given on Sunday, September 13, 2015:
Lamentations. The word alone can set a tone of sadness and futility. The Old Testament book is one of a set written by Jeremiah; the first being the book of Jeremiah itself. One book gives the history of Jeremiah’s country—Judah, the people and the destruction of Jerusalem. The second book is the eulogy or lament.
Reading through history books, each factual chapter could be followed by a lament of its own. Right now our personal history is being written and history books will record the facts—violence, hate crimes, natural disasters, political chaos, greed, and more, I am sure. The historians will try to keep the analysis to the facts, but the lament will shadow the words.
Why? Why do humans continue to be mean, greedy, and downright hateful? How can such dismal behavior continue when God already sent Jesus and changed the law to such a simple premise: Love one another?
Jeremiah cried out in the book of Lamentations. The first two chapters are a record of all the bad that had happened, but it is the third chapter that issues the challenge: Dare to hope.
This week the anniversary of America’s terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City serves as a reminder that bad things do happen even to good people, as the cliché states. The thousands who died fourteen years ago left gaping holes in families and communities. Yet, one word can reflect an outcome that carries all the promise of a bright future despite all the destruction—HOPE!
Hope, the second of three theological virtues, a habit builds on the first virtue of faith. Faith establishes a relationship with God. Accepting God and his gift of grace, sets our life journey in the direction of eternal life. The faith-directed journey is fueled by hope.
Life is going to be challenging. Even if we do not cause the problem ourselves, the forces of nature and the decisions of others will deal us difficulties. At times, we will feel totally alone, even from God. The trials of our earthly life do shake confidence, tear at our hearts due to the loss of family or friend, or challenge our ethics even at the work place. But God never leaves us and that faith-based relationship provides life-sustaining hope.
Think about what qualities hope provides our lives: happiness, optimism, promise, and enthusiasm. Certainly a list of other qualities could be included, but hope changes the quality of our lives even in the absolute worst times. Hope keeps us God-centered. Hope fuels us in our lives and demonstrates to others how faith works in good times and in bad times.
Dare to hope! The scriptures tell us that, faithful Christians have modeled it, and it is our responsibility to live it. God is always with us. Our task is to maintain and deepen the relationship with God. How to hope begins with Lamentations 3:40: Let us examine our ways and test them and let us return to the Lord.
Examine our ways: consider how we live our lives. Are we living our Christian lifestyle as God would want us to live it? Are we keeping our work ethics? Do we love our neighbors as we want to be loved? Can we avoid gossip?
Test our way of living and see if it is working or if it is failing. What we say we do must show in the outcome. Are we honestly giving our best effort at work? Do we care for our bodies and our world as we should? Do we complain but do nothing to change the problem? Do we work to maintain our relationship with God?
Wandering away from the Lord is very easy in a world filled with evil. Staying in a strong relationship with family and friends is no easy task. To maintain the relationship with God, we need scripture study, we need worship with our Christian community, and we need to serve. The result is a wonderful journey filled with happiness, optimism, positivity, and enthusiasm—HOPE.
Date to hope. Life filled with hope will lessen the sting of life challenges. Hope will shine through you to others who are seeking a happy, optimistic, positive and enthusiastic life. Others will see God shining through your eyes and know that hope is fueling your journey. Dare to hope, dare to have faith in God, dare others to learn about faith and hope. The result will be a world-filled with love.
Closing prayer
Dear God of Glory,
Life challenges us daily making us weak and drained.
Thank you for staying right beside us.
Even when we believe, we make mistakes.
Guide us in examining our ways of living
as we strengthen our relationship with you.
Help us test our ways of living our faith out loud
so hope fills our journey to life everlasting.
We dare to hope, to strengthen our faith,
and to love one another.
May our faith-filled lives, fueled with hope,
invite others to join your Christian family.–Amen, Lord, amen.
Susandoodles Weblog 