March 27, 2019
Hope Lutheran Church
Lenten Service
Psalm 42; Philippians 1:12-26
Hope in Uncertainty
Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.
A great temptation when reading a novel is to peek ahead to the end. Some books are more tempting than others. I’m in a book group. Earlier this year we read "A Gentleman in Moscow." It’s been making the book group circuits, and after reading it, I can see why! It’s the kind of book you can’t put down.
The story involves a man in communist Russia just after the Bolshevik Revolution. He has to stand before a tribunal. They spare his life but sentence him to house arrest. He must live the remainder of his life in a hotel room. If he leaves the hotel, he could be shot as an outlaw.
I must admit, part way through the book I just had to know if he was going to make it out of that hotel room! So I flipped to the final pages to see what happened. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil it for you!
Knowing the ending helped ease me through the tension. It was the tension that was killing me! I just had to know. Once I knew, then I could read on in confidence.
Too bad we can’t do that in life, eh? When the tension is just too much, wouldn’t you like to know how everything is going to end up? So many questions:
• Will I ever find Mr. Right?
• How will my friend’s cancer diagnosis turn out?
• Will we have enough money for retirement?
When faced with a weather catastrophe like the people in Nebraska, I’m sure they’re wondering how things will end up, too. We don’t know. We can’t gaze into a crystal ball and predict what tomorrow will bring. We can’t flip ahead to the final chapter and read the outcome in advance.
We’re not alone in those feelings! There’s a story in the Old Testament about King Saul. The Philistines are mustering for war, and Saul doesn’t know what to do. In his desperation, he consults the Witch of Endor. He wants to know what the future holds. He has her summon up the dead spirit of Samuel, the prophet. Samuel shows up. But he doesn’t give Saul the answer he was wishing for.
Saul wanted to know how his situation would turn out. There’s something about not knowing, about living in uncertainty. We yearn for clarity. We want a guarantee. But that’s not the way life works. Life comes to us one day at a time. How tomorrow unfolds remains a mystery.
That uncertainty comes with a feeling of vulnerability. We want to be in control. We want to chart our course and be sure of our destination. To that end, we do all we can to assure our future. We become health-conscious; we build up our 401Ks and rainy-day funds. But try as we might, we cannot completely control our future destiny. So how do we find hope in the midst of uncertainty?
St. Paul was no stranger to uncertainty. This evening we hear a passage from his letter to the church in Philippi. Paul wrote this letter from prison. Talk about uncertainty! How would his situation turn out? Paul had no idea how long he’d have to stay in prison. And he had no guarantees on his outcome. Would he be released a free man? Would he be executed? Would he be locked up and forgotten and eventually die in a dungeon? There were no answers.
While there, Paul writes this remarkable letter to the Philippians. In tone, it’s one of his most warm and heartfelt letters. It’s effusive in thanksgiving.
In the passage we hear today, Paul relates his prison experience to the Philippians. What he shares tells us that Paul was actively looking for the blessings. He relates how his imprisonment has actually helped in spreading the gospel message. That message came to ears and to places where it never would have, had Paul not been jailed.
He then summarizes his thoughts about his uncertain future: “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” In the face of his uncertain future, a future completely out of his hands, Paul has anchored himself to the one sure thing. To use the words of a beloved hymn, “on Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
Paul rooted himself to the promises of God. When our future is unclear, there is one thing that is certain, we belong to God! And no one can snatch us out of God’s hand!
Promises are rooted to the future. They tell us what the future holds. They are the faith equivalent of looking ahead to the end of the book. When our current situation is riddled with uncertainty, God’s promises give us courage to face the unknown. They kindle the fire of hope to sustain our spirits. Just listen to some of them!
---Before Christ ascends to heaven, he assures his disciples, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age!”
---When he states that he is the Good Shepherd, Jesus calls to his sheep. “No one shall snatch them out of my hand,” he declares.
---Paul shares that same blessed assurance in his letter to the Romans: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God.”
---The Psalmist knows it, too. Psalm 139 states, “I come to the end – I am still with you!”
---The prophets know God’s promises, too. Jeremiah declares this beloved promise of God: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”
If I were a book editor and had to come up with a title for the Bible, I would call it "God’s Book of Promises." That’s what the Bible is all about! It conveys the good and gracious promises of God for our future. The Bible promises that our future is in God’s hands. And when we’re in God’s hands, nothing is uncertain.
I end with the words from a contemporary hymn by Don Moen, "God Will Make a Way."
God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way.
Friends, there is hope in our uncertainty. For we have the promises of God. And in those promises, our destiny is certain. God has plans for our welfare and a future of hope.
