Hope

Advent is hope. (I know, because it says so on that big sign down in front of Messiah House.) Advent is hope—at least for the first week, anyway.

But what do we mean by that? What do we mean when we say “Advent is hope”? Is hope a noun? Or a verb? For that matter what is hope? Anyone care to give a one word definition?

Is hope expectation? Hmm? Well, when I flip a light switch, I have an expectation that the lights will come on. And for the most part, they do. Unless there’s an ice storm, or three daughters using hairdryers all on the same circuit. But even so—we don’t think to ourselves, “I hope the lights come on when I flip this switch. So hope and expectation are two separate things.

Okay then, is hope desire? I hope that Lisa makes a cheesecake for my final dessert of the month. That’s closer to the idea. But a passionate desire for something is not hope—it’s want. Longing.

What about faith, then? Are faith and hope equivalent? We get a little clue from this bible passage—“Faith is being sure of what we hope for.” (It’s in there – 1st Corinthalonians or something!) Faith is ardent belief, hope is somewhat different. Hope is somehow unsure. There seems to be an element of “maybe yes and maybe no’ to hope. You don’t hope for the stars to shine at night—they will. However you may hope that the skies be clear so you can see them. Maybe yes, maybe no.

Perhaps if we thought about hope as it relates specifically to Advent. Most of us think of Advent as a prelude to Christmas. So the hope we feel might be compared to the anticipation of a soon-to-be-born child. We hope the baby is born healthy. Which is almost like a prayer. And we have high hopes for the newborn. Her whole life streams out from this point, all is potential.

There’s also that Second Coming thing during Advent too. When the early church translated the scriptures into Latin from the Greek, the word they used to translate parousia, or end times, was indeed adventus. So Advent is not mainly about the coming of a child. It’s about the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds, to judge the quick and the dead, and to transform and recreate both heaven and earth. Hope in this situation includes some shaking in your boots as you hope that you won’t be cast off into a lake of fire, pit of doom, or some equally gruesome existence. We hope that the one we have placed our trust in, Jesus, will indeed come through for us.

That’s really hoping against hope. Like Noah, like Abraham and Sarah, like Ruth and Job, like Peter and Paul, like Dorcus and Lydia, like all those psalmists! If, in spite of every fiber of your being screaming, “Impossible. Ill-conceived! Incomprehensible,” in direct contradiction with your reason and logic, and going against everything you know to the contrary—you still can imagine that hoped-for outcome, and still hold fast to its possibility—then you are hoping against hope.
And we hope against hope at Advent. We make ourselves ready for Christ’s coming. Though there’s a little part of us that’s unsure if that’s possible. We celebrate the gift of the savior, Jesus, child of Bethlehem. Though somewhere deep inside we doubt that the gift is truly for us. That tension, the tension between belief and doubt, worthiness and unworthiness, possibility and dead end, is hope.

Hope is a tug of war. Except the object is not to pull the opposing team into the mud. It’s to keep each side dry and clean. We need the yes and the no the faith and the doubt in order to hope. Take away either team and you don’t have hope—you just got fear or vanity. A bunch of people holding a rope for no good reason.

Advent is hope. We hope in God’s grace. But rightly speaking, we are given hope at Advent. We are shown the vision of a new world, streaming out from the wrinkly little arms of the incarnate God—Jesus—who is the origin of that re-creation. We are made new ourselves—a down payment on the resurrected life we have been promised that we will share with Jesus. Someday.

Until then, we hope in the hope. The hope that is advent.

What do you hope for this advent season?

The Rally Day program comes from the ELCA website and it's called "My word." My word is God's word--the bible.

One thing I added was a word search (heh heh) in which participants had to locate thirteen signs that have WORD printed on one side and a bible verse on the back. The kids flip it up to read the scripture and copy down the highlighted word in the verse. When they have all the words , they unscramble them to find a motto for the day. (Can' t tell you what it is!)

There's also a relay race, making the "shema" and binding it on the hands, and making a bible story chain. And there's even more than that.

But another time for that.

I feel as if I need to reactivate the blog, so this is our reunion. I won't post any sermons here--they will be on the web page (www.messiahnh.org) and I won't double post to the website from here. Hope someone reads it!

Pastor Tom

The eyes of all look to you Father, and you give them their food in dues season. You open your mighty hand and the world is fed!

I ate too much yesterday. I am blessed to have more than I need. Yesterday many people died of hunger. They are blessed by God as well. I am to be his hand, and feed the world. Join me in making a contribution to World Hunger this Sunday!

Prayer concern - those who hunger, those who can share.

Lord God, you give the world enough to feed everyone. But our ways disrupt that giving. Help we who have more than enough to share freely with those who don't. For we are all blessed by you, Lord, God of all. Amen

Our Father...


May the God of abundance bless you and your work for the kingdom. Amen

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Psalm 91.11

Today is the biggest travel day of the year. As families and relatives and friends get together for a meal and the requisite activities. So today's prayer concern is travelers.

Dear God, you travel with us as we go this day. Keep us safe and bring us to our destination with as little traffic as possible! We thank you for your loving care and concern for all who travel this day. Amen

Our Father,...

Holy God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and protect you till we meet again!

Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals. Psalm 66.5

One of the things people do during the thanksgiving time, is to count their blessings. Sometimes that is hard to do--when things all seem to go wrong at the same time! But we have life, we have each other, and we have God's love--that's start, and I think you could add much more even in the worst of times. And if this is the best of times--then don't just count your blessings--share them. Because we are a community of believers, and sometimes you help, and sometimes you're helped.

Prayer concern - those in financial straights

God, before you we are all needy. Help us to live together and share resources, so that all may have enough. Guide us in our finances, that we maintain the lives you gave us, and that we might give you glory by our use of wealth.

Our father....

May God look upon you with a smile, rub your hair, and pat your head--all in love for you!

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Psalm 19.1

Every once in a while we're treated to a beautiful sunset. There is perhaps nothing so marvelous! Sunrises are wonderful too--but unfortunately they occur when my eyes are still closed, for the most part. The stars on a good dark night are also awe inspiring. All these reveal the majesty of our God, who made heaven and earth.

Our prayer is one of thanksgiving today (and will be all week). We thank God for the beauty of creation!

Lord God, you created me and all there is, and you deemed it all "good." Thank you for the beauty of the earth, sea, and skies. And awaken us to their preservation and restoration. Amen

Our Father....


May the God who created everything from the chaos, order your life in Christ Jesus.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me... Psalm 139.1a


We are in the process of focusing our mission here at Messiah, using a consultant to interview members and discern from the consensus where we should head, what we should shed, and what we should add to make our witness here all that it can be. Of course God knows us and his plan for us. So today's prayer concern is that we each might discern God's path for us.

O Lord, you know us and love us. Show us the way to follow in following you. Amen

Our father..

May God bless you with purpose and grace this day!

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 89.1

Today we're starting a process that will lead to a capital appeal. Doing so is risky in the current economic climate--in which the Dow ebbs and flows is wild, unnerving bursts. Can we trust the market to recover? Maybe--it has before. But one thing we can definitely count on is God's love--it neither waxes nor wanes, but is constant in our lives. Putting our trust in one so faithful makes the thought of a campaign less worrisome.

Prayer concern - those who are most deeply effected by the financial crisis

Lord God, help us to see things as things, and relationships, especially with you, as the real treasure! Amen


Our Father, who art in heaven


God's blessings on you this day!

Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you... Psalm 32.6a

Our prayer concern today - those who are guests--in our homes and in our churches. Today we have a community group using our facility for a special presentation. We welcome them and hold them in prayer!

Welcoming God, to you no one is a stranger--you call all to your kingdom. Help us treat our visitors and guests with love and compassion, and seek to share with them the greatest gift--the gospel. Amen


Lord's prayer: Our Father in heaven...

Now may God bless us and all those who come through our door with peace, mercy and love.