Driftwood Hope
Maybe you are among the ones that feel like all we hoped for in 2020 has been shipwrecked. Maybe you find yourself looking among the wreckage for pieces of salvage as you cycle through the stages of grief trying to name all the things that have been lost and seeking ways to move forward.
In the Biblical story, there is a long history of those whose expectations of life have also been dashed on the rocks. By listening to the voices who have weathered past storms we too might learn to find hope by clinging to the driftwood.
peter
When Jesus rose from the grave, most of the disciples were filled with joy at the meaning of this good news. But Peter found himself still buried in the water grave of denying he even knew Jesus when he had promised to go with him to the death. He lay there among the wreckage with little hope anything would change. But the hope among the driftwood is that when Jesus conquered the grave, he conquered all our graves.
daniel
The storm in Daniel's life just kept tossing him under the waves: conquered nation, looted treasure, favored advisor, plot to be murdered. Though everyone was running around trying to control the storm, Daniel remained calm and continued to partake in the divine because he trusted that what was out of his control exists under the careful control of the one who works everything for our good. If we are to have hope, we too need to continuously find ways for the divine to dwell in us as we give ourselves to the divine.
saul
The followers of Christ were empowered by the Holy Spirit and invited everyone to participate in the Kingdom. As they shared and cared for the poor and marginalized and proclaimed what Jesus had done for the world, their movement grew in strength and power. But Saul, who was a part of the religious group that held all the power, hatred the followers of Jesus and sought to stop them by any means necessary. Until he had an encounter with Jesus and his Kingdom that left him feeling shipwrecked, but opened his eyes to see in a totally new way and transformed his entire life.
Ruth
In a moment of despair, Ruth has a choice: a safe obedience that no one could fault her for making or a defiant dangerous disobedience that paired her in solidarity with the oppressed? It was a risky decision, but God once again shows partiality to the oppressed and raises up Ruth to stand in the great lineage of David and Jesus.
Martha
Her brother was dead, Jesus wasn't there and Martha was devastated. If only Jesus had been there, she was certain all the suffering and pain of the moment would have been gone. Yet, when we are wishing for the pain to just go away, Jesus is using it as an invitation to participate in his suffering, so that we might see him and know the full glory and power of the resurrection.
Hagar
For Hagar, there could have been worse houses than Abram and Sarai's in which to be a slave; until one day when everything went downhill. To force-fit God's promise, Sarai forced Hagar to conceive a son for Abram leading to bitterness, fear, superiority, rage, and oppression. No chance this was what God desired. However, in the middle of Hagar's pain and suffering, God sees Hagar, this unempowered, low-ranking woman who was not in the line of the chosen, and provides a way when there is no way.
