There Is Hope In Community…

August 11, 2013

Worship in the Park

Patten Pioneer Days

Habakkuk 3:17-19 NIV

Let us pray... (Pray for the Spirits Guidance and God’s word to be heard)

Good morning Patten…! You know, ever since my family moved here from New Hampshire, I have had a feeling of being back home. This community has been so loving and welcoming that I feel we have been part of it for a long time.

During this past week I have felt even more as part of this community. You see…I grew up in a town that celebrates a homecoming week just as Patten does. It has been like turning back the clock to when I was young. A time when community came together to celebrate a time in its history…a time when community set aside it’s differences…it’s pain…it’s sorry…and finds one common bond to celebrate. There truly strength in community. In community we find hope.

You hear about communities coming together after a tragedy on the News. These communities have suffered some sort of disaster but they make the choice to bond together and help one another out. It is within this choice that they find hope for each new day…it is within this choice that you see God working…it is within this choice that you hear of peoples strength and resolve that can only be attributed to God who gives strength and courage in the face of diversity.

But, it is not an easy time as we go through trials. It may be difficult to see God when there is much despair in our lives…we may question God’s motives sometimes as we go through those times of trial. We may question God’s love during times of hopelessness. We may ask “God…where are you? Why have you allowed this to happen? How can we face such hopelessness and still remain faithful””

I am reminded of the Prophet Habakkuk. He too wrestled with these same questions. He saw the wicked prosper while the faithful suffered. He saw the pain and sorrow of the people and needed some answers. So the Prophet decided that he needed to have a dialog with God about this. I think that his vision he had from God is one that we too need to hear and experience. In his vision he discovers that these things were not of God that were happening but of the world in which they lived. God is always there wanting His people to turn to Him. Then…then they would feel the joy of the Lord again…if they would turn from their ways and back to the ways of the Lord…

Let me read for you the last part of Habakkuk’s prayer at the end of his vision. It gives us hope for each day…it gives us assurance even in the darkest times. It is found in Habakkuk 3:17-19. Here the words of hope…

17 Though the fig tree does not bud

    And there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

    and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen

    and no cattle in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

    I will be joyful in God my Savior.

19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;

    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

    he enables me to tread on the heights.”

And where can we find the strength to pray this prayer for ourselves? The strength is found in community. There are many cultures throughout the world that their strength is found in community. Without community their whole way of life would be destroyed. We find peace and we find hope in community.

When we reach out with love and hope to someone in need we give them strength for the journey. When we help our neighbor rebuild their life again we give them hope for the future. We find peace and we find hope in community.

When we come together as a community and set aside our differences and concentrate on our similarities we are a force to be reckoned with. We can conquer our trials and difficulties because we are strong when we bond together. We find peace and we find hope in community.

I have this analogy that I would like to share with you…why I feel that community is so vital and important to humanity. You see this is how I see it. Like any other artisan who puts a piece of themselves in their creation, God too does the same thing. He created humanity with a little piece of Himself in it. Now…as we come together in community that piece of the Divine in each of us connects with that piece of Divine in others. As we connect we are made stronger. Just think about it…the Divine in you reaching….touching…the Divine in another… Now you may not feel as if you have any bit of the Divine within you…you may feel that there is no way God lives within you…you may feel that you are worth nothing at all…but I am here to tell you that God doesn’t make junk and that all that God has made is of sacred worth...God did say when finished creating human kind that it was very good…it is within community that we find that piece of the creator within the created… We find peace and we find hope in community.

Beloved child of God…and yes, we are all beloved children of God, our adoption papers were signed by the blood of Jesus on that cross on a hill long ago…we were created to be in community…community with each other and community with God. We were created to ban together and share our lives with one another. We were created to share that piece of the Divine we have within us with the hurting world around us. We find peace and we find hope in community.

I would like to end my sermon with something that was written by one of my favorite poets…my husband Ray. When I shared the Habakkuk scripture with him he did something that is amazing to me. He rewrote the prayer…let me read it to you and you decide for yourself if it is one that you can pray for your own life…

17 Though the mills may be shuttered

and the forests are empty,

though the fields do not provide

their bounty, their harvest,

though the young are departing

for greener pastures,

18 yet I rejoice in my God

I will be joyful in Christ my Savior.

19 The Creator of the universe is my rock

I am like the deer, its hooves

steady on the Mountain.

Sure within thee

safe in thy arms

We find peace and we find hope in community.

Amen