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A Hope Which Never Dies
March 8-9, 2008
John 11:1-45
When does hope die? When do we come to a situation where we can no longer imagine any future good? When do we reach a place when we look forward and all we can see is despair? For the followers of Jesus, the answer to these profound questions is “never.” Never do we believe that hope and goodness will be conquered by evil. Never do we believe that we come to the point where we can no longer look forward with some confidence. Never will hope die.
Now these are daring statements, statements that many would not accept. But we who believe accept them because we believe in God’s power. We believe that God’s power is active in our midst. We believe that God is in charge of the world, and God will not let the world fall apart. We believe that God is in charge of our lives, and God will not abandon us. We believe that God is opposed to the evil that surrounds us, and God has promised us an ultimate victory. For those who believe in Christ, there never comes a point where hope dies, because we believe that the power of God is stronger than any other power.
Now this does not mean that we are preserved from every evil, for the power of God is not yet complete. It waits for the day for Christ’s final victory and return. Evil can still touch us and those who we love. But even as we face loss and sickness and rejection and death, we hold on to the hope that God’s power is still active, and God’s power will preserve us.
Martha, in today’s gospel, believed in Jesus’ power. She believed that he was a great healer. She believed that had Jesus come, he could have saved her brother. “Lord,” she said, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” But he did die, and he was now in the tomb.” And so for Martha, hope was gone. There was no way that she could imagine her brother alive again. Jesus confronts her understanding and asserts, “I am the resurrection and the life.” To show that power Jesus calls forth Lazarus from the tomb. So we, too, if we believe in God’s power, can always hold our hearts open to God’s power in our lives.
Even when there has been resentment in relationships for years, we still believe that God has power, and there may come a time when those relationships can be reconciled. Even when we face addiction and illness, we believe that God is healer and that God’s power can still protect us and heal us. Even when we see injustice and violence around us in the world, we continue to believe that our actions on behalf of the kingdom can make a difference and that God is acting in ways we cannot foresee to bring about a better world.
It is not easy to hope in a world where so much is wrong, but Christians hold on to hope because we believe in the power of God. We believe in the power that raised Lazarus from the tomb. We believe in the power that brought Jesus to life after the third day. That power of God’s presence is our hope, and that hope can never die.
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