these real happy faces.

I want us to look at some slides. This is what is called an anchor cross. I went through and looked up these on the Web because I was interested in the these crosses. I found the anchor cross on several churches and some went back to Christopher Columbus days or maybe even earlier with the English fleet. I found that the anchor cross was found on the walls of the Catacombs with earliest disciples. They used this cross and anchor, this symbol, like the fish, to indicate they were Christians.

Now why would an anchor symbolize hope? That's what we're going to look at today. If we go back to God's promise to Abraham, God's promise to Abraham is that I am Your God and you are my people and nothing will change that. So if we go back to that and recognize that nothing will change that covenant - that promise, no matter what happens to God's people. We read throughout the text into the New Testament and know from church history that a lot has happened to God's people. But that covenant has never changed. So what do we trust in? What do we believe when we hold on in the midst of these storms that surround us? When our ship is tossed and threatened with the very integrity of its hull? What do we cling to? In the midst of the storm, it doesn't matter how big or how small your ship is, it's still vulnerable and whether you're thinking of the Titanic or the little raft that Tom Hanks was on in "Shipwreck", you're still fighting the viciousness of this storm as the waves are overtaking you. So what holds us against the tide of the storm?

Our hope is in the anchor -- in the Greek anchora -- of the soul. In the storms, sailors hope that their anchor is going to be sure, reliable -- it's going to be unmovable -- it will be sound and steady-it will implant itself to hold the ship. So our anchor, when we look at that, is Jesus Christ. Jesus has entered the very inner sanctuary -- the holy of holies -- into God's presence, the inner shrine behind the curtain. This is our anchor. Now this is the place where the Greek is fun because the folks in the old days did a lot more with literature than we seem to do today and they really played with words. So we have the anchora or the anchor. Now there is a word for the connecting cable or rope that extends from the anchor to the ship. And that word is piesma. Piesma is translated confidence or faith.

So if you play this out, the anchor of our soul, our faith is connected to the fact that this anchor is connected to the heart of God and nothing will sever, nothing will break this piesma. So ultimately the central thought of hope is we need God, we need Jesus; we rely on Jesus' forgiveness-not on our righteousness. We cling to the fact that God and Jesus are holding us: their grip on us, not our grip on them. That's huge to recognize, folks. It's a difference of knowing, if I was hanging from this balcony, that someone is holding me who would never let me slip, as opposed to me holding on with my own hands. That's what we cling to. A frail boat will change direction with the rise and fall of every wave. Our hope is this anchor that will not be moved in the face of fear. An eternal hope that will hold till the very end; no matter what pressure, the commitment will stand fast.

This is the anchor. This is the hope that we all cling to. Particularly, when the light goes out at the end of the tunnel. When there is a numbing darkness that moves in on the human spirit. When the report from the doctor says its cancer. When we experience the death of a loved one. A suicide. How do we survive through those circumstances? It's the depression that pervades through your life, that immobilizes your very being. The darkest night of the soul. It may be the news that we all get at some point in our lives: that you are not going to be on this earth very much longer. Now many times we don't know what to say to folks when they are in that place. Many times we want to make them buoyant, so we try to change their attitude. We somehow judge the fact that if they're not buoyant in it, that they have lost their hope. But what do we find? Hope is not these platitudes. Hope is not these ways of reacting. Hope is in Jesus Christ. It means our circumstances may not change; their circumstances may not change. Of course, we pray they will and I believe God listens to those prayers, but what if they don't? Does that mean they have less hope? No. Their circumstances may or may not change, but the hope is still anchored. It doesn't mean that you'll be lifted magically out of your depression. It doesn't mean that there will be this helicopter to pull you up and every thing is different. It doesn't mean that God has a DVD of your life and will edit out the parts that you don't like, for all of those parts are a part of our lives.

But it means during those times you may be grieving, you may have doubt, you may have questions, you may have regret, you may have deep, deep grief. That's OK, that's the human heart of who we are. But you can have all those things alongside of hope. The hope will not change. Our problems may be permanent, but Christ is eternal. And folks, we're not talking about a bad hair day. I'm talking about the deepest, darkest night of the soul. And some of you may have experienced this. I don't know, maybe it's just me, in looking at faces, but I think other people have. It is those spots in your life where you have hidden in fear what you did not want others to see because you don't fit into the Christian mode. How do you handle those places of despair?

Clients whom I have seen use words like this to describe depression. (These are all read with their permission.) It is interesting to me how when we talk about despair and depression, we use water imagery. Water is like the depths of the unconscious and so this is how this imagery comes through. In depression,

• they are overwhelmed
• there are tides
• they are caught in a drowning sea
• there is a ripping, tearing of the soul
• a flood
• emotions flow freely as a river flows downstream
• tears are flowing inward, touching each open wound

Have you ever felt that?

• It is so raw that the tears just burn.
• The sadness feels like a hollow chest cavity that is going to collapse without the strength of the chest muscles.
• I feel like I am bailing out water, but I just can't stop sinking.

These are folks that are hurting deeply.

And I wanted to share with you some of my own journal entries. When I have gone through those dark nights of the soul. Those times when it has felt like-God, where are you? Where are you in my life, because the pain is so overwhelming and you feel like you are so over there? Are you even listening? Do you even hear me?

The darkness continued. Terror. There seems to only a deep dark pit with no end. I'm falling. And this is my shame. The uncontrollable descent into the pit with no end as the questions, the fears, the shame propels me deeper and deeper into this infinite vacuum of void. As I go I carry with me a drop of love, a thread of light. I hit. This hole has a bottom. It has walls. It's not infinite, but a space that can be filled. The teardrop of love seems so little, compared to the hole and yet it illuminates the reality that this hole can be filled. It does have an end, a bottom. It was only in falling into the depths of my soul to realize that I was falling into the loving hands of God. I'm alive.

I can love. I can be loved. Those moments when you feel, "Where is God?" And you recognize in the process in going to the depths, God is holding you the whole time.

You may say, "Dee, that is your experience. But you don't know my pain, my suffering; you don't know what my life has held. You don't know what I have gone through; those scars and wounds that are so deep and so buried that I am terrified to even bring them up. I've worked so hard for so many years pushing them back, so to bring them up means to expose them to the light, expose them to the air. And just like a raw open wound when we expose it to the air, it burns and I'm afraid I'll be destroyed. And I don't know whether God will be there in the midst of that."

Our Christian hope is not built on the reliance that these things won't happen. Our Christian faith is not built thinking that we will live happy wonderful lives. Our lives are filled with joy, yes, but when we get to those dark places in our lives, our hope does not rest on that they won't happen, or they'll happen to other people, or we'll magically be lifted out of them.

Again, think of Jesus. Jesus was beaten, tortured and died a horrendous death. Think of his followers, they were beaten. Many of them were martyred. So we're promised that this anchor means that no matter how bad it gets, even in that dark night of the soul, as much as the winds blow, as much as the ship rocks, no matter how bad it gets, nothing will separate us from the love of God. One of my favorite passages that I love and speaks volumes and if I could hone down the truth of Scripture into a few passages, this would be one.

Romans 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor heights, nor depths, nor anything in all of creation will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord."

Do you hear that? NOTHING! That is our hope, that we are connected to our God and nothing will separate us from God's love. No matter how deep into that pit we go; no matter how dark the world seems. There is nothing real or imagined, there is nothing in our past, in our present, in our future, in all of eternity that will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Even when we walk in the valley of the shadow of death, God will be with us. That love is unchangeable. That love is the anchor. And our ultimate hope-our ultimate hope is that this life isn't all there is. Isaiah speaks profoundly to us that there will be a time when we will be God's people and He will be our God and He will wipe every tear from our eye. There will be no more death, no more mourning, no more sadness, no more pain. One day, our ultimate hope is to be home. Amen

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