Easter 6 & Christian Aid week - Hope.

  

1 Peter 3: 13- 17

 

You might think that it is hard to find hope these days.

I won’t list all the terrible stories in the media or in our own lives… but some days it just feels like there is nothing but bad news.

 

So I was heartened to read that  Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying:

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it—always.”

 

And we have heard just now that Peter, in his letter, hits the nail on the head when he says

“Do not fear and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord and always be ready …to give an account for the hope that is in you”.


Our faith in Jesus Christ gives us hope – even when the world and our lives seem to be in a complete mess.

 

Because Jesus rose from death; he was brought back to life and lives forever – and all the things he taught and stood for are as immortal as he is. Jesus showed us that truth and love always win and that tyrants and murderers always fall.. in the end.

 

So we can be bold, and as Peter suggests, we can be ready to give an account for the hope that is in us. What sort of account of hope can we give?

 

Well, in this Christian Aid week it gives me hope that for 80 years Christians have come together to speak out about poverty and need in the world, to campaign against injustice, and to give so that people in countries where there is deep poverty are given the means to help themselves.

 

It gives me hope that some of the kindest and the strongest and the most loving people I have known in my life have been followers of Jesus. They have not only believed in Jesus, they have shown me what life in all its fulness looks like here and now.

 

It gives me hope that today across Pembrokeshire - from the tiniest chapel to St David’s cathedral - people are coming together to worship: to remember we are in the presence of God, and to encounter his living Word, and to pray and care for God’s word.

 

It gives me hope when I sit with someone who is near the end of their life and they talk of gratitude for the life they have lived and the love they have known, and can look forward without fear to the promised life and love beyond the world we know.

 

In this Christian Aid week, we have a really inspiring story of hope to share…

On youtube here

 

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