HOPE AND OPTIMISM

Nathaniel Froese, Interim Westhills Site Pastor

“Now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love” 1 Corinthians 13:13.

Following Jesus is, of course, the most liberating and beautiful thing a person can do. In a world full of opinions, podcasts, fake news, and doubt, the fact that I can exclaim, “I believe”, provides rest to my soul time and time again. Likewise, in a world full of anger, division, and polarization, the fact that I know that my marching orders from the Lord are to “Love the Lord my God… and to Love my neighbor” (Matthew 22:37-39), once again gives me confidence as we engage in a world crying out for redemption.

Yet I have paused at the verse from Saint Paul above many times as of late. Faith, while often difficult, seems familiar for my walk with Jesus. Love, being equally if not more difficult, is also pretty deep in my DNA as a Christian. Now I certainly haven’t perfected these virtues, but when I see Paul include hope in this list, I’m not so confident I have given this the attention it deserves.

At this point, it may be helpful to gain some context behind our verse.

Paul, when writing to the church of Corinth, engages in what is the lengthiest teaching on spiritual gifts in the entire Bible. This teaching covers chapters 12-14 and weaves through a wide variety of concerns, which are all worth your time in study. These gifts are pretty important to how Christians operate. After all, it's through these gifts that we teach, lead, care for one another, and model hospitality, all of which are central for Christian life. But it's also through these gifts that Christians prophecy, discern spirits, heal, as well as speak in and interpret tongues.

Here’s where we catch up with our text. These are some pretty amazing spiritual gifts. As you can imagine though, jealousy inflames those who may not have the “super cool” spiritual gifts, whatever we decide they might be. Paul explains that while the gifts are cool, even if we have the most eloquent expression of any given gift, if lacking love, our gifts can actually become a deterrent for the body of Christ and its health. For Paul though, it's not love alone (even if it's the most important). Faith and hope are also central to Christian life in this same way.

Thanks be to God that in Jesus Christ, we are given faith, hope, and love, because this suddenly became a much taller order than it was initially. Like I said though, love and faith feel pretty familiar. Hope being a part of this is a newer feeling to me.

Hope, when framed biblically, is a firm sense of optimism rooted in the promises of God. Those promises are not only available to you in the future, but here and now. It's hope that Jesus calls us into when he says,

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.”

Luke 6:20–21

While we might think hope pushes us naively out of the present to reflect only on the future, the hope Jesus invites us into is an irony that breathes deeply from the present. There is blessing in poverty because you are a part of the kingdom of God. There is blessing in hunger because you will be filled. There is blessing in weeping because you will laugh.

Life throws us curveballs all the time. I have often fallen for the trap of thinking that if I could name those curveballs with clear enough thinking, I could fix them. But this turns life and its messes into nothing more than problems to be solved, which more often than I care to admit, is not realistic.

Jesus instead invites me into a new way of life. It's neither naïve, nor does it remove me from the messes of life, like you might expect. Rather, Jesus reminds me of the promises of God. He points out the messes in life and says, “you’re blessed”. His power is made great in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). His wounds heal us (Isaiah 53:5). He blesses us through becoming a curse (Galatians 3:13).

This is the stuff that life throws at us - wounds, weakness, and even curses. What makes Christians different though? It's that we refuse the temptation of pessimism, it's that we refuse to lose joy, it's that we stare into the problems that the world has, but rather than give up, we see our crucified and risen Lord. In short, we hope, because Jesus says you are blessed in Him.

I am increasingly struck by how important this posture is for us Christians. Pessimism, cynicism, and angst all seem to be developing deep roots in the face of increased polarization, anxiety, and tension in our culture. I have found myself praying often for us Christians to be known, yes by our love, but also of our joy, optimism, and ultimately our hope. It can only be found in the good news of Jesus. This week, would you join me in praying that we would be people of hope?