Hopers, not Mopers...

Last Sunday, I told our congregation that the world needs HOPERS, not MOPERS. In a season of hope, Christians and other people of faith are called to mobilize a message of encouragement, welcome, and hospitality. There is no longer any room for "no room in the inn." Christians believe in a Jesus who opened the door to hope and refuses to close it--to the least, the last, the lost, the outcast, the shunned, the dismissed, and the hopeless causes. Jesus also welcomes the privileged, the wealthy, the "entitled," the majority, those in power, and those for whom "struggle" is a dirty word--just please leave your pretenses at the door, and be prepared to sit at the far seats at the table.

Hope, for the world, is a kind of wish. "I HOPE this will happen"..."I HOPE my friend is OK"..."I HOPE I will keep my job." Outside of the teachings of faith, hope doesn't offer much, well, hope. One of my parishioners thought it would be a good idea to buy Christmas tree ornaments with the four words of the Advent journey on them: Peace, Hope, Joy, and Love. She could only find ornaments with Peace, Joy, and Love." Hope was nowhere to be found. Apart from faith, hope has little traction.

People of faith, including we Jesus-followers, are blessed with a very "meaty" hope! In the scriptures we read, "Faith is the substance of things HOPED for..." Our relationship with God, our experience with answered prayers, the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the promise of God's continued agency in our daily lives breeds a "hope" that is far more than a wish. This hope is a promise. Our faith has the power to reverse the effects of entropy--as we trust in God, we may actually gain passion, energy, insight, and optimism, instead of eroding them, along with the natural course of things. We are empowered to be HOPERS. Entropy--the natural "winding down" of things--may create an orbit of MOPERS--people who, at the least, string complaints and gripes like pearls on a necklace. At the worst, they suck the energy from everything around them. Mopers could write their own scripture verse: "Don't spend much time worrying about today, as you can count on tomorrow being worse."

The world needs HOPERS. The church needs HOPERS. For the life of me, I can't see how "more clearly defining our rules" and adding punitive measures against those who violate them can possibly generate hope in the church. I can remember a time when we evangelicals* cared most about "the lost," and in helping people find a relationship with God. It seems now that in an age of increasing "moping," Evangelicals are more focused on judging, trying, and dispatching dissenters. Is it any wonder why the church is bleeding young people?

It IS a season of hope! Advent is about the coming of the Christ--define that how you choose, but Christians believe any "coming" of Christ, whether celebrating the current presence of Christ in us, anticipating the "second coming" of Christ, or even remembering that night when Christ was born into the world--yields HOPE. However you experience the approaching Christ, let his presence plant a seed of hope in your soul. Purpose to be a HOPER, not a MOPER. Start small, as moping has a lot of entropy working for it, and will try to drag you down at every turn. And don't walk in your own strength, alone. Let the Spirit of God juice you up with passion for compassion, strength for service, and words for witness! HOPERS love, hopers serve, and hopers offer good words to others in a time of critical rhetoric.

Shalom, Dear Ones!

*I use “evangelical” with a small “e” to indicate that, as a true Wesleyan Christian, I am compelled to “offer them Christ,” out of love for all God’s people. “Evangelical” with the capital “E” has come to mean a right-wing, political manifestation with a small agenda that excludes and judges.