Building Hope In A Hopeless World

In the midst of their sorrow and strife, Jeremiah brings a powerful promise to God’s people: something good is coming. A righteous branch will spring up from the tombs of their life…justice and mercy will bloom again.

Every year, the church begins not with Yuletide cheer, but with nervous anticipation; despite the fact that we know what’s coming. And every year, we still hope it comes sooner rather than later.

Maybe you are like me, and feeling like we have been experiencing a lot of time lately anxiously waiting. It seems ever since the pandemic, a lot of us have been living with a bit of heightened uncertainty. And with it, the added anxiety. 

​This has lead many of us to feel a bit hopeless like the ancient Israelites who wondered if God had forgotten them, left them in captivity to suffer alone.

It’s hard to cling to hope when you can’t see it or feel it. That uncertain void is powerful enough to make even the toughest  person want to thrown in the towel and call it quits.

But that should never be the case. We know the story. And we know God who had this to say through the prophet Jeremiah. 

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”         Jeremiah 33:14-16

 
As the young prophet reminds the people: hope is always on the horizon. God is on the move. No matter what the world is doing today, God is always one step ahead of us, doing something greater for tomorrow.

That’s what Jeremiah’s message is all about. God’s promise and faithfulness. Because God is faithful, we can be hopeful.
 
By definition, hope is the expectation and desire for something to happen. Students hope they guessed right on a multiple choice question. A potential hire hopes their resume can stand out enough to land an interview. And who hasn’t written a Christmas wish list, hoping to get everything on it? Hope touches nearly every part of life.
 
While we never know when—or if—what we hope for will happen, one thing is certain: we will have to wait. Hope and waiting go hand in hand. We wait for the test to be graded. We wait for the company to call. And during Advent, we wait with hope in our hearts … for Christmas morning to come.
 
We need hope to carry us through hard times. Yet, we will have to wait through the uncertainty, the chaos, and suffering to find the hope, peace, joy and love that awaits.

In the midst of their sorrow and strife, Jeremiah brings a powerful promise to God’s people: something good is coming. A righteous branch will spring up from the tombs of their life…justice and mercy will bloom again.
 
God is on the move. Help is on the way. Whatever you’re facing—grief, pain, oppression, or despair— “The days are surely coming,” says the Lord, “when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” (Jeremiah 33:14). A Savior is coming. But like a pregnant woman, we still have to wait. Be patient. A child is on the way.

 Advent gives us the time we need to assess our faith in the light of God’s faithfulness. If we believe in our hearts that God’s promises are true, then we can trust in the fulfillment of God’s greatest promise—the gift of the Christ. By placing our hope in Christ, we can give of ourselves faithfully, even as we await unsure of what is to come.
 
How we wait is just as important as who we are waiting for. Jesus tells us, “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with debauchery, drunkenness, and despair” (Luke 21:34).

He tells us to stay ready. Stay awake. And stay faithful, just as God is always ready, always present, and always faithful. The way to do this is to live your life as if God is going to walk through the door right now. “For you never know when the owner of the house will return.”
 
Whether it’s Advent or any other time, our goal, is to live a life where love leads the way. That’s the way of Jesus, who loved in such a way that it forever changed the world. To follow him, to walk as he walked, is how we spiritually survive in a very chaotic world. (Nouwen)
 
Advent is a time of active waiting. A time to ready ourselves for the coming Christ as we step into Anamesa, that space between joy and sorrow, as the face of Christ who brings hope to those who have none. In the midst of all the havoc, we are called to build a community of hope in his name.
 
“Community,” as Henri Nouwen wrote, “is a fellowship of people who do not hide their joys and sorrows, but make them visible to each other as a gesture of hope.” He described community as a large mosaic, where each small piece may seem insignificant on its own, but together “each little stone of this community, makes God visible in the world.”
 
Living in such a way frees us to love and care for one another equally, without any fear or hesitation. Just as Jeremiah instructed the exiles, we can build a community of hope and participate in God’s eternal vision of peace by “executing justice and righteousness” wherever we are.

Jesus did this. And taught us to do the same - to make heaven come alive right here, right now. With Christ as our guiding light, we can move towards a better tomorrow.
 
God came to us in the flesh of one of us. Through Christ, God suffers alongside us and to celebrates with us. Out of great love for us, God has saved the world. And will continue to save us until no one will be in need of rescuing, because those who have been saved by Christ are bringing hope, justice, and mercy to one another.
 
This is the community of love we intentionally began to build three years ago, knowing we might not ever see it to its completion. But we remain hopeful, knowing our call and purpose isn’t to finish the job. It was to simply show up for work, as the hands and heart of Christ. Which we do every time we love God, love others, and serve both.
 
By choosing this as our mission, we began to build a place where the flame of hope is kept alive in each one of us.  (Nouwen) As a community that binds itself together in love, for the building up of God’s kingdom, the light of hope can burn brighter. We invite you to join us on this journey.
 
Together, let us embrace the faithfulness of God, refusing to surrender to the forces of despair that so often surround us. Together, let us stand on God’s unshakable faith, and boldly defy the hopelessness that wants to overpower us. Together, we can build a community of love that is an alternative to a world marked by hatred and division.
 
Because God’s promises are real, fulfilled in Christ Jesus, we can persevere with expectant hearts, as one people; building a community of hope, joy, peace, and love, until the day that God’s glory reigns once and for all throughout Anamesa. 
 
Work Cited
Charles, Gary. Feasting on the Word: Advent Companion. Edited by David Barlett and Kimberly Bracken Long Barbara Brown Taylor. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014.
Keating, Thomas. Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit. (Lantern Books; 2007) pp. 71-73.
Nouwen, Henri. You Are The Beloved. San Francisco: Convergent Books, 2017.
Polter, Julie. A Whirlwind in a Fire. Sojourners. December 2018.
Roberie, Joshua. Relevant Magazine. Nov 17, 2015. http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/when-god-leaves-you-waiting (accessed Nov 25, 2015).