Hope
“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
– Matt. 9:35-36
Matthew 9:36 has always stood out to me as a powerful and profound verse. Perhaps it is because it is not in my nature or personality to be naturally compassionate. I’ve talked about this publicly before. Compassion and empathy are traits that I’ve had to work to cultivate, and I’m okay with admitting that reality. See, my nature and personality tend to be very blunt and driven to overcome challenges. So, when I see the God of the universe who isn’t just truthful, but is truth, and who isn’t just strong, but is omnipotent and compassionate, it causes me to pause and to reflect on how God has extended me compassion. And then how I am to extend compassion to others as a result of the compassion I’ve received. This verse also points my mind to an essential truth about life on this side of heaven, things now aren’t as they ought to be, and we desperately long for them to be as they ought to be. In other words, we are people in desperate need of hope.
This coming Sunday, December 1st, is the first Sunday of the season of Advent. Advent is a traditional season in the life of the Church where, for centuries, believers have taken time to remember the first arrival (advent) of Christ and look forward to his second coming (advent). One of the major themes of Advent is hope. Consider these lyrics from O Holy Night,
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
They were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd … the world in sin and error pining … a weary world rejoices. The world was (and is) in desperate need of hope, and God responded by sending his Son. The long-promised Messiah.
Hope, in the biblical view is not a wish or a fleeting desire that would be nice if it could be true. Instead, it is the conviction that it is going to be okay. Not because you or I are strong enough to make it okay. We know that we aren’t. Or, at least, we should by now. I mean, let’s be honest, how many presidential elections have we all lived through? Every time, promises are made that are never kept. Some promises are made that could never even be fulfilled. Please hear me clearly, I think civic policies are important because they impact people. And people are important to God, so we should institute good policies. But even the best of those policies will never bring us lasting and permanent hope. That is what our hearts long for. That is what the crowds saw in Jesus. The one who could bring lasting hope. The prince of peace.
As we draw near to Christmas day, the day in which we remember Jesus’ birth, we are to be filled with hope. That baby lying in a manger was God incarnate (made flesh). The supreme and powerful God who created the cosmos. And the longsuffering and compassionate God that would give his life for you and me because we were like the crowds… harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Praise be to God!
Let’s take some time this season to consider what we put our hope in that isn’t sufficient. And, what makes Jesus and the hope he offers different?
In Christ, we see hope realized and experienced. We’re okay, not because of who we are, but because of whose we are.