A SERMON ABOUT HOPE

This is a sermon I preached at the Hope Presbyterian Church. They had been through some tough times. But they are wonderful people who have been working and praying and believing with a wonderful new pastor. It speaks to a lot of us in this tough time.

A HOPE RENEWED

I SAMUEL 1: 1–20

AUGUST 9, 2015

I. IT’S TOO DARK AND TOO HEAVY

A. I had a depressing morning. My wife told me my shirt was too wrinkled to wear to church. But I was bear chested at the time. We have one of those digital readout bathroom scales. I got on and it said, “One person at a time, please.” Even my Rice Krispies gave me the silent treatment. But then, I came to church and everything was bright again.

B. Being depressed isn’t really a laughing matter. It is a disease that cripples a person emotionally. If you have ever had to deal with depression, you know how devastating it is. People tell you to cheer up or count your blessings or some other advice as if this was something you could just stop whenever you wanted. And if you have experienced depression, you might have thought you were the only one. So we hide it as best we can. But according to the number of prescriptions written for anti-depressants, you are not alone. Depression is almost epidemic in our culture. If you are suffering from depression you need counseling or medication or both. You need the love and support and patience of family and friends. And you need to hold on to hope that God will help you through the darkness.

C. Hannah was the first Biblical character to show signs of depression. She wouldn’t get up. She wouldn’t eat. She cried all the time. She felt that her situation was hopeless. Her husband, Elkinah had taken a second wife because Hannah had not been able to conceive a child. He married a woman named Peninah who was as cruel as she was fertile. She started having one baby after another. And she mocked Hannah for her infertility. It was a devastating thing for a wife to be unable to conceive. So Hannah was pretty fragile to begin with. But Peninah made it worse with her ridicule. When they went to Shiloh to worship and make sacrifices the food was apportioned out according to the number of people. So Peninah would get shares for her and all her children. “How many shares did you get, Hannah? Oh that’s right you only got one share because you have no children.”

D. Family competition is always ugly spirited. Finally Hannah had slipped into such a deep depression that she was not functional. Elkinah tried to cheer her up in typical male fashion. “Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” Apparently she didn’t mean more to him than sons. He married another woman to show where his priority lay. Hannah’s heart was sad. It had become too dark and too heavy to carry .And it wasn’t just a temporary case of the blues. She had lost hope that anything good could come of her life.

II. HANNAH ROSE

A. But then there is this little bit of a verse. “When they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hanna rose.” She rose. She got up. She made a conscious decision that she was not going to wallow in this depression for the rest of her life without seeking help. So she went to church. I don’t know if that is the best place to go for help or not. I have had many people come to me whom I have suspected of suffering from depression. I refer them to their family doctor or a counselor. I also pray with them. Hannah was praying and the priest Eli saw her weeping and her lips were moving but she wasn’t saying anything out loud and she was crying. So he assumed that she was a drunk. Can you imagine the insensitivity? We must be very sure that we never judge someone who is hurting. We must always seek ways to help them regardless of our first impressions. A man came into my office who had rarely been to church. He said he had left his wife and now he was miserable. I could have said, “You are a sinner who has brought this on yourself. But I didn’t. I steered him to a professional who got him the help he needed and prayed with him.

B. Hannah defends herself from Eli’s careless accusation. It is then that we learn that she has decided that this burden she is carrying is too heavy for her and she lifts it up to God. If you give me a son, I will give him back to you in service to you. And old Eli tells her he hopes she gets what she is praying for. And she does. She gives birth to Samuel who becomes the person God needs to clean up the corruption in the Temple and lead God’s people to a great future. Did you know that Hannah is a palindrome? It’s spelled the same backward and forward. HAN meets NAH. James Forbes assigned words to the letters to explain why her prayer was answered. Heavens Agenda and Needs meet the Needs and Agenda of Humanity. So out of her deep dark hopeless depression, God makes her a promise that lifts her spirit and gives her hope. Hannah rose.

III. COMMUNION BREAD RISING

A. But she isn’t the only one. Many people have been very low in the muck of depression and somehow they have taken the first step to getting better. And they have sought the help that they needed to rise up. I am one of those people. I had a period in my life when I was deeply depressed. I was sure that there was no hope. I wasn’t sure life was still worth living. And my rising coincided with this meal that we share today. I had not been in church for a while. I came to worship on a communion Sunday. Actually it was a church that celebrated communion every Sunday. I only half listened to the sermon and couldn’t sing the hymns with any enthusiasm. But when they passed the bread, I took it and realized that my soul was starving to death. I had tried talking to trusted friends and listening to them tell me to get over it and cheer up. But it was not until I took the bread that I was able to rise to get help in prayer and in counseling and medication. Hannah rose and Rick rose too.

B. Now it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t instant. But recovery for me didn’t start until I ate the bread that symbolized his being broken for me. And there it was, the spark of hope that I needed to get up and remember that I had a savior who loved me enough to die for me. Then I found prayer again. Then I found that there were people who loved me and were willing to patiently help me get better.

C. Isn’t it interesting that Hannah receives the gift from God and then gives it back? Samuel is dedicated to serve in the Temple and becomes the great prophet that God needs. I have told the story of my battle with depression many times in counseling situations to let people know that you can be well again. Maybe in small ways, I gave back the gift of hope to others who had lost it.

IV. LOSING HOPE: THE CHURCH RISING

A. When I first came here last October, I found a church full of wonderful people who had lost hope. I don’t know if institutional depression is a thing or not. But if it is, you had it. Most people were talking about how much longer until there is no Hope Church. Now there were some who still believed that there were better days ahead. Thank God for those people. The hard work they have done has been a big reason that hopelessness is on the run. You can almost feel it. There are more and more people who are beginning to believe that better days are ahead for this church. I believe it without reservation. I believe that God has started doing a great thing here. I believe that we are in the early days of renewal of spirit. I believe that hope is being reborn.

B. Take heart. Hannah rose and Rick rose and now it is time for the Hope Church to rise up. How will that take place? It will happen because of the good hard work that some people are doing to that end. It will happen because you going to be patient and realize that just because it doesn’t happen overnight does not mean it won’t happen. It will happen because you will go to God in prayer and make your desire known that you want this church to be renewed. It will happen when you take the bread this morning and remember that we have a savior who died for us and then rose again on the third day. That’s right, JESUS rose and he is willing to help this church rise up also.

C. It’s time to get up, church. It’s time to put away our tears and eat the bread that feeds our souls. It’s time to believe in the future of this church because we have put it into God’s hands. Then we can give back the gift of hope by sharing it with those who have lost theirs. This is where Heavens Agenda and Needs, meet the Needs and Agenda of HOPE. Let all of God’s people who have hope about Hope say AMEN!