For what do we hope?

As followers of Jesus, when we think of hope, the question “In whom do we hope?” naturally comes to mind. It’s an easy question to answerꟷfor the Church, Jesus is an obvious cause for hope.

But the apostle Peter says we should “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” and to “do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience…” (1 Peter 3:15-16).

So, for what do we hope and why? And is this hope worth anything beyond the walls of a church building?

Isn’t heaven a beautiful place that our souls go after our bodies die?

If we spend eternity with Jesus, does it really matter where?

Isn’t salvation just a get out of Hell free card, anyway?

Is there more to loving Jesus than our own salvation?

And frankly, if we’ve been saved, why are we still here at all? Why haven’t we, like Elijah, been taken straight to Heaven? (2 Kings 2:1-18).

As we can see, these questions aren’t so easy to answer. We know in whom we hope, but for what do we hope? It’s on this that we’ll focus today.

Paul says in his letter to the Romans:

“I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently” (Romans 8:18-25).

Notice in Paul’s letter to the Romans how many times he references hope, creation, and the adoption into the children of God. Notice also the word “revealed”ꟷthe Greek word “apocalypse”ꟷthat will appear again later, and how positive the connotations areꟷnot fearful like we often hear from hellfire and brimstone preachers.

God’s redemptive plan has always been for all of creation. It is not only for the salvation of our souls. It is not for an eternal residence in a heaven far away. God’s redemptive plan is for heaven come to earthꟷcreation healed. This is what we hope for.

On June 17th 1885, a copper-toned immigrant arrived in New York harbor after a long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. She became famous worldwide for welcoming all of the immigrants who would come after herꟷall of the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Today, we call this immigrant, Lady Liberty. Her fairly recent immigration story reminds us that things are not always as they appearꟷ not to us now, from our limited perspective. And her statue in New York Harbor stands as a beautiful reminder to us all that sometimes the best way to be a good host is first to be a humble guestꟷa newcomer.

To those of us who have grown up in the church. And for those of us who have lived in this place our whole lives or whose families have lived here for generations, this is a perspective we may never have experienced. Sometimes, as Paul suggested, it’s hard to hope for what we see every day, let alone to share that hope with others.

So, let’s change that. Let’s all experience a place as newcomers together. Let’s imagine for a moment a beautiful place where the trees are so thick, to enter them at midday is like entering deep twilight; where the canopy is so expansive that animals travel for miles in the treetops without touching the ground; where wolves and bear and deer are common; where water flows like crystal; where the people are copper-toned and speak a language not our own.

Now imagine you are there.

Because you are.

What I’ve just described to you was on this very spot 200 years ago. The language I’ve used echoes the depictions of white settlers in the 1830s. This spot was surrounded by hundreds of thousands of acres of unbroken forest - beech, maple, red and white oak, and basswood trees. Anishinaabeg tribes, the Ottawa, Pottawatomie, and Chippewa were already here. They collected maple sap as medicine and the water was so clean it was home to sturgeon – a fish that had thrived in these waters since the time of the dinosaurs.

We are newcomers in this place, every one of us. We aren’t the first to live or die here and we likely won’t be the last. We aren’t the first to be entrusted with its care. Yet who would have known by looking around us today? A lot has changed in the last 200 yearsꟷin the blink of an eyeꟷa blip on the radar of history. This fairly recent history reminds us that things are not always as they appear to us now, from our limited perspective.

Nor will they be in the future. Change will continue to come. Praise God for that. If those of us here today don’t know what God has already done in this place, written plainly for us all to see, how much less can we fathom what one day He will do in this place?

For as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ... For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:9).

That’s a sermon in itself - knowing fully, like God knows?! Wow. Yet he continues:

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

And this brings us to our next point: God is redeeming followers of Jesus as the firstfruits of all creation, not the last.

We as followers of Jesus Christ are the firstfruits of God’s salvationꟷnot the last. God’s promise is that “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The covenant God made with Noah and all his children he also made with all the earth (Genesis 9:13 and 9:17). This is the redemption foretold by the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 65:17-25); and it’s the promise portrayed by John of Patmos in his book called “revelation”ꟷin Greek, “apocalypse”ꟷthe same word Paul uses in Romans 8 to describe the Children of God being revealedꟷmade known.

Sometimes, as Christians, we idealize a false notion of a heaven forever far away in the clouds. This is only partly true. Paul alludes to this in his letter to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Yet this is one verse amidst a multitude of verses about heaven come to Earthꟷheaven come here. The whole truth is far greater. The entire cosmos comes to earth, to a place. Heaven comes here.

Let’s imagine it together now:

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children” (Revelation 21:1-7).

Continuing on:

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:1-5).

Imagine that place. Imagine a place where water flows like crystal from the mercy seat of God; Imagine a river where on either bank grow trees whose leaves are for the healing of the nationsꟷwhose limbs bear twelve crops of fruit, each in their season. God is present here, bringing light to the world.

Now imagine you’re there. Because in some sense, you are. Or at least you will beꟷjust not yet.

So why not yet? Why not now? Why have Christians continued to hope in somethingꟷ to hope and wait for over 2,000 yearsꟷfor something foretold by prophets thousands of years before that?

Because God is patient with sinners, including us. He is patient with his followers in reaching unbelievers, not wanting anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9).

Therefore, we should always be ready to share the reason for this hope that we have. Why? Because as followers of Jesus, even though we have faith and have hope, we must also have loveꟷthe greatest of those three (1 Corinthians 13:13). One of the most loving things we can do is share the reason for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15) with those who have none. For it is by this hope that we have been saved (Romans 8:24).  It’s by this hope that we were saved!

The apostle Peter tells us that “... With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare… But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:8-13).

Folks, we live in someone else’s future heaven. A place waiting to be redeemed. A place waiting in eager anticipation for the Children of God ꟷ us ꟷ you ꟷ believers yet to come ꟷ to be revealed. And if it’s anything like scripture hints it will be, by God, I want our neighbors to experience it with us. Do you?

Do you?

Barna Group recently published the results of a survey showing that only 64% of American Christians think it’s their responsibility to share their faith with othersꟷdown from nearly 90% of Christians in the early 1990’s. Yet at the same time, a growing proportion of Christians believe that converting people to Christianityꟷintroducing them to Jesusꟷ is the responsibility of the local church. See the disconnect there?

I’m here to tell you that you are the local church. We are the local church. And apart from you, there is no Church. People aren’t truly drawn to a church building and, as much as I’d like to think otherwise, your pastors aren’t going to reach 300,000 people in the greater Lansing area who need to meet Jesus.  Not alone.  Not without your help. 

Nor is that really the point.  

We can’t articulate your experience, your hope, in a way that will touch people’s hearts.  Only you can.  That’s a beautiful thing.

So as much as I hope for it, as much as I imagine it, as much as I envision a future heaven come to earth, I also wonder “Who will be here?”

We are a part of God’s redemptive plans, that will not fail. Againꟷ God’s redemptive plans will not fail.  Yet we should be reminded that we rest on Sundays because we act every other day of the week. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are called to love one another as Jesus loves us. We are called to actionꟷto hospitality, to work, to labor, to harvestꟷas well as to rest on Sunday.

It took years and years for the Free Methodist Church in the Lansing area to actually take root. Today there are few Free Methodist congregations where once there were many.  I tell you this not to cause fear, because we know that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), but as a reminder that even though the Church is unstoppable, our role in that is not inevitable–our people need to act.

Think about it. We are surrounded by neighbors orphaned without a loving father; widows who think their living groom is still in a tomb; debtors paying for debts that have already been forgiven; and working to put bread on the table, but not for the Bread of Life. We’re surrounded by neighbors made in God’s image and living in God’s Kingdom come, who will see it on Earth, as it is in heaven, only if we–only if you–act. And it’s not really enough to wish the best for people, as important as that is. The acts of the apostles would be a much shorter book as the well-wishes of the apostlesꟷand you and I wouldn’t even be here today. It’s important to act.

This is the connection between all of these ideas: All of creation waits for you to be revealedꟷwaits for revelationꟷwaits for apocalypseꟷnot in a scary end times sense, but for the unveiling of the reality that is already here but not fully here yet. It waits for the transformation possible within each of us–within the unbeliever as they, too, are adopted as children of God, our loving Heavenly Father. That redemption continues with all of creation.

This is good news, people. This is news worth sharing.  And this is the essence of evangelism.

I love how Henri Nouwen describes evangelism: 

“The key word here is articulation ꟷ Those who can articulate the movements of their inner lives, who can give names to their varied experiences… are able slowly and consistently to remove the obstacles that prevent the spirit from entering. They are able to create space for the Spirit whose heart is greater than their own, whose eyes see more than their own, and whose hands can heal more than their own. … Only those who are able to articulate their own experiences can offer themselves to others as sources of clarification.” … Our role is not “Skillful use of conversational techniques to manipulate people into the Kingdom of God, but a deep human encounter in which people are willing to put their own faith and doubt, their own hope and despair, their own light and darkness at the disposal of others who want to find a way through their confusion and touch the solid core of life.” Our role “is more than handing over a tradition; it is, rather, the careful and sensitive articulation of what is happening in the community so that those who listen can say: ‘You say what I only suspected, you clearly express what I vaguely felt, you bring to the fore what I fearfully kept in the back of my mind. Yes, yesꟷyou say who we are, you recognize our condition.’ When someone who listens is able to say this, then the ground is broken for others to receive the Word of God.

Paraphrasing here: No one need doubt that the Word will be received. The words which so often sounded to them like words from a strange and unfamiliar world–a world we might call church, which is strange and unfamiliar to many people–will sound like the words of salvation.

I love you all–I love the people who are our church–and the way you love the broader community.  When you love, people notice not only your love, but your hope, and they connect that hope to your faith in Jesus. When one of you volunteers, guess who gets the thank you card?  All of us.  The thank you cards arrive for you addressed to the whole church. Why? Because you are the Church–ambassadors of Christ and his Body in Lansing. When I asked one of you how your outreach began to the Nepali community that worships in Lansing today, your answer was long and deep: “Lots of hugs and dinner.” How simple is that? Lots of hugs and dinner. Having experienced both of those, I can vouch for each. Yet today, in addition to a Nepali fellowship worshiping down the street, there’s an entire network of churches in Nepal that began in small ways like that, here in Lansing.

Many people won’t accept an invitation to a church building.  And that’s ok. It’s still important to invite them.  But I don’t know a person who won’t respond to the church performing small acts of great love, like hugs and dinner. We should never underestimate their impact.

***

My prayer for each of us today is that by glimpsing Lansing’s past and Lansing’s future, you’ve come to see more clearly a strange and unfamiliar world. I hope once you’ve envisioned Lansing redeemedꟷeven partially and dimlyꟷit will be hard to unsee. I pray that you are inspired to hope and to tell others why. Because all of creation waitsꟷand if we are silent, even the rocks will cry out (Luke 19:35-40).

If we are humble guests here for a time–and yet are also hosts of a heaven yet to come, will you join me in welcoming others to it? For like Paul, “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Our neighbors need you to share with them that love.

Amen.

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