Hope in the Rock

Isaiah 44:6-8 (English Standard Translation)

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock, I know not any.

Romans 8:12-25 (English Standard Translation)

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children then heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that they whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

God grant me patience, and I want it now!

Have you ever prayed that sort of a prayer? I guess it’s a better feeling than being impatient. A better feeling than worrying, or getting anxious about an outcome. A better feeling than hopelessness, even if it does imply some powerlessness.

For hope that is seen is not hope. Who hopes for what they see?When we say we hope for things, we get wrapped up in them, don’t we? Hoping our team wins the game. Hoping our kids get home before curfew. Hoping somebody might hire us sooner rather than later so we don’t have to worry about choosing between rent and groceries. We hope because we are invested.

But more importantly, we hope because we have a God who is faithful. What’s the point of hoping in something or someone who isn’t reliable? That’s not hoping, that’s wishing, and while fairy godmothers are helpful from time to time, they are not god.

Though hoping for things like promotions or winning a bet isn’t exactly hoping for more than fairy godmother wishes, either, is it? Because those things we would hope for are equally fleeting to Cinderella’s midnight escape from the ball. Those things are temporary, details in the wider, deeper, higher, longer plotline of our God's story.

See, the hoping we are wrapped up in isn’t limited just to our good fortune. Paul reminds the Romans today that the entire creation is crying out in child-birth labor-pains, along with the rest of us, near and far and now and then. We are hoping with all of time and space for the hope of all eternity, in which we are so wrapped up that from it, and from each other, there can be no separation.

It is why we pray for each other, this hope. It is why we reach beyond ourselves to feed the hungry, or to eradicate Malaria, or to build Habitat houses. It is the hope that prompts us to pain with our kindred in the Holy Land, because our hope is bigger than just ourselves here and now.

And the center of our hope, it is not escapism, it is not some rising above the sins and pains of the world to reach a more purified state. It is in fact centered in a God who has come among us in precisely the very flesh and blood that we tear apart in war, the very same flesh and blood that aches with heartbreak and hunger. The very same flesh and blood that rejoices in a beautiful day and shivers in a cold wind.

The whole of creation joins in hoping for the Incarnate God, whom we name Christ Jesus, to be our peace, our shalom-wholeness, and to widen always our understanding of who we are. Hoping for a world without fear. Hoping for every moment of true worship and God-given security, by the gift of God’s self for the world.

As ones who hope with patient longing, we trust that, in our powerlessness, God is enough, in our weakness God is strong, in our confusion and our missteps, God is loving and merciful, holy and mighty, forgiving, and renewing all of the life of the world. Even when it cost him his life, Jesus has come among us to be our life and our hope and our peace.


And just when we thought we understood the extend of our hope, when we thought it had all come to an end, Easter happened, and Pentecost, and the outcome of God’s hope just keeps growing, better and better, full of grace and truth, and with us to the end of the age.