COLUMN: Hope

Pastor Paul McKim Laura Street Baptist Church

What incredible days we are living. Until two years ago, who could have imagined we would experience a national shut down. Now we listen daily to the news from the Ukraine and wonder if we may see a world war in our day.

With all the uncertainty and upheaval, there is a growing contrast between hope and despair. This morning I read an article about how much cash to have on hand in case of a serious national emergency that shuts down electronic access to your funds. We are living in a day when anxiety, fear, uncertainty, discouragement and despair meet us at every turn.

I have good news. We are on the cusp of celebrating the very foundation of hope in our world. We are soon approaching the celebration of the empty tomb.

From our perspective, I think we miss some of the wonder and gravity of that event. We are so accustomed to Easter celebrations that we little realize the darkness and struggle the disciples experienced on that first Easter day.

The disciples had been with Jesus for three years. They have watched as the blind see, the lepers are cleansed, the sick are healed. They have watched as the multitudes are fed with a little boy’s lunch. They were there when he walked on water, when he stilled the storm. They heard him teach like no other and received insights into the wonder of the word of God that transformed their very lives. They have been in the middle of the crowds as they gather and swell across the land.

But now they watch as he is arrested due to the jealousy of the religious leaders. They watch as he is falsely accused. They watch as he is abused. They watch as he dies. They watch as he is laid in a borrowed tomb. Their hopes and dreams are dashed. They are devastated beyond words, left to try to pull together a plan for their lives now, and not knowing what in the world to do.

The disciples knew despair to the max. They had no alternate plan. They were devastated beyond words.

We know today that they were hours away from amazing. They were just moments away from an empty tomb that would promise life and victory to all. They were moments away from the promise that nothing is too bleak or too dark for the power of our God to impact and change in an instant. They were moments away from such joy that they couldn’t even describe. They were moments away from the reality of the promise of life and light in the dark moments in our lives.

So as uncertainty looms before us this season, as fear runs free in our culture, as sadness blankets our lives and as hope seems to flee, remember. Remember the cross that makes a provision for all of us to be reconciled to God. Remember the empty tomb that promises us that he has overcome our every foe and that there will be life even in the face of what appears to be certain death. Remember, he loves you with an unswerving love that is beyond all measure. Remember hope.