"The time of fear is over; now comes the time of hope."
These words were spoken in the most unlikely of situations. A French novelist, Tristan Bernard, and his wife, were being put into prison by the Gestapo, after the Nazis had overrun France. They were being sent to a concentration camp; whether they would live or die was uncertain; whether they would ever even see each other again was unclear. And yet this astounding word, this amazing declaration.
"The time of fear is over; now comes the time of hope."
In every age there are plenty of things to be afraid of. But in every age there also signs of hope, for those who will see them.
In fact, in every life, yours and mine, there are plenty of things to be afraid of. But the good news of the gospel, the good news of the Advent season, is that in every life, in your life and mine, there are also signs of hope, for those who will see them.
This day, in this hour, whatever is going on around us, whatever is going on inside us, "The time of fear is over; now comes the time of hope."
I
Let’s look at the down side of this first. Let’s look at hopelessness. Let’s look at fear. What does it mean not to see the time of hope? What does it mean to live in hopelessness and fear?
Someone came to John the Baptist one day and complained about Jesus. Their complaint was that Jesus, who had been given his start by John, was now in competition with John, and was, in fact, hurting John’s business. "They came to John and said to him, ’Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.’’’ Look, John, you gave this fellow Jesus a leg up in the prophecy business, and now he’s getting all the attention. Ain’t it awful? Stand up for yourself, John!
Have you noticed that there are those who can turn almost anything into bad news? Some folks can find something wrong with almost anything. Some folks can turn the best news in the world to a disaster. They are the bad news bears. Give them a compliment and it will not be enthusiastic enough. Give them a check for a million dollars and they will grumble about the taxes they’ll have to pay. If the stock market is at an all time high, it will probably crash. If the sun is shining, there will probably be snow before the night is over. For some people, there is no silver lining that doesn’t have a cloud hovering over it!
Even at Christmas, some folks have a talent for ruining its spirit. Give them a gift and it will be the wrong color. Bake them a pie and it’s wrong because it’s not sweet potato. Put up the tree and it’s not as full as last year’s. Sing them a carol, and it’s out of tune. Some folks have the uncanny ability to turn all the good news into bad news.
The name of that disease is hopelessness. Hopelessness turns all good things sour.
But there is something deeper than that I would want you to see about hopelessness. I would want you to see that hopelessness is really about fear. It’s about fear and conflict. Did you catch what was going on when they came to John the Baptist and complained about Jesus? In their hopelessness they wanted to stir up conflict. Listen again to these telling phrases:
“The one who was with you, to whom you testified." You remember, John, Jesus used to be at your side. You built him up. You helped him get started. John, he should be eternally grateful. But no, it looks like this Jesus is striking out on his own. Aren’t you afraid He will surpass you?
And "here he is baptizing". How dare he copy you, John? Don’t you resent it that you invented this baptism thing, and now he is out there stealing your stuff?
And then "Here he is baptizing, and all are going to him." Oh, John, you are losing your following. Everybody is going over to Jesus. He’s gaining in popularity. He’s getting the crowds. Hey, John, aren’t you upset? Don’t you want to fight?
Do you recognize this little game? It’s called "divide and conquer". It’s called, "Let’s you and him fight." You recognize this little game, played by those who just enjoy watching others fight and beat each other up. It’s like staging a dog fight without having to clean up the blood afterwards. Some folks like to stir up conflict.
But what I am adding to this is the idea that conflict is really a sign of fear and of hopelessness. A sign of fear and of hopelessness because those who have no hope see life as destruction, conflict, negatives. Those who live without hope see everything as worthless anyway, so let’s prove it by helping people destroy each other.
Mark it down. Remember it. When they try to get you to criticize your brother or your sister, they are showing the depth of their own fears. When they try to draw you into conflict, just for the sake of conflict, they are trying to draw you into hopelessness. Don’t go there. Just don’t go there. Instead remember, "the time of fear is over; now comes the time of hope."
II
There are some who will find reason to be negative, no matter how good the good news. But by contrast, there are those who feel hope, no matter how uncomfortable the circumstances. There are those who sense hope, no matter what is happening to them. There are those, praise God, who can still find reason for joy, even when things aren’t going so well. What is the secret?
The secret is that they are able to put aside their own egos, their own self-concerns, and they choose to rejoice in the gains others make. The sign of hope is a person who is no longer concerned about whether he or she is a success, but only that others succeed.
John the Baptist replied to those who wanted to get him all riled up and upset, "’No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, "I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him." He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.’"
John is saying to those who would like to draw him into hopeless conflict, "If Jesus is succeeding, then His success is from God. And, in fact, I predicted that He would succeed. I want Him to succeed. And it’s just like a wedding; I may be the best man and not the bridegroom, but if I am the bridegroom’s friend, then I take pleasure in his joy. I don’t have to sit around and grumble because she didn’t marry me. I can choose to be happy for him."
So, do you see? To be hopeful is to put our own egos aside and to rejoice in what others are able to accomplish. To live in hope is to put aside our own need to be recognized, our own need to be king of the hill, our own need to be well thought of and to take joy in what others are able to do.
Sometimes, you see, we get caught up in short-sights. We get our egos bruised because others are doing better than we are. I told my son when he got a new job three years ago that there was one unbreakable rule in this family, and that he was not supposed to earn more than his father. Well, it only took a couple of years for him to break that rule and break it big! Well, I have two choices of how to feel about that. I can either feel hurt and insulted, or I can take pride in a young man who is doing well. Which one of those is a hopeful choice?
How much better to look for a sign of hope than to take offense at a sign of competition! "He must increase but I must decrease."
The newspapers this week have been filled with a story about the condition of bathrooms in the city’s school systems. We have been bombarded with a series of "Ain’t it awful?" stories with questions raised about who is responsible and why haven’t they done something. But buried away, in a small story, somewhere off the front page, there is mention of a contractor who has offered to organize other contractors, and they will repair the bathrooms as a gift to the city.
How much better to look for, to be a sign of hope than to wallow in hopelessness and conflict!
So, you’ve been sick. You don’t yet have robust health. But what do you have? You have medical care, you have the prayers of your church, you have help from your friends. And you are stronger than you were yesterday and tomorrow you will be stronger yet. See a sign of hope!
So you do not yet have a full-time job. You’ve been out of work for a while, but what do you have? You have part-time work, you have supportive friends, you have clarified your own skills and abilities. It would be easy to feel hopeless. But no, you can choose to see signs of hope!
A little over a week ago Margaret and I attended memorial services for a man who had been one of my mentors. Howard Rees had been for almost forty years the director of the campus ministry program for the D. C. Baptist Convention. Partially crippled by polio as a boy, battered by several accidents of various kinds, hampered by the loss of a kidney, Rees had had every reason in the world to feel despair. If there was anyone who had had any right to give up and surrender to hopelessness, it was Rees.
And I know personally that they tried the conflict trick on Rees too. I know that they tried to put him down because somebody else was outrunning him. I know because I was the somebody else! When I joined his staff, I was in my thirties, I had all that youthful energy, and so I gladly took on the assignment of getting information out to the churches to tell the pastors about campus ministry and to give them information about how to minister to students. Rees had never done that. Rees was much more invested in dealing directly with young people, and he didn’t take time or energy to mail out information. He gladly left that to me. No problem. No competition. Not at all.
And yet one day he and I sat in a meeting with one of the pastors in our Convention, and listened to that pastor rake Rees over the coals. We get all this material from Smith, and we get nothing from Rees. Why not? We get attention from Smith, and we get no attention from Rees. Why not?
Is something sounding familiar here? Hello! When someone is living out of fear and hopelessness, he will try to sponsor what? Conflict! Competition!
Rees’s answer was a classic. He just smiled, shook his head a little, and said to that pastor, "I’m just glad you found the information useful." "I’m just glad you found the information useful." "The friend of the bridegroom … rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease."
The time of fear is over; now comes the time of hope.
III
For, you see, Jesus the Christ is the friend of the hopeful. He is the friend and companion of those who will see and read the signs of hope everywhere.
Jesus Christ is the friend of the hopeful. He gives us, everywhere He goes, signs of hope.
They had it right. There He was, baptizing all who would go to Him. Baptism, as we have seen it today, is a sign of hope. It is a sign that Jesus has become the friend of these hopeful ones, that they have not written off their lives, but have committed them to something new. Baptism is a sign of hope.
Every child is a sign of hope. That there is new life constantly coming into the world is a sign of possibilities. I heard someone say not too long ago that if she had it to do all over again, she would not have children. She would not want to raise children in a world as messed up as ours is. I can understand that perspective. But children are a sign of hope for something better, something finer. They must increase and we must decrease. And so this season tells us of a mother in shameful and lonely circumstances, of a world gripped by a tyrant’s hand, and of grinding injustice. Yes. But it also tells us of a child born in Bethlehem, whose name shall be called Jesus, and He shall save His people from their sins.
The child, every child, is a sign of hope. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
Jesus is the friend of the hopeful. He is the rose which buds in the winter’s snow. He is the bright and morning star shining in the bleak midnight. He is the way when there is no way. He is the bridge over troubled waters. He is strength when we are weak, health when we are sick, wisdom when we are foolish, and life when we are near death. Jesus, Jesus is the friend of the hopeful. As the songwriter has it, "He is the help of all who seek Him, the hope of all who find!"
Jesus is a sign of hope, and the friend of those who will not let hope die. He must increase, and we must decrease.
The Macedonian king, Alexander the Great, was about to launch a great campaign. It would be trying and difficult. It would mean slogging across the mountains, into unknown and dangerous territory. His campaign would require the hearts and loyalties of his officers and men. Alexander won the loyalties of his soldiers by distributing throughout his army all the wealth at his disposal. To each one he gave money or property until all his own resources were gone. One of his generals, Perdiccas, then asked Alexander, "Sir, what have you reserved for yourself?" Alexander’s answer was brief and to the point. "For myself I have kept only hope." "Hope".
Then Perdiccas responded, "We who share in your labors will also take part in your hope." Jesus, “The time of fear is over; now comes the time of hope.”
