Jul 9, 2011
A faith of hope!
Focus readings: Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43; Romans 8:12-25
For the sermon text go to: http://stteves10.libsyn.com/live-in-hope-sermon-text-proper-11-year-a-2011
..the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God (Rom 8:19 NRSV)
As Christians we live in hope and this hope is not a passive hope. It's a hope that says with Desmond Tu-tu and Martin Luther King, and Mother Theresa and, and William Wilberforce and John Flynn, and Oscar Romero and so many other heros of the faith that we can stand up to evil and suffering and injustice, because this is not the way things should be, and even more wonderfully, because maybe even in this life, and definitely in the next suffering and evil will be defeated.
It's a hope which says to us that we can go on. A hope that says whatever our grief or suffering, or the evil and terror we face, it will be defeated. We will receive wholeness and healing. Even in this life we will receive that healing, though only partly. In the next life we will receive it in all its fullness. In hope we wait, with patience and eager expectation with the whole creation, for that day when we will be healed and whole.
Questions for thought or discussion.
How much suffering should there be in the Christian life? What should our response to suffering be? What do you think of the idea that hope can carry us through suffering or evil? What times can you think of when your Christian hope has carried you through?