Hope : Grace and Gospel

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, Colossians 1:15-23, John 1:15-18

‘There we are – the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, soiled by life, and bested by trials, wearing the bloodied garments of life’s tribulations, but through it all clung to the faith. My friends, if this is not good news to you, you have never understood the gospel of grace.’

Brennan Manning

Waiting

Waiting is not an easy thing to do. Some of us have mastered the art of being patient and for others it will always be a struggle. Even when we have to wait only a short time we can find ourselves becoming agitated as the seconds tick by.

Now imagine what it was like for the Israelite nation in the years before Jesus’ birth. They were promised a land of their own, and for a time they had possessed it. They were promised a Messiah who would restore Israel to its rightful place. Some had come claiming to be that Messiah but had been quickly stopped by various foreign ruling powers. Hundreds of years had slipped by and nothing changed, Israel was never fully restored and there was always someone else in charge.

Then Jesus came and the waiting was over… for some.

The two letters to the church in Thessaloniki are amongst the earliest New Testament writings. Within them we catch a glimpse of the joy and struggles of one of the earliest churches. One of their concerns was that some were saying the second coming had already happened and they had missed it. Paul reassures them, telling them to wait and hope for that time would come.

Today we still hope and wait.

The Good News

John tell us in his opening chapter that Jesus came to dwell amongst us full of grace and truth. Paul writes in his second letter to the Thessalonians reminding them of the good grace that they hope in. Finally, in Colossians we have one of the great hymns of the early church and Paul reminds them not to lose the hope they have in the gospel given to them.

These are vital, life-giving and transformative messages for us to hear.

Grace – Paul tells the church in Thessaloniki to hope in grace because he knows as well as any, without it they have nothing. Grace is a gift, given freely. All we have to do is hope in it, put our faith in it and allow it to work in us. The western world is suspicious of this idea and it has become in-built in us to kick against it. How many extra presents have you bought to balance the gifts out? Who have you bought for because they always get you something? How guilty do you feel when someone gives you something for no reason? We struggle with the idea that someone as broken, messed up and twisted as us deserves anything. Grace calls out the truth. We are all loved, we are all equal, we are all accepted, and we have all done nothing to receive this gift.

Gospel – We may think this refers to the four books at the beginning of the New Testament but it is much bigger. They are gospels because they tell of the good news of Jesus, but so does all of scripture. The word gospel means good news. The good news is the story of God working in all creation, of the prophets’ call to all nations, and of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection for all people. This good news is where we place our hope, that God is working his purpose out – in Elizabeth, Mary, Zechariah, Joseph, shepherds, kings, fisherman, tax collectors, and religious fanatics; in healing, serving, eating, drinking, challenging, transforming, living, dying, and rising. This is the gospel we hope in.

Questions

What are you like at waiting? Do you find it easy? What is the longest you have ever waited for something? How did that experience feel?
How many extra presents have you bought to balance the gifts out?
How do you cope when someone gives you something for no reason?
Why do you think we struggle with the idea of something that is a gift, like grace, that we can do nothing to repay?
What good news do you have to tell? What good things have happened to you recently?
Where do you see God’s good news being told today?

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