In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The feather in my hat...
Today we are here for Hope; Katarina Hope Forster. We are here to welcome her in the company of the faithful. We are here to tell her that we are committed to giving her every opportunity that she could ever need to grow in her faith. We are here to tell her that God loves her and that she is a temple of our loving God, and for that reason there are some real expectations. We are here to tell her that she is but human, that she will fail at times in her life and fall short of those expectations, that at times life may not just go as planned, but that God is by her side and YES, God has something truly beautiful in store for her always, just as the Psalmist says, and I am sure there will be times when Katarina will feel like that, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
Now rod and staff are not comforting for those they are applied on, they are only comforting for those they help protect. That too she will learn in her life and her walk with God.
So we know what we are here for, but what is she here for? I believe she is here for us to know that hope is real. That it comes in a small bundle of love. That it has no power; that it is dependent on others for its existence. Yet its existence gives meaning and purpose to all existence. That this little bundle of love called hope has the power to bring people to a place of reconciliation; it can alter life plans with one smile. This hope is here to tell us that the promises of God, though lacking of all conventional wisdom, power and glory, are ultimately the only reality we can believe in and rely on.
So what are these promises of God? God has promised us His steadfast love. Love that does not change with the trends or the ebbs and flow of a culture. God has promised us that justice is not what all agree to as justice; and righteousness is not what is considered right by the most number of people. God has promised us fullness of life. Even when it may seem to happen only for a few hours, as in the case of Shane Michael Haley, those nine months and a few hours are precious. Taking away life for arguably even the most humane of reasons is still not affirming God's promise of the fullness of life. God has promised us protection, not self preservation. God has promised us all the riches of life, not all things for our utility and exploitation. Yes, God has promised us green pastures and heavenly banquets, but not at the cost of the exclusion of others. For God has promised us reconciliation.
And reconciliation is what this little hope embodies in every strand of her DNA. And that is why she is our hope. And that is why we can rejoice today; for our hope is true, its is honorable, it is just, it is pure, it is pleasing, its is commendable, it bears excellence, and it sure is a worthy reminder of why we should praise God.
God's promise is also of justice. Now the fun thing about justice is that the delivery of justice at times requires the rod and the staff! Some times when the invitation is sent out with earnest love, it is disregarded. Love is rejected; hope denied. The world becomes a place of exploitation, where everything and everyone is weighed on the scales of utility. Life is ended because it is determined to have no utility, therefore no value. Pain is considered undesirable even to the point of justifying the elimination of life, as in the case of Brittany Maynard. In this fatalist view of the world death is final and eternal life has no meaning. Life itself has no purpose. Pleasure through utility ends up consuming all light, life and joy. Darkness prevails. At such times the invitation has to be rethought and justice has to be executed; not out of hate or contempt; but for the sake of life.
At this time the invitation is sent out to everyone yet again. But for justice and righteousness to roll down like living water and life to prevail, the recipients of this invitation have to show signs of commitment to the transformative power of God. They have to show their commitment to a reconciled world. In doing so, they have to show their commitment to the bridegroom, Jesus our Savior.
Hope is here to remind us that perhaps we have invited those who look like us to the church for way too long. We have passed out books and donuts and held retreats and education hours but the ones we want amongst us are still not coming in large crowds. Hope is here to remind us that on every Wednesday over 120 people who do not look like they live in the traditional West Akron are here praying, breaking bread together, and praising the God Almighty. Hope is here to remind us that there are teenagers, some 10-12 of them, who call St. Paul's their church and who come to church every week, week after week, and mop the floors and wipe clean the kitchen every week, they are more in church and doing more for this church than perhaps even our own children. Hope is here to remind us that despite the fact that no letter was ever sent out to these weekly community meals guests asking them of their financial support, still 50% or more of the meal is supported by the generous giving of these guests.
Hope is here to remind us of the Gospel; the justice; the righteousness; the reconciliation that we receive in the name of Jesus Christ. Hope is here to give us an opportunity to restate our Baptismal Covenant. I encourage you brothers and sisters to reflect on each and every word of that covenant today. For if we can hear what the Spirit is saying to us today, we will find that hope is very much in our midst. Amen.
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