October 12, 2008

Peter’s Epistle of Hope

Living Hope

1 Peter 1:3-9

Opening Words: Clare Boothe Luce once wrote, “There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them.” Could it be that you have grown hopeless? The world in which we live is complex and the problems seem great. The news from Wall Street is not good. The greatest shortage facing America today is hope. It is for this reason I have decided to take the next five weeks to look at Peter’s epistle of hope, First Peter.

Let us look at the background together. The exact date is unknown but it is later in Peter’s life. Peter has changed. He is no longer the wild impulsive disciple of Holy Week. He has matured in the faith. He is now the foundation on which the church would be built. He is not writing to a specific congregation or individual. He is writing to the church in general. All Christians at this time are suffering. The word “suffering” is found fifteen times. He is writing a word of encouragement. He is reminding them that they have a living hope in their resurrected Savior, Jesus. Today, we are instructed from the very first chapter of First Peter, verses three through nine. Let me call this message Living Hope.

1 Peter 1:3-9 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

For a short time Nancy Kerrigan grabbed the national spotlight. During the 1994 Winter Olympics she was America’s best chance for a gold metal in women’s figure skating. You remember her story. She was raised in a middle class family near Boston. He mother was blind and her father worked extra jobs to pay for the expensive skating lessons. Nancy had trained for eighteen years for this opportunity. The only thing left were the National Championships in Detroit. It was while she was in the Motor City that the unthinkable happened. As she came off

the ice during a practice session a man came up to her and hit her. Her right leg was injured and she was rushed to a local hospital. She would recover fully but would not be able to compete in the Nationals. At first it was thought she would not qualify for the Olympics. Her dream had turned into a nightmare. Those were the darkest days in her life. Nancy Kerrigan said later she could only ask, “Why me?” You know the rest of the story. She was given a spot on the United States skating team and she won a silver metal but that didn’t really answer her question, “Why me?”

Have you ever asked that question, “Why me?’ It is a good question but this is a better question, “Why us?” Has anyone here ever felt like a victim? You have done nothing wrong but nothing goes right? You saved your money so you could retire someday, then the stock market crashed. All the profit you made in the past decade is suddenly gone in a matter of weeks. Has anyone bought a house because it was part of the American dream. You sacrificed and made those payments. The value of homes has always gone up; they are not making anymore land. However, the value of your home went down. Is there anyone here who can not sell their home because they owe more on it than it is really worth? Is there anyone here who is afraid to leave your home? Your safe quiet neighbor slowly changed. It is no longer safe. Is anyone here tired of reading the newspaper or watching the news? With ever edition the world seems to be getting more bizarre? Do I have to go on? This is not an easy society in which to live. Life, itself, beats you down and it is easy to lose hope. Let us be honest. It is easy to give up. It is easy to ask the question, “Why us?”

Someone compared our world to Flagstaff, Maine. At one time in history it was a delightful little town. The residents of Flagstaff took pride in their community. They took care of their community. Then it happened. It was announced a great dam would be built, a massive lake would be created. The entire area would benefit. The only problem was Flagstaff would be flooded, the town would no longer exist. In the months prior to the flooding, all improvements and repairs in the whole town stopped. What was the use of painting a house if it were to be covered with water in six months? Why repair anything when the whole village was to be wiped out? So, week by week, the whole town became more and more bedraggled, more gone to seed, more woebegone. Flagstaff became an eye sore. The last mayor of Flagstaff explained the situation best, he said, “Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.” Do you know anyone who has stopped trying to improve because they have lost hope in their future?

Today, We find ourselves in the first chapter of First Peter. He is trying to answer the “why us” question? The world to which Peter wrote is not much different from our world. Life has always been hard. Peter is telling them and us to live balanced lives. Disciples should have a balanced portfolio. There are the temporary things of this world but there are the eternal things that are waiting for us in heaven. Yes, the things of this world are important but they can’t be everything. I believe that is why so many people in our society are hopeless today. They are living as if this world is all that matters. On the day you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you discovered there was more than this world. You discovered that when your days are done in this world that heaven was waiting for you. The world can take away your financial assets but the world can not touch your reward waiting for you in heaven. That is why we, disciples of Jesus Christ, can still have hope in a world that is filled with hopelessness. In the resurrected Jesus, we have a living hope the world can not touch.

Today, I want to talk about three ways the resurrected Jesus and the promise of heaven have altered your attitude about life. Each one reminds us of the divine promise that God has made to you. Each one revolves around a single word that begins with the letter P. So if you hopeful people are ready to begin say, “Amen!”

Peace

The first word is peace. The resurrected Jesus offers us peace. The world offers us worry. How much time do you spend worrying? How many hours each night are you up worrying about some event in your life? Consider these facts with me. Research tells us:

40% of your worries will never happen

30% of your worries are in your past and can‘t be changed

12% of worries are criticism by others, mostly untrue

10% of worries are about health issues, which gets worse with stress

8% of worries are real problems that will be faced

Walter Kelly once said, “Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster and belief in defeat...worry is wasting today's time to clutter up tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles.” The resurrected Jesus liberates us from our worries and offers us security.

Peter told us in today’s scripture lesson to set your eyes on heaven. If you only studying the details of your life, you will be consumed with anxiety. You need to get your eyes off of the details and look at the big picture. You need to develop an eternal prospective and think about heaven. How many of the things that kept you up last night will matter in 100 years? We are only temporary visitors in this world; we are going to live in heaven for eternity! And all of God’s hopeful people said, “Amen!”

Purpose

The second word is purpose. The resurrected Jesus and the hope of heaven gives us a purpose. The world only offers us empty days. There is more to life than just being busy. There is more to life than just being a consumer. There is more to life than just existing. You are in this world for a reason and this church exists for a reason. When we take our eyes off of the resurrected Jesus and heaven, we forget why we really exist. We are in this world to prepare people for heaven.

For the past sixteen months, my wife, Kathryn has been the pastor of the Niles Fairview United Methodist Church. I am so proud of the work Kathy has done there. That congregation is truly a resurrection story. Just a few months ago they were speaking of closing the doors. The bills were massive and the crowd was shrinking. They were ready to give up and no one would have blamed them! There are two United Methodist congregations in Roman Catholic Niles. It really doesn’t make much sense. Using sound business logic they should have closed. Then it all changed in one week. They had Vacation Bible School and everyone had a great time. The staff had a great time. The parents had a great time. The children had a great time. I believe the children reminded the church of something they had forgotten. The church had forgotten why they existed. They had forgotten their purpose. The church is not about budgets and reports. (Those are only necessary evils.) The church exists to do ministry. The church exists to prepare people to go to heaven. The church is an extension of Jesus Christ! When the adults remembered their purpose everything began to change.

On Wednesday afternoon Niles Fairview United Methodist Church, the church that was going to close a few months ago, started a new after school program. Their goal is to reach children, who are alone or need help with their studies. It was an exciting day. The building was alive. Twenty-five children from the neighborhood came to the first session. They played, got help their homework, ate dinner and learned about Jesus. How can that be a bad thing? Everyone had a great time, including the church. For the first time in a long time the church was excited! Why? They suddenly had a new purpose. May we never forget we are not about budgets and reports. We are an extension of Jesus Christ in this community. We exist to do ministry and prepare people for heaven. Let me say this clearly. When we do ministry and prepare people for heaven God will care for the organizational church. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!“

Paradise

The third and final word is paradise. The resurrected Jesus offers us eternity in paradise. The world offers us only the temporary. John Hannah said, “Two things will surprise us when we get to heaven; who is there and who isn’t.” Verses three and four say, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the

resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you.” Peter understood we are all

terminal from birth. Everyone in this room is going to die someday and it is God’s greatest dream to be in heaven with you!

In 1996 my father was dying. He was at home so my sister and I took turns caring for him during his final days. It was a sad and awkward time. I was never close to my father. His physical care was hard but relating to him was nearly impossible. There was long periods of silence. However, he said something in that broken state I will never forget. He looked at me and said, “I never thought it would end like this!” I didn’t say anything that day but he was wrong. That wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning. His heart stopped beating several hours later but he continued to live. It is not just true of him. It is true of ever person of faith. Peter told us in the lesson for today. Someday everyone of faith is going to go to heaven. And when we get to heaven all the worries and frustrations of this world will be nothing but a memory. The power of the resurrected Jesus will offer us living hope for eternity. And all of God’s hopeful people said, “Amen!” Let me end with this story.

When writer Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was a little boy he was sitting in his room looking out the window. He was watching the lamplighter lighting the street lights below. His nurse came in and asked him what he was doing? He answered, “I am watching a man punch wholes in the darkness.”

That is what the resurrected Jesus has done for us. He has punched holes of light in our dark world. He has offered us hope. Someday we are going to heaven but we can start reaping the benefits now. Because of the resurrected Jesus we have divine purpose. Because of the resurrected Jesus we know the real meaning of life, itself. And all of God’s hopeful people said, “Amen!”