Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

One of Steven Curtis Chapman’s songs asks the question, “Where is the hope, where is the peace that will make this life complete for every man, woman, boy, and girl looking for heaven in the real world?”  I know what he means.  I wonder some days:  Where is the hope?  Where is there a reason for hope?

I just finished reading a terrific book by Jane Goodall, called, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times.  In the Introduction, Jane writes, “We are going through dark times.  There is armed conflict in many parts of the world, racial and religious discrimination, hate crimes, terrorist attacks, a political swing to the far right fueling demonstrations and protests that, all too often, become violent.  The gap between the haves and have-nots is widening and fomenting anger and unrest.  Democracy is under attack in many countries.  On top of all that, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused so much suffering and death, loss of jobs, and economic chaos around the world.  And the climate crisis, temporarily pushed into the background, is an even greater threat to our future – indeed, to all life on Earth as we know it.”  She seems to read the gloomy situation about the same way I do.

But then she goes on to say, “You may be thinking, If [Jane] is aware of what is going on in the world, how can she still be writing about hope?  She is probably giving in to wishful thinking.  She is not facing up to the facts.’  I am facing up to the facts.  And on many days I admit that I feel depressed … Over the last eight decades I have been no stranger to disasters such as 9/11, school shootings, suicide bombings, and so on, and the despair that some of these terrible events can elicit.  I grew up during World War II, when the world risked being overrun by Hitler and the Nazis.  I lived through the Cold War arms race, when the world was threatened by a thermonuclear holocaust, and the horrors of the many conflicts that have condemned millions to torture and death around the globe.  Like all people who live long enough, I have been through many dark periods and seen so much suffering.”

“But each time I become depressed I think of all the amazing stories of the courage, steadfastness, and determination of those who are fighting the ‘forces of evil.’  For, yes, I do believe there is evil amongst us.  But how much more powerful and inspirational are the stories of those who stand up against it.  And … their voices still resonate long after they are gone, giving us inspiration and hope – hope in the ultimate goodness of this strange, conflicted human animal …”

When asked what she means by hope, Goodall gives this definition:  “Hope is often misunderstood.  People tend to think that it is simply passive wishful thinking: I hope something will happen but I’m not going to do anything about it.  This is indeed the opposite of real hope, which requires action and engagement … The cumulative effect of thousands of ethical actions can help to save and improve our world for future generations … Without hope, all is lost.  It is a crucial survival trait that has sustained our species from the time of our Stone Age ancestors … Hope is what enables us to keep going in the face of adversity.  It is what we desire to happen, but we must be prepared to work hard to make it so.”

When asked about her specific reasons for having hope, Jane Goodall lists four:  the amazing human intellect; the resilience of nature; the power of young people; and the indomitable human spirit. 

The human intellect is the part of the brain that reasons and solves problems and includes our ability to use language.  She suggests that what humans also need is a universal moral code, and states that every major religion already has some version of the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you want them to do unto you.)  The problem is getting people to honor it.

The resilience of nature is nature’s ability to recover after destruction.  Goodall gives two examples of this.  One is a tree that survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. It was a 500-year-old camphor tree.  It has great black wounds in it, and only the stump survived, but every spring it puts out new leaves.  The people of Nagasaki consider it to be sacred.  The other example is The Survivor Tree, a Callery pear tree that was found a month after the collapse of the Twin Towers on September 11.  It was crushed between two blocks of cement and was almost tossed in a dumpster.  It was half a trunk that was charred black and had broken roots.  But it was sent to a nursery in the Bronx, and the tree eventually made it.  It was planted at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and every spring it blossoms.

The power of young people is seen in their activism.  Goodall writes about the Roots and Shoots program, which stresses that every individual has a role to play and can make an impact on the planet every single day.  Each group chooses three projects to help make the world a better place (for people, for animals, and for the environment).   They are to start in their local community.  There are hundreds of thousands of members of these groups in 68 countries.

And finally, there is the indomitable human spirit.  Goodall writes, “It’s that quality in us that makes us tackle what seems impossible and never give up.  Despite the odds, despite the scorn or mocking of others, despite possible failure.  The grit and determination to overcome personal problems, physical disability, abuse, discrimination.  The inner strength and courage to pursue a goal at any cost to self in a fight for justice and for freedom.  Even when it means paying the ultimate price of giving up one’s life.”  She mentions Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jesus as embodying this kind of spirit.

I thought about her book as I thought about this Baptism of the Lord Sunday.  And I thought about how the world of Jesus was also going through dark times.  The people of his day had a really hard world to live in. They were a people beaten down by life.  The economy was divided into the very rich and the very poor, with very few in the middle.  Religion had become tedious and irrelevant, and people stayed home from worship in droves, although there were some who were seeking alternatives to organized religion.  Politics were corrupt, and there was no one to speak up for the average citizen.  Every pocket was lined, every palm was greased, and everyone knew it.  Anyone who tried to buck the system was quickly and harshly dealt with by the authorities.  But every once in a while, someone came along who called out the hypocrisy of it all and challenged people’s expectations.

One of those people was a man named John.  He was attracting large crowds out by the Jordan River, preaching and teaching and talking about repentance from sin.  In recent years, a sense of expectant waiting had grown among some – perhaps many – of the people regarding the Messiah that had been promised by the prophets hundreds of years ago.  And now there were people in the crowd wondering if John might just be the one that the prophets had been talking about.  He gave them something to think about.  He gave them a reason to consider their faith again.  He gave them something they hadn’t had in a long time: John gave them hope.

Pastor Larry Duggins of White’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Southlake, Texas, writes, “John the Baptist put on quite a show, and the people noticed … Excitement would have been in the air as the people wondered who this preacher was … Scripture says that they ‘were filled with expectation,’ and that they asked John whether he was the Messiah … John was clearly an extraordinary person; so, in their longing for an end to their oppression and discomfort, the people wondered aloud whether he was the one, THE extraordinary person.  The crowd was looking for a star, a leader to take them away from their troubles, and they looked to John with hopeful eyes.”

John began to pick up on the rumors going around about him, and he was honest enough and humble enough to put a stop to them.  He told the people that he might baptize them with water, but there was another man coming along soon who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  That man would be greater than John; that man would be the Messiah.  But when he came, Jesus did not come in a big clap of thunder or lightning bolt; he just came along with the rest of the people who were being baptized by John, and he got baptized too. 

After Jesus got baptized, Luke records that Jesus then prayed.  And, as Duggins says, when Jesus prayed “all heaven breaks loose.”  The Holy Spirit became visible, taking bodily form as a dove, and settled on Jesus.  And then a voice from heaven affirmed Jesus as the Son of God, a Son with whom the Father was well pleased. 

Jesus participated in the baptism of John, a baptism that wasn’t just a passive thing, but an event that then called people to action.  They were to show mercy and justice, they were to treat the poor and weak with compassion.  And those were the hallmarks of the ministry of Jesus.  The hope that Jesus brought was not passive; it required action on the part of his followers to make the world around them a better place. 

If you believe, as I do, that the coming of Jesus meant the beginning of the coming of the kingdom of God on earth, then you have to believe that we are to be about the business of God’s kingdom now.  When we do what Jesus did, when we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe those who need clothing, tend to the sick, visit those in prison, work for justice, practice radical hospitality, and challenge the system that elevates the rich and the unjust, then we are helping to bring God’s kingdom into the world.

The rest of Steven Curtis Chapman’s song goes like this:

There is a hope, there is a peace that will make this life complete
For every man, women, boy, and girl looking for heaven in the real world

It happened one night with a tiny Baby’s birth
God heard creation crying and He sent heaven to earth

He is the hope, he is the peace that will make this life complete
For every man, woman, boy, and girl looking for heaven in the real world

Heaven has come to the real world, heaven has come, come to the real world
He is the hope, he is the peace, he’s heaven, he’s heaven,
Heaven in the real world

There is a reason for hope.  His name is Jesus.  The same reason for hope that walked along the shoreline of the River Jordan.  The same reason for hope who called disciples to come and fish for people.  The same reason for hope who healed the sick, raised the dead, and welcomed all who came to him, regardless of who they were or what they may have done.  The same reason for hope who spoke truth to power and courageously faced off against the religious and political authorities for the sake of righteousness.  The same reason for hope who died because of his insistence on speaking that truth and living that truth.  And the same reason for hope who was raised from the dead on the third day and lives still in each of us.  Jesus is our reason for hope.

No matter what you are going through, no matter where you are or what you are facing, no matter what you think you’ve done that God would never forgive, there is a reason for hope.  Hold on to that hope.  It’s not just wishful thinking.  It’s real.  It’s solid.  It’s trustworthy.  Jesus is our hope.