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"HOPE NEARS"
GOSPEL SCRIPTURE TEXT
JOHN 1:1-9

DAVE RING, PASTOR
LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 21, 2008
THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

SCRIPTURE LESSON: 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

MESSAGE: This is not a political sermon, but I do dare to begin it by employing an illustration from contemporary politics. It's no secret that our lame duck president, George W. Bush, is almost universally disliked by the news media. The ultimate source of that disdain does not lie in specific issues so much as it concerns one's overall view of reality. President Bush is a man who, by his own admission, sees most things in black and white, good and evil, right and wrong terms. This is the "lens" through which he unashamedly views reality.

Those who work in the news business, on the other hand, take a very different world view. To most reporters, there's a little truth, and a little falsehood, mixed together in every person, every situation. Most topics are not clear-cut; rather, they're multi-faceted - and blurry at the edges. There's no such thing as absolute right or complete wrong - but many shades of gray. Thus, to most in the news media, Mr. Bush is naïve and inflexible, both incapable of and unwilling to come to grips with the complexities of contemporary reality.

Much like the reporters who hound every U. S. president, almost all men and women are skilled at asking questions. There's something in our basic make-up that causes us to question virtually everything. This is actually one of the characteristics that makes us human, that distinguishes us from mere animals. We, human beings, ask questions. We ask little questions: How do I turn off this faucet? What's for supper tonight? When are we leaving for Albuquerque? We ask bigger questions: Why is my sister dying of cancer? Are Israel and the Palestinians ever going to settle their differences? What will it take to end hunger in our world? And we ask very big questions: How did the universe come to be? Is there a God? Does God care that I exist? And we hope that somebody, somewhere, somehow can give us answers.

Unfortunately, sometimes people get so caught up in the "questioning" that they don't recognize answers when they're given. Some years ago, in El Paso, a lady from my church there called to talk with me about what she called "a problem with my marriage." As she described the situation, she had gotten involved in an extra-marital affair and was currently torn between her husband and that other man. "I love them both," she told me. "What should I do?" As soon as she breathed to allow me opportunity, I responded to her query. "Go back to your husband," I said. "But it can't be that simple," she protested. "It's that simple," I responded. "Go back to your husband. An extra-marital affair is an adulterous relationship. It's wrong. Break off the affair and go back to your husband." Half an hour later, she was still trying to convince me that my answer was too simple, too clear-cut. As she continued on, I began to understand that she didn't really want an answer; she just wanted to keep on questioning -- somewhat like the reporters who harangue our U. S. presidents.

Questions, answers, and hope. They're all tied together in a "web of significance." We humans have lots of questions. We're always seeking answers. And we hope that the answers we're given will somehow satisfy.

John, the writer of the first chapter of the Gospel which bears his name, would have found much more kinship with the unpopular Mr. Bush, I believe, than with today's news reporters. For John had good news to announce and, to him, that news was a clear-cut matter of life and death, good and evil, light and darkness. From time immemorial, men and women had wandered about in spiritual darkness, unsure of themselves and their relationships to others, groping for answers but finding none that satisfied. But now, according to John, God was about to change all that - completely. "The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world."

John, of course, is referring to Jesus. God, in Jesus, was sending Himself into the world. He was ready to answer those really big questions of life itself - by sending the author and finisher of life to earth. He was going to provide light, and life, and good - in abundance. And in so doing, He would at one and the same time banish death, darkness, and evil - for all time. Hope would triumph - all the really significant hopes of humanity would be fulfilled.

"The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world." Now let's cut to the chase. Hope is either near - available - in Jesus Christ, or there is no real hope, at least none for eternity. For, you see, even to those for whom there are otherwise no clear-cut alternatives, no black and white scenarios, just complex, multi-faceted shades of gray, there is yet one undeniable reality: Death. No one alive today will still be around in 200 years. Death is an equal-opportunity, unavoidable extinguisher of all the hopes of humanity. And if Jesus isn't for real, death wins. If His light doesn't shine, piercing the darkness of eternity, there is no light, no life, no hope.

But if Jesus is really who John says He is - and who He Himself claims to be, then the whole complexion of the universe changes. We're not limited to a few frail, fickle years in which to somehow carve out a niche of meaning and significance for ourselves - then fade back into the dust of time. In terms of the "big picture," taking into account all the really huge questions of life, either death is near for us all - or hope is near, in Jesus. It's one of those simple, either-or alternatives that drive the secular press up the wall. It's either hope in Jesus - or nothing.

When I was a child, growing up in rural south Mississippi, I recall that whenever we took a trip in the car, I saw at least one, if not several, huge concrete crosses on the roadside along the way. Engraved in those crosses was a statement: "Christ is the answer." Having been raised in a secular home and also being something of a smart-aleck, I frequently commented, upon seeing one of those "Christ is the answer" crosses, "What's the question?"

Not long ago a lady stopped into my office to ask me a question. Actually, she wanted to ask me several questions. One question led to another, then to another and to another. Finally, after nearly an hour of trying valiantly to field her queries, I told her candidly, "It's obvious to me that you can ask more questions than I can answer." I know my limits, especially when it comes to answering the "big" questions of human life.

But even more importantly, I now realize that the "question" is far less important than the answer. For Jesus Christ really is the answer to all the significant questions of humanity. He's the answer to your questions, He's the answer to mine. It's trite, it's unsophisticated, it's simplistic - and it's 100% true.

One of the members of my last church had a pickup truck with a saying painted on it. It said, "Jesus Christ - the only answer." That's a bold, brash - and true statement. And I would dare to add a second phrase to it. "Jesus Christ - the only hope." The really good news is - that hope is very, very near. God is holding Jesus out to each of us. All we have to do is accept Him. Then the hope He offers becomes our hope, now and forever. Amen.

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