Hope to Do What?

Last Easter I took a little road trip with some friends to Minneapolis to visit John Piper’s church. He preached from the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 1. Some of Paul’s words are as follows: “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe..” And this power within us is the same power that raised Christ from the dead (vs. 20) and placed him at the right side of God the Father (vs. 20b). Piper’s main point was that believers must meditate on these realities…for the remainder of their days. Even that would not be enough time for them to grasp how much hope is in them.

This concept of hope seems always to be an Easter morning theme, and rightfully so. If death defeated Jesus, then all the claims he made about himself wouldn’t mean anything, and they would have been buried along with him. But since Jesus defeated death, we must pay attention to those claims, because they escaped the grave along with him. They still stand true. Death has lost its sting, and hell has lost its victory. We worship a living Lord.

These are all truths that I expected to celebrate at church this morning. Little did I know…

I went to see the sunrise over the lake this morning since I had not been down there in a while. I didn’t have much of an agenda; with all of the recent rain we’ve been having all I wanted was to see the sun. I knew I would have time to get my regular service at 11 at some point. But as soon as I got there I felt like an agenda was handed to me. There was a sunrise Easter service on the shores of Oak Street Beach comprised of hymns, readings, and a sermon from Matthew 28. Afterwards the congregation headed back to their church building for breakfast. And that’s when I saw them: two homeless men huddled under blankets in the tunnel system that led up to Michigan Avenue. I’ve see them there before, so it’s not like I was shocked to see people sleeping on the streets. I live in Chicago after all. But the sight of these men was piercing. Here I was, walking with a group of religious folk in their Sunday’s best who complained about the sand in their high heels and the wind that messed up their hair, while these two men laid on a bed of sand, exposed to the wind all night long. I felt like I was in a modern version of The Good Samaritan.

Something in me snapped, and I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t go out and eat with the congregation. I couldn’t bring myself to leave the beach. All this time I have been reading through the Gospels, for at least a month now. I’ve read them each twice. I have read the words of Jesus, of his compassion for the poor, made discoveries about his claims, and learned about the heart of the Gospel message. Jesus hated when the Pharisees and even his own disciples would separate themselves from the tax collectors and sinners. He hated these great divides. I found myself experiencing a similar situation. Those who passed the men did so quickly, as if to get it over with. They had their agendas and did not want to be inconvenienced. “That is not genuine Christianity” I thought to myself. What good is our religion if we just keep it to ourselves? What good are gifts and blessings and resources if we cannot use them to encourage others in the name of Jesus Christ? If we don’t, how will they know that he is the Messiah, that he indeed is risen? The same hope that Piper preached about a year ago and that churches today celebrated in light of the resurrection seems empty if it does not change us or cause us to respond. What are we going to do with the hope that we claim is so real?

I spent the next hour or so with these men who I now know as Henry and Leon. We had breakfast together courtesy of MacDonald’s, and talked about some of their latest adventures on the streets. I woke up this morning thinking that I would learn more about the hope that there is to have in Christ, but instead I was presented with an opportunity to do something with it. What a blessing.

If there is something that I would challenge you to do, it’s not to go out on the streets looking for homeless people to feed. If you got this sort of opportunity, sure, welcome it. People on the streets have some great stories to tell, and love to find people who want to listen to them. What I would challenge you to do is to be armed with the hope that the resurrection of Jesus Christ brings to you who have decided to follow Jesus. In your everyday, who can you reach with that hope? In 1 Peter 3:15 it says “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” Friends, how can we give reason for a hope that we don’t display? If we keep our faith to ourselves, how will others know to ask us about it?

Notice that in each of the Gospel accounts after Jesus rose from the dead, he immediately told his disciples to act upon what they had witnessed. He commissioned them to go into all the earth and to make disciples. Jesus urged his followers to do something with the hope they had. Hope must turn to action. Whether in the big things or in the small things, may we live as people who hope. Even the faith of a mustard seed and small acts of obedience in the hands of a mighty God can accomplish much. Be encouraged.

A Prayer of Confession

“Forgive us for being afraid of that

Which we cannot understand or control.

We too often reject the way of Jesus Christ

Because self-giving love appears to be

So impractical and dangerous.

O God, make us followers of the way of the cross,

Trusting in your resurrection power.

Shine the light of your good news through us

That others may know your eternal and abiding love.”

Blessings.