Gift of Hope John 1:14

Gift of Hope John 1:14 C Christmas Eve 2015 Rev. John Dilworth

John 1:14 (NIV) The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Gift of Hope John 1:14 Christmas Eve 2015 Rev. John Dilworth Do you need hope tonight? Most of us do. We all face problems and challenges that sometimes darken our future. We don t know how things are going to turn out. We don t know what tomorrow holds. It may involve our job, a loved one, or perhaps our own personal welfare, but we have this sense that perhaps not all will turn out well. Where do we find hope for tomorrow? Perhaps we are like Charlie Brown and we are trying to follow the signs to hope. That would be nice to have those markers pointing us in the right direction. Sometimes we do. Do you remember this? Remember in the wreckage of the 9/11 terrorist attack, the cleanup crew discovered this, a cross. They actually pulled it up out of the broken girders and debris and put it on display. It became a symbol of hope. My wife and I were back in New York two weeks ago visiting my daughter. We toured the 9/11 Memorial and came away moved, but wondering where is the cross? The pools that mark the spot where the buildings came down are symbolically confusing. It is water flowing down into this dark abyss like hole. Not a very hopeful image. Then we toured through the 9/11 museum that is there on site and again kept looking for the cross. We actually went through the whole museum and never saw it. Then a security guard guided us to a final hall that we had missed and it was there, but shrouded in darkness. That symbol that had brought such hope to people was tucked away and no longer on prominent display. I wondered why? But then, as I was pondering this, I realized, so was the central symbol

of Christmas. When you think of Christmas, not the commercial Christmas of trees and presents and Santa and all that, but the real reason for Christmas, the birth of a child, what is the central image of the event? It is a manager, tucked away in a stable, away from all that we consider important, significant. Yet from a manger to a cross, the greatest hope of humankind was revealed. Do you need hope tonight? 1. Hope of God s grace. I love this opening to John s account of Jesus life. He doesn t give us the detailed story of Jesus birth like Matthew and Luke, with all the shepherds and wise men and stable full of animals. John wrote years after those men had already penned their account. No John, in one line, gave us the meaning of Jesus birth. The Word became flesh. That is the one who had been at the beginning of all things, the one who was with God, who was God, through whom all things were made, he became one of us. What an astounding truth. God became one of us. As Jesus would later say, Anyone who has seen me has seen God... The Word became flesh. It is the next phrase that gives us such a hope, though. We have seen his glory, John writes, the one who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Full of grace. That is a very hopeful word. We all need grace. We all need what grace offers, forgiveness. We humans are an imperfect lot, aren t we? We re always coming up against this dark side within us. Dark side? Yes, Star Wars is back. Did you realize we have been watching Star Wars for almost 40 years. The first installment came out in 1977 and Hans is still around and Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca, who is still in need of a haircut. This time around Luke has gone missing, in part, because one of his students in the Jedi Order turned to the dark side and destroyed all he had built. The dark side isn t just out there. It is not just an evil empire known as the First Order trying to impose its will upon all the universe. The dark side is in here, within the human heart. We all fall victim to the selfishness, the

pride, the envy, the greed of our dark side. But we are not without hope. There is a light that shines brighter. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Do you know my first encounter with the dark side? I was young, 18 I think, and only been a follower of Jesus for a few months. One night I was talking with an older friend about Christian faith. I don t actually recall the flow of the conversation, but we must have been talking about grace, the forgiveness offered to us through the death of Jesus. Because all of a sudden this friend stands up, walks out of the room, and as he passes me he says rather angrily, God could never forgive murder. I was completely shocked, and I have to be honest, scared. What had this person done? And how could I possibly help them? Talk about giving into the dark side, murder. I remember, though, feeling I needed to talk to him. So I grabbed my Bible, thinking maybe this will protect me, and I went after him. He was in his room and I walked in and there was this silence, then I heard myself say these words, Dean, I don t know what you have done, and it may be awful, but this I do know. There is nothing you have done that God will not forgive. There is nothing you have done that God, through Jesus gracious death on the cross, will not forgive. That is hope. God loves us so much that he sent his Son to die for us, so that we could be forgiven. Dean was forgiven. That was 40 plus years ago and he made amends, his life was changed and it was all because he encountered the one full of grace and truth. There is nothing you have done that he will not forgive. Jesus, the Word, became flesh to die for us. 2. Hope of God s Compassion. There is more hope, though, in that phrase, The Word became flesh. It means God understands. He understands all the suffering, all the heartache, all the struggle and stress and stinging pain that we go through in life. God understands because he entered into our suffering through his son. There is nothing that we go through that Jesus has not been through himself. He truly entered into our suffering. I have often said this, but you realize that all of Jesus miracles were miracles of compassion. He felt the pain and stress of people s afflictions and needs and so he responded by alleviating them, at least for a time.

One of my favorites is the time one of Jesus potential adversaries, a synagogue ruler name Jairus, came to him pleading for his little daughter. His daughter lay dying and Jairus had no one else to turn to so he turned to Jesus. Jesus went with Jairus to his home. You may remember their journey was interrupted when another sufferer, an impoverished woman who had a bleeding affliction had reached out and touched the hem of Jesus garment. This delay brought bad news. Men from Jairus house came up and said Jairus daughter was dead. Jesus, though, brought hope. Ignoring what the men said, he turned to Jairus and declared, Don t be afraid, just believe. Then he went to Jairus home. Remember he was laughed at when he told all the mourners the child was asleep and not dead. He put everyone out of the house, then with Jairus and his wife, went into the child s room. He knelt down, took her by the hand and said two Aramaic words, Talitha koum. Little one, it is time to get up. Immediately her eyes opened, she stood up and walked around. The compassion of God. Let s be honest, though, not all are healed are they, not all made whole, not all suffering in our world eradicated? I ran across a story this week about a little girl who wasn t healed. Her name is Emily Shanahan. She has spent her life in a wheelchair. She is the victim of cerebral palsy. Joni Eareckson, Christian writer and a quadriplegic herself, met Emily when she was 9. Joni was profoundly impressed with this handicapped little girl s faith in Jesus. Emily told Joni it all began one day when she was feeling there was no purpose to her life. Her handicap had robbed her of that. But then Emily heard a song by Joni called Gonna Go to Heaven. Some people think they ll spend forever pushing up the grass. But I believe I have a date to leave this earth at last. That graveyard is just a place to hang this old suit to dry.

And with a brand-new body I will spread my wings and fly. That song, combined with a verse from the Bible that speaks of our being chosen by God and who has a purpose for us, led 9 year old Emily to tell Joni Eareckson, I ve been chosen and God is going to do something special with my life. I have the hope of eternal life, and I can give that message to others I encounter. My handicapped body is only temporary and can be used by God to touch others lives while I am here on earth. That, from a nine year old. Today Emily Shanahan is a 26 year old college graduate working on her masters in Biblical Studies with a focus on Non-Profit Organizational Management. Because she has already started her own non-profit called, Empowerment... It s purpose is to be a Christ- centered hope to those handicapped, to provide the tools, respite, resources and education for them to achieve healthy relationships and a positive life outlook. Emily experienced the compassion of Jesus and now she wants to share that compassion with others like herself. Listen. There is no suffering or heartache or adversity or painful handicap that Jesus cannot turn into a source of love and compassion toward others. He graciously entered into our sufferings and now he uses us to enter into the sufferings of others. He was the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth. 3. Hope of God s Presence. Finally, there is one other way we see the gift of hope in this phrase of John s, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Note it says he dwelt, or lived among us. John was not speaking just of his day when Jesus actually walked this earth. John was speaking of what happened after Jesus death and resurrection too. Jesus, after his death, appeared to his followers and told them to wait in Jerusalem for the gift that the Father would give. They waited and one day while praying together, the gift of the Holy Spirit came upon each one of them. Now Jesus was with them, each of them in all his love and power. This is what John meant when he said, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us or in us. That last phrase could be translated either way.

He dwells in us. For that is what Jesus does when someone puts their faith in him. He comes through the Holy Spirit and lives within each one of his followers. The grace of his abiding, empowering presence is given to each of us. Go back to where I began. At the 9/11 Memorial that we visited two weeks ago. They have a room honoring all those killed. Their stories are told. It s very moving. But perhaps there should be a memorial telling the stories of all those who survived. This is Sujo John. His name caught my attention because he has a great last name, or maybe it was because his wife was named Mary. Sujo and Mary John both worked in the twin towers on the day of 9-11. Sujo worked on the 81 st floor of the north tower, Mary worked on the 71 st floor of the south tower. And Mary was pregnant with their first child. The first plane hit Sujo John s tower just above his floor. It blew a crater in the ceiling of his floor and all they could see looking up was twisted metal and debris and fire. He ran for the stairs. It took him an hour to get down the 81 floors, as the, now famous, New York fire fighters ran up. All the way down all he could think of was his pregnant wife and whether she was alive. Un-beknownst to Sujo, his wife was delayed coming to work and had reached her building just as her tower was hit and amazingly survived the falling debris. She was praying fervently for her husband. When Sujo got to the bottom, he found himself among 15 or 20 others. Being a believer, Sujo began crying out to Jesus. In his words, I asked those 15-20 people to call upon the name of the Lord. The most incredible thing happened. Not one tried to argue with me or debate with me. But as I started calling upon the name of the Lord, they followed in unison and I could hear these people cry, Jesus, with me for some minutes. Then the tower collapsed upon them. Amazingly Sujo John survived. Later that day he was re-united with his wife, but he would never, ever

be the same. That night he prayed, God, I am done chasing things that have been on my heart. I have been chasing success, fame, financial security, but from now on, I want to be chasing that which is in your heart...in your heart is people...god, I want to be a proclaimer of the good news of Jesus. I want to redeem my time. Here is (my) surrendered life, would you rewrite the story of my life? Rewrite it, God did. Here is Sujo and Mary today. Since 9/11, Sujo John has traveled to over 400 cities around the world telling his story of the Savior who literally saved his life. He has appeared on and been interviewed on countless TV and news programs. Everywhere he goes he tells of the God who is with us, who wants to live within us. He tells all, of the one who was the Word who became flesh, a tiny infant in the arms of his mother Mary, but who grew to become the hope of all the world. He tells them of Jesus. Do you know Jesus? Does he dwell within you? He wants to. Jesus said these words, Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and be with them. Have you opened that door? The door of your heart? Your search for hope ends when you do. He alone forgives. He alone brings light in our darkness. He alone is with us, or in his words, I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. This Christmas let us truly celebrate the one who was the Word made flesh, the God who is with us.