Advent 2023

Week 1 - Hope

Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:12-13)

On December 17, 1927, the United States Submarine S-4 was surfacing from a submerged run over the measured-mile off Cape Cod near Provincetown, Massachusetts, when she was accidentally rammed and sunk by the Coast Guard destroyer Paulding. The Paulding stopped and lowered lifeboats, but searchers found only a few oil and air bubbles.

Rescue and salvage operations were started but were severely hampered by bad weather. As the sub sank, six members of the crew made their way toward the front torpedo room, where they communicated with rescue divers by tapping out Morse code messages on the hull.

As the trapped men used the last of available oxygen in the sub, one of the divers placed his helmeted ear to the side of the vessel and listened as the taps spelled out, “Is ... there ... any ... hope?” Sadly, the answer to the question was no, and all six men perished.

Our world reminds me of the S-4. We were created perfectly, but we were rammed by sin, causing us to sink in an ocean of despair. I don’t know if we’ve hit the bottom yet, but I do wonder how much farther we can go. Just like those trapped men, mankind is trapped by sin, and there are many people who are nearing their breaking points and asking anyone who will listen, “Is there any hope?” 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we know the answer to that question. Think about it for a second.

The men trapped in the sub were separated from the one who could save them by a couple of inches of steel, but it may as well have been a couple of miles of steel. They were separated from their savior without the slightest hope of rescue because it was physically impossible to break through the barrier.

We were born separated from God by a distance even greater than that. On our own we have about as much hope as those crew members did. Imagine, though, if a diver could have reached through that steel hull and pulled all those men out and carried them to safety. That would neatly qualify as a miracle. It is no more a miracle than what God did when reached down to us through His son Jesus Christ. He became one of us, and physically crossed a physically un-crossable gap and rescued all of us from the death that comes from sin—instantly—once and for all.

God lived with man here in this world in the person of Jesus Christ for 33 years. On the night before, He did what He came to do—die on a cross for my sins and yours—Jesus shared a meal with those who were closest to Him. During the meal, He told them what was going to happen, and He explained that there would be a new relationship with God the Father as a result of it. He illustrated by using the meal. He gave thanks for the bread, broke it, and said, “Take, eat – this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks for it, and said, “Drink this, all of you. This is my blood.”

He told them that from then on, he would not be physically with them, he would live inside them. Jesus wants to live inside all of us, and when He does, it is impossible not to have hope inside us because Jesus doesn’t provide hope. He IS hope.

Prayer

Father, thank you for the undying and sustaining hope we have through your grace and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. May we not only rest in that hope but reflect it to those who have not heard it.

Amen.

Today’s devotional was written by Cliff McCartney and read by Joey Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.