"The Thoughts That Underlie Hope"

Hope College Baccalaureate SermonSunday, May 7, 2006Dimnent Memorial Chapel

Rev. Stephen M. Norden
New HopeChurch, Powell, Ohio

(Hebrews 6:13-20)

President Bultman, members of the faculty, staff and administration, parents, guests, and certainly the distinguished graduates of the Class of 2006, thank you for this singular privilege of returning to this place and being a part of this festive occasion.  HopeCollege is a place that I cherish dearly.  It has shaped not only who I am but what I am in Jesus Christ and I give thanks to God for all that HopeCollege means in my life, and in your lives as well.

One of the simple pleasures of life that I enjoy is the weekly mailing from HopeCollege that all members of the Board of Trustees receive. I find it fascinating to read about the opportunities that are available to you the students, faculty, staff and administration of Hope. At the risk of understatement, it's a different world at HopeCollege than when I was a student here over three decades ago and the opportunities that you enjoy are nothing short of marvelous. But what I find even more fascinating is what you do with the opportunities that are yours. It is delightful to read about faculty and student accomplishments in academics, athletics, co-curricular activities and avenues for spiritual growth and service. Still, I have a confession to make. The part of the weekly mailing that I read with scrupulous regularity is the "Anchor." I cannot say that I read every word, but not an issue arrives on my desk without my reading the editorial columns and the letters to the editor. It is important that I understand, not only what you do at Hope but also what you think. So, one of the columns to which I pay attention is "Anchor" editor Erin L'Hotta's "The Thoughts That Lie Under Hope." This morning, on this most celebrative occasion, I would like to think with you about the thoughts that underlie hope, for I am convinced that of all the gifts that God gives us, as the Apostle Paul reminds us in the great love chapter 1 Corinthians 13, hope is among the greatest.

The writer to the Hebrews makes this bold affirmation in the 6th chapter:  "We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a fore-runner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."  As he speaks of Abraham receiving that which had been promised to him by God, the writer to the Hebrews would have us understand that authentic hope, hope that is solid and reliable, hope that weathers the turbulence of life, is built upon the strong foundation of the promises of God.  And these promises of God receive their fullest, most supreme fulfillment in this fore-runner, this high priest according to Melchizedek, the mysterious priest of Salem who blessed Abraham.  God's promises are fulfilled preeminently in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord.

In a recent article in "Christianity Today" Andy Crouch, in his column by the title "Furrowed Brows Inc.," writes of the current cultural wars that exist in our country.  He suggests that the greatest casualties of these cultural wars may be Christian joy and hope.  As I watch, listen and read about what is happening in our culture, it occurs to me that a pall of grim hopelessness hangs over us.  As we live with the aftermath of 9/11, as we daily confront the toll that the war in Iraq extracts in human life and on our national psyche, as each of us tries to navigate our way in a volatile economy, hope seems to be in short supply.  I wonder if the erosion of hope is a consequence of our searching for hope in the wrong places or misunderstanding the very substance of hope.

Authentic hope is not a consequence of wishful thinking.  Certainly all of us have wishes for ourselves, for others, for our futures and, in large measure, these wishes are products of our desires, reflections, the perceptions of what we think would be best or satisfying for us.  But, when all is said and done, hope that is the result of wishful thinking is nothing more than a self-induced subjective response to something we want.  And no matter how hard we try to buttress that hope with personal energy or personal guts and gusto, the sad reality is that wishful thinking will at some point in time prove to be inadequate.  Some are also of the mistaken assumption that hope is the twin of cheery optimism.  Please do not misunderstand what I am saying.  Given the choice between optimism and pessimism, I will always advocate for an optimistic attitude because I find pessimism so draining and debilitating.  Hope can certainly produce an optimistic attitude but optimism is no substitute for hope.

In the Old Testament there are two primary Hebrew words that are used for hope.  One conveys the image of simply waiting for what lies ahead.  The other, from the root meaning of the word for cord or rope, denotes more of a tense or eager expectation.  In the Old Testament hope is closely connected to the promises of God.  And, as we have already recognized, it is in the New Testament that we discover the promised hope of the Old Testament is fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.  By his life, death and resurrection the living Christ has become, not only the one who is the object of our hope, but the one who is the source of our hope.  Jesus Christ is the anchor of our hope that is sure and steadfast.  It is in Christ that we find our stability and strength.

As our lives are anchored in Christ, we make a discovery that is amazing and life-giving:  authentic hope grows, not by preserving life, but by spending life in the service of others.  In other words, authentic hope grows in the context of discipleship, following Christ as he leads us into the future that he has prepared for us.  Jesus described the life of discipleship in this way:  "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it." (Mark 8:34b-35)  It was the great theologian of the 19th century, Mark Twain, who said, "Many people are bothered by those passages in the scriptures that they cannot understand; as for me, I always notice that the passages in scripture that trouble me most are the ones that I do understand."  Do you find Jesus' words as troubling as I do?  Quite candidly, Jesus' call to discipleship is one that thins the ranks.  Christ calls us to commit our all to him and, for many of us, that is a most difficult proposition.  It's difficult because, given the choice, most of us would rather be like Lucy in the old "Peanuts" comic strip, a comic strip that was part of my generation.  Lucy is swinging on the playground.  Charlie Brown is reading a book and says to Lucy, "It says here that the earth revolves around the sun once a year."  Lucy stops swinging and replies, "The earth revolves around the sun?  Are you sure?  I thought it revolved around me!"  You and I live in a culture that is constantly trying to convince us that we are at the center of the universe.  The personal mantra of many could be characterized by these words on a poster:

If I like it, it's mine.
If I can take it from you, it's mine.
If I had it a while ago, it's mine.
If I say it's mine, it's mine.
If it looks like it, it's mine.
If I saw it first, it's mine.
If you're having fun with it, it's definitely mine.
If you lay it down, it's mine.
If it's broken, it's yours.

It is no secret that our Lord's message of discipleship is as counter-cultural today as it was when he first proclaimed it.  But the message that Jesus would have us learn is that following him does not equate to a life of drudgery, tedium and mediocrity but one that generates hope the more we spend our lives in serving Christ by serving others.  I know that many of you have had the occasion to participate in mission trips in this country and beyond.  As you enter into that future that God has prepared for you, I want to encourage you to invest your life in Christ by investing it in those whom Christ has called you to serve.  Some years ago I came across a legend that anchors this truth in experience.  The legend has it that a traveler was crossing the desert, dying of thirst.  He stumbled upon an old, ram-shackled, windowless, roofless, weather-beaten shack.  The traveler entered in and crumpled on the floor trying to find whatever shade he could from the heat of the desert sun.  As he glanced around the shack, he noticed an old, rusty water pump about 15 feet away.  He staggered over to it, grabbed the handle and began to pump up and down, up and down.  Nothing came out.  Disappointed, the traveler sat down but then he noticed in the corner of the shack an old jug.  He picked the jug up, wiped off the dirt and grime and found a note with this message:  "You have to prime the pump with all the water in this jug.  P. S.  Be sure to fill the jug again before you leave."  The traveler popped the cork out of the jug and, sure enough, the jug was filled with water.  It smelled stagnant, but it was water nonetheless and now he was faced with a decision.  He could drink the water in the jug and live.  Or, he could follow the instructions, pour the water in the rusty, old pump and hope that what the note promised was true.  The traveler studied the jug and pondered.  Reluctantly, he poured all the water into the pump, grabbed the handle and started to pump up and down.  Squeak, squeak, squeak.  Nothing!  Squeak, squeak, squeak.  Still nothing came out.  He began to pump faster, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak and suddenly a trickle of water began to dribble out, then a small stream and finally fresh, cool water gushed from the pump.  The traveler eagerly filled the jug and drank from it, filled it another time and drank its refreshing contents.  When he drank his fill, the traveler filled the jug, popped the cork back on and then put the note back in place.  After thinking for a moment, he added this post-script:  "Believe me, it really works.  You have to give it all away before you can get anything back." [i]

The final thought that underlies I hope that I would offer you today is this:  authentic hope inspires imagination.  One of the more thoughtful and fascinating books that I have read this year is Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat:  A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century.  In his book, "New York Times" columnist Thomas Friedman identifies that which some were sensing intuitively, that while we were sleeping the globe that you and I occupy was flattened.  No longer is the world's economic and political engine driven by the United States, Western Europe, Japan and Korea.  Now India and China have emerged as major players on the world's scene.  With the fall of the Berlin wall, the advent of the internet, open sourcing, outsourcing, off-shoring and other forces that have converged during the last decade and a half, the playing field has become horizontal.  Some of the most significant conversations that we have had recently in our Board of Trustees meetings revolve around the obligations that we sense we have to prepare you to live in this flattened world.  Now that we have entered what Friedman characterizes as a quiet crisis or perfect storm with its dirty little secrets of the numbers gap, the ambition gap and the education gap, he comes to the conclusion that it would be very easy to become cynical, despairing, to lose hope.  But in the last chapter of the book, Friedman asks what I find to be most insightful, thought-provoking question:  "Does our society have more memories than dreams or more dreams than memories?"  In other words, is our focus on what has been or what will be?

It was the Old Testament prophet Joel who prophesied of that day when God's Spirit would be poured out on all people, that day when God's daughters and sons would prophecy, and old men would dream dreams and young men would see visions for the Spirit would be alive in all.  If I could both encourage and exhort you in any way, class of 2006, I would do so by offering this:  God's Spirit is alive and at work in you.  Let the Holy Spirit's power in you, allow this hope that anchors your soul, to inspire you to dream new dreams, to harness the power of your imagination, to grasp hold of the visions that God has given you and cause them to come to fruition.

It was during some of the darkest days in the history of God's people that God spoke this word of promise through the prophet Jeremiah:  "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)  As you celebrate today all that you have seen, heard, learned and done in the place called Hope, anchor your soul in Jesus Christ and set the sails of your faith so that you catch the wind of God's Spirit.  Spend your lives in service and dare to dream great dreams for God. And, most of all, enjoy the future of hope that God has prepared for you.

[i] Charles R. Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity