“A Thrill of Hope” (#3 in the series, “A Thrill of Hope”)

Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices . . . (“,” lyrics by Placide Cappeau, 1847)

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, For he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on, all generations will call me blessed . . . (Luke 1:47-48)

A sermon by Siegfried S. Johnson on the Third Sunday of Advent, December 15, 2019 (Volume 03 Number 21) Christ of the Hills UMC, 700 Balearic Drive, Hot Springs Village, Arkansas 71909

A Thrill of Hope is the third in my Advent series taking as title and theme four successive phrases from the 1st stanza of the beloved song, O Holy Night, surely one of the most recognizable songs in the church’s Christmas collection:

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.

The next four lines form the heart of the first stanza and have guided our lighting the candles of the :

Long Lay the World

We lit the first candle with the line, “Long lay the world, in sin and error pining,” a reminder of the long wait of the Hebrews for the Messiah’s birth, and of the Christian’s long wait for the Second Advent of Christ. Imagining the sanctuary completely dark, our congregation sitting in darkness, lighting that first was the first flicker of light penetrating the darkness. We recalled Isaiah’s prophecy, “to the people who sat in darkness, a great light has shined.”

‘Til He Appeared

We lit the second candle last week with the next line, “Till He Appeared and the soul felt its worth.” I introduced the theme in a geometrical way, that with the second candle we now have not only Point A but also Point B. Between any two points a straight line is established, a first guide for our steps. We found that first guide to be John the Baptist, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah, “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths STRAIGHT.” A Thrill of Hope

This morning we lit the third candle of our Advent wreath with the line, “A Thrill of Hope, the weary world rejoices.” With the lighting of the third candle we turn a corner, literally. I think that this is a powerful symbolism of any great ADVENT-ure. In any of our journeys, comes the moment when we know we have turned the corner, our destination coming into clearer view.

We may be weary from the long journey, disappointed by past failures, frustrated by the long wait. The Third Candle is the moment our faint hope is thrilled with an emerging firm hope.

In the First Candle is a HINT of hope.

In the Second Candle a first GUIDE emerges.

In the Third Candle we experience a THRILL of hope.

That’s why the Third Candle is Joy and why, in our tradition, a pink candle breaks the pattern of the blue, declaring Joy as it invites into the Thrill of Hope.

Our gospel reading this morning has been from the first chapter of Luke. We picked up the story mid-stream, as the narrative took us with Mary to a village outside Jerusalem. The story had actually in the Galilee, in the rural village of Nazareth where a young woman is visited by the angel : “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you . . . for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him . He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Gabriel told Mary that her older cousin, Elizabeth, was also with child. We picked up Luke’s story as Mary leaves Nazareth and travels to the village of Ein Kerem near Jerusalem, the traditional home of her cousin Elizabeth, six months ahead of Mary in her own miraculous pregnancy, soon to bear a son who named John, who become known as the Baptist.

Upon Mary’s arrival, as Elizabeth greets her in what is known as The Visitation (this painting by Domenico Ghirlandaio is from Italy in 1491, and resides today at the Louvre in Paris), her baby is said to leap in her womb. Elizabeth, filled with the Spirit, says, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

Hearing this confirmation of the angel’s message, Mary experiences A Thrill of Hope, breaking forth with praise in one of the most beautiful passages of Holy Scripture, the Magnificat:

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, For he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and Holy is his Name.

When wonder grips us suddenly, inexplicably, in serendipitous moments, there can be a Thrill of Hope. The thrill for the Hebrews was that after so long a wait for Messiah, the time drew near. The nation was turning a corner.

The corner Israel would turn at that moment was one that brought the light of God’s redemptive love into clearer view. Faint hope was now growing into a blaze, leaving Mary to think, “This is really happening! The angel’s word is being confirmed.”

There are journeys we take in our life – spiritual, physical, emotional, financial, educational, occupational – when we wait long for good news. Onward we plod, in faint hope, not daring fully to believe. Until, one day, unexpectedly, we realize, “I’ve turned a corner!”

At the Third Candle we develop what I will call the “from now on” attitude. Something has changed. That’s the moment Mary experienced at Ein Kerem. “From now on, all generations will call me blessed.”

We’ve all had those moments -- in virtually every arena of our living -- when we say, “I’ve turned the corner!” and “From now on” all will be different. That’s the Third Candle moment, when things fall into place enough to thrill us. We haven’t yet arrived, but we sense that victory is near.

Someone is trying to overcome an addiction. Many times they’ve tried, making it a little way down the “Straight and Narrow,” from Point A to Point B. But they’ve been there before, many times, only to relapse. Time and again they’ve had First and Second Candle moments.

But then, one day, there arises a Third Candle moment when you know without any questions that you’ve turned a corner. Confirmation of near victory is everywhere. That’s the moment when A Thrill of Hope grips us, and the “weary” in us rejoices.

In our tradition, the 3rd Candle is pink, a liturgical way to note the difference, the break in the pattern, the Thrill of Hope. When I pastored FUMC Mountain Home I had a young family doing a beautiful reading on the Second Sunday of Advent. Their early teenage boy, who was in my confirmation class, was lighting the candles as the parents read. Horror of horrors, he lit the pink candle! On the SECOND week of Advent!

What shall I do? This can’t stand! It’s pre-mature! And yet, I didn’t want to correct it, risking embarrassment. Still, I may as well take for my sermon title, a different song: The Thrill is Gone!

So I ignored it. Then, during the passing of the peace when all were visiting and eyes were off the chancel area, our Choir Director unobtrusively slipped over the wreath and made the quick change. When all were seated – Miracle of miracles! – now only two blue candles were lit. With that, the world was right again, tradition having been maintained.

Here’s a question for each of us in closing: How can I bring light to someone’s journey? How can I say or do something that will be a Third Candle Moment for someone weary on their life journey? How can I lead them to a Thrill of Hope?