“Be joyful in hope, persevere in hardships; keep
praying…”
--Romans 12:12
Friends, how hard is it to be joyful in hope and to
persevere when you are afflicted and experiencing hardships? When everything seems to be going against
you? When your friends have abandoned you? When it feels like even God has
abandoned you?
We all experience moments like this, perhaps more than
moments –weeks, months, even years some might say. Where do you turn for hope when your world is
falling apart? When your boss tells you
she isn’t happy with your work, or your doctor tells you that chronic pain
isn’t just a simple ache? When none of the goals you’ve set seem to ever come
true? And the defeats just keep piling up until it all seems hopeless. What’s
the point? Who cares? It feels like life is cycling out of control. A downward
spiral. Perhaps we feel like we are trapped in our own private Gethsemane. Abandoned
by friend and God and the cross looming always over us.
First, we need to find a way to break the cycle of
disappointment and hardship. How do we do
that? The words are right there. We need to be joyful and recover our
hope. How? One of the best ways is through prayer. This isn’t pie in the sky. And it isn’t an
overnight solution. Prayer takes resolve and commitment and effort. We feel broken and abandoned, like Jesus in
the Garden. What does He do? He
prays. And then He prays again. And in Matthew’s Gospel, He even withdraws
and prays a third time. Keep praying.
Second, we need to find a way to get out of ourselves. I have been wondering if Sartre didn’t get it
all wrong when he said, Hell is other people.
I wonder if the truth isn’t the very opposite for many of us… Hell is
being alone with no one else to think about but ourself. Get outside yourself. Pray that God will show you someone who needs
your help. Maybe all they need is a kind word, a gentle touch, or just a smile.
Maybe they need you to bring them a cup of coffee and a doughnut. Maybe they
need someone to sit down with them and listen as they open their hearts and
unpack their burdens –someone who will help them carry their cross. Be that
person. Discover the truth behind Matthew 25:36-40… serve the hungry, the
naked, the lonely, the sick… and discover that you truly are serving Christ.
One of the best ways I have found to rediscover joy is
visiting the sick in the hospital or bringing food to a homeless man on
Gessner. I sit and talk with Michael and
listen to his troubles, listen to his dreams, listen to his reminiscences of
life in Pennsylvania when he was a boy.
Sometimes we talk sports. Sometimes he sings to me. Sometimes we just sit in silence and share a
meal. It always renews me.
Think about this: what is prayer but coming before Christ
with our entire being and offering it to Him?
And, according to Matthew’s Gospel, who do we serve when we serve the
poor, feed the hungry, care for the sick? Jesus, Himself. It seems to me that either way we are going
to meet the Lord. And that is probably
the best way to renew our hope. And to regain a joyful spirit. So, dear friends, keep praying! With your
entire being, keep praying –body and soul! Keep praying. With these simple words, Paul is giving us
some pretty darned good advice. Keep praying.
Happy Easter! He has risen. He has risen, indeed.
