Sermons for the Month

Hope-Filled Remembering
DATE: June 3rd, 2007
SERVICE: Holy Trinity Sunday
TEXT: Romans 5:1-5

“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN

In the June edition of "The Lutheran" there is an article about the response to the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. In it, the word HOPE is used repeatedly. Let me share a few examples.

At a memorial service at Roanoke College, which is 30 miles from Virginia Tech, the dean of the school's chapel said, "We know all too clearly, all too dearly, that this pain touches us. We can't forget we're all in this mix of life together." As candles were lit he said, "With the candles, we see the fire of HOPE for faith in the future."

ELCA campus pastor William H. King spoke at the Virginia Tech convocation the day after the shooting. "Let us deny death's power to rob us of all that we loved about Virginia Tech, our community. Let us cast our lot with HOPE in defiance of despair."

And Gary Schroeder, pastor of the Lutheran church across the street from the campus, said he would do his best to provide HOPE to the Blacksburg and Virginia Tech congregation. (1)

The events of April 16 at Virginia Tech are among the most horrific of recent memory, and yet there is HOPE? Indeed, HOPE is the hoped-for commodity in the midst of tragedy. According to the Apostle Paul there is good reason for that, HOPE is what follows the suffering that produces endurance and then creates character. And, hope does not disappoint us. In fact, if one truly has hope it will prevail even in the midst of challenges and disappointments.

How is such hope possible? Author and theologian Walter Brueggemann says it's because of our faith memories. In a lecture sponsored by the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies Dr. Brueggemann said that one of the things Jews and Christians have in common is that we recall the defining memories and miracles of our lives. "…we dare to affirm that the God who has done past acts of transformation and generosity will do future acts of transformation and generosity." (2)

So, even when Jesus was in the tomb, the memory of how he healed the sick, forgave and guilty and raised the dead was a potential source of hope for the believers. And, certainly, as they watched him ascend into heaven and were tempted to despair, the memory of the empty tomb and 40 days of encountering their resurrected Lord gave them hope. Later, when the believers suffered because of their faith, they found hope in remembering the wind and fire of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit arrived and they were able to draw on the Spirit's power to propel them forward.

Memory is transformed to hope in the midst of loss; this is possible because of the faithfulness of God who is the "key player" in our past and in our future. Dr. Brueggemann writes that Paul's words that we read today from Romans 5 is the "speech of a community that refuses to give in. It is the speech of a community that refuses (to see) the present loss as the last truth; a community that knows God is not finished." (3)

In contrast, those who have amnesia when it comes to God, who do not see God as a relevant player, experience everything as brutal, greedy and violent. "Such acts and attitudes and policies are the work of those who do not remember steadfast love, compassion and mercy. It is the work of those who seek to have the future on their own terms." (4)

So, then we are the people who remember how God was at work long ago and in the more recent past. It is our "job" to remember, and to have hope. That's one reason it's so important for us to hear and to internalize scripture. And, it's also vital that we deposit how God has been at work in our lives in our own memory banks. That means we are open to seeing how God is a work in our lives, or if we have blinders on, hearing what other believers say they see.

Then, perhaps most importantly, we act as if God's past behavior and future promises are our present reality. And, in our "acting" we build other people's memories of God's love as they see it at work in us, and in so doing are the conveyors of hope.

I experienced something very unusual a couple weeks ago. I was shopping at Marcs; the next person in line behind me was a young woman who was very pregnant and looked very tired. She was one of those women who is thin all over even in pregnancy so that she appeared to have a basketball under her shirt. Before she laid her items on the counter she asked about using the card once known as "food stamps".

I think she caught my attention because she seemed so tired and was so quiet in her inquiry. We left at the same time, I made another stop, and then as I drove east on Market Street in the rain I saw her walking, a bag over each shoulder and in each hand, no coat, she seemed to struggle to stay balanced. That's when I heard a voice loud and clear - "offer her a ride."

Now, I learned long ago not to offer people rides, and please know that it's not something I'm recommending. So, it took me a few blocks to work out the reality that there probably was little or no danger in doing so. So, at Sandrun Rd., I pulled into a business and waited for her to walk the half-block to reach me. I reminded her that I had been in line with her at Marcs, indicated that I sympathized with her carrying so much stuff while walking in the rain, and offered to give her a ride.

She wanted to say "yes", she took a good long look at me probably wondering what danger a middle-aged woman in a Honda Civic might be, but then sadly shook her head and said she needed the exercise as she continued walking. I felt sad that we live in a society that makes us so afraid. But, perhaps as she walked and decided that it probably would have been OK to ride with me, maybe she felt a bit more hopeful about life. I hope she'll have a memory of Spirit-motivated kindness that will create hope.

That's what all of us are called to do, to build other people's memories of God's love, and thus be conveyors of hope. Remember that article from "The Lutheran"? It's interesting to note two of the groups who were conveyors of hope to the Virginia Tech campus.

One was an Air Force Chaplain serving in Iraq who asked if the troops there could send a banner of support. The other was a family in Louisanna whose Katrina-damaged home was repaired by Virginia Tech students who wanted to know how they could help. It seems that their memory of God at work in their pain and loss was turned into an offering of hope for others.

Suffering is a reality of living in this imperfect world, but hope is a reality too. We who see the love, grace and mercy of God in the midst of challenge remember it and are filled with hope, and in that we are not disappointed.

AMEN

(1) "Shootings' fallout likely long term", The Lutheran, June 2007, pg. 38

(2) "Suffering Produces Hope" by Walter Brueggemann, April 2, 1998, The Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies, pg. 7, www.icjs.org

(3) Same as above, pg. 10

(4) Same as above, pg. 10

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