Hope for a Broken World
a sermon based on Romans 5:1-5
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

It’s the first Sunday in Advent. The first candle on the advent wreath is traditionally the candle of Expectation or Hope.

In these difficult times, in a world that is broken in so many ways, we need hope, real hope.  Hope makes the difference between making it or not.

“Hope” is defined by Webster's dictionary as “a desire / an expectation for fulfillment or success.”  Real or realistic hope is a strong motivation.  It is the force that animates us and drives us.   

There is a difference between human hope and spiritual hope.  Human hope is something everybody naturally has, unless you’re in a difficult situation, or if there is an illness like depression involved.

We naturally hope for all kinds of things and that’s good. When we’re children we have hopes and dreams of becoming;

We dream about becoming a fireman, a nurse, a teacher, an astronaut, etc. We dream of becoming independence, coming of age, becoming able to drive a car, go on a date, etc.

When we get older, we dream of building…a family, a home, a community, a church.  We hope to achieve things, raise our children in safety, teaching them right. We carry all sorts of hopes and dreams for our children and their future.

When we get even older, the scope of our hope shifts again a little. In the later stages of our lives we hope to find deeper meaning in life and hope to pass our wisdom on to others, especially to our children and grandchildren.

Many of our hopes and expectations in life get frustrated.  The truth is that for none of us all our hopes have been fulfilled.  For some of us, our marriage or careers didn’t work out as expected, or we may face financial ruin, or tragedy or illness may hit. 

So far I have talked about human hope—hopes and dreams that we have naturally.  Our Scripture text, however, is talking about a different kind of hope--a spiritual kind of hope.

This hope, according to Paul, is often only gained as a result of suffering.

‘Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4)  This kind of hope, Paul, says, will never disappoint us, because it is not grounded in humans, but rather in God.

Allow me to share a story which will illustrate the difference between the human kind of hope and the spiritual kind:

The director of a medical clinic told of a terminally ill young man who came in for his usual treatment. A new doctor who was on duty said to
    him casually and cruelly, “You know, don’t you, that you won’t live out the year?”

As the young man left, he stopped by the director’s desk and wept. “That man took away my hope,” he blurted out.

“I guess he did,” replied the director. “Maybe it’s time to find a new one.”

Commenting on this incident, Lewis Smedes wrote, “Is there a hope when hope is taken away? Is there hope when the situation is hopeless?

That question leads us to Christian hope, for in the Bible, hope is no longer a passion for the possible. It becomes a passion for the promise.  As Christians we should not just have the kind of hope that comes natural, the hope that is based on possibilities, but we should also be grounded in the spiritual kind of hope that is based on God’s promises.

The first kind of hope rests on our own expectations and desires, the second rests on God’s expectations and our trust in Him.

The human kind of hope often comes with a sense of entitlement on our part. Let’s be honest, we all think that we are entitled to a good life, to live the American dream; we often act like God owes it to us and when life inevitably leads us to a place of suffering we get all bent out of shape.

The truth is that all of us will experience the dark side of life, suffering, disappointments and death.

Still, we ask "why?" and often even get angry with God for the card that life is dealing us.  I think this happens to all of us, but this attitude definitely shows a certain degree of immaturity.

The other kind of hope is a hope against natural hope. To those who possess this kind, it empowers them to find an attitude of trust, acceptance, adaptation and joy that is not available to most people. It is a hope that will restore them to an inner state of peace with God and the universe.

The spiritual kind of hope Paul talks about, often does come to us when all human hope is lost.  It is a hope not in our own ability, but rather the ability of the God who is all around us, and even inside of us. It is a hope in God’s promise to protect us, to hold us, to empower us even through the valley of the shadow of death.

In conclusion I would like to put a challenge in front of you this morning. Paul challenges each and every one of us to nurture our spiritual hope. It’s a hope based on God’s promises.  That’s the kind of hope that will sustain us no matter what happens to us in life.  The challenge is for you to find God’s promises in the scriptures that apply to your situation.

It can be an absolutely amazing experience to read in the Word of God a promise that applies to our difficulties. It will raise our hope. And when we have new hope, suddenly the future doesn’t look so bleak any longer. Why? Because we see God in it. And that’s the best kind of hope to begin with, that’s the hope that will last and sustain us. Amen.