[Refrain:] “And I will raise you up on eagles'; wings, Bear you on the breath of dawn, Make you to shine like the sun And hold you in the palm of my hand.”
        3. You need not fear the terror of the night Nor the arrow that flies by day; Though thousands fall about you, near you it shall not come. [Refrain]
        4. For to God’s angels is given a command: To guard you in all of your ways. Upon their hands they will bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. [Refrain] . . And hold you in the palm of His hand.

THE SERMON:       Keep Hope Alive

*CLOSING HYMN   "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"
        1. Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee; thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not; as thou hast been thou forever wilt be.
        [Refrain:] Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; all I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
        2. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest sun, moon, and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. [Refrain]
        3. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide, strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! [Refrain]

BENEDICTION: (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.
All: And now, may we bear fruit as we go forth in peace to love and serve the Lord.  In the name of Christ.  Amen

CONGREGATIONAL SUNG RESPONSE: Go Now in Peace
Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day.
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true.
Know He will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there, watching from above.
Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.

POSTLUDE   "Wonderful Grace of Jesus" arr. Leatherman

        I open with words from one of Judy’s favorite poets, Ross Gay, found in the forward to an anthology entitled: “How to Love the World”, he writes:
        “. . attending to what we love, what we are astonished by, what flummoxes us with beauty is such crucial work; studying how we care and are cared for, how we tend and are tended to, how we give and are given, is such necessary work.  Truth is, we are mostly too acquainted with the opposite, with the wreckage.
        “But even if we need to pay attention to and understand (the wreckage) to survive it, it needn’t be the primary object of our study. How we are loved, how we love need be. It’s called gratitude.”

        Every once in a while we all need to take our spiritual vital signs.  Are the indicators of our Faith, Hope and Love values in the spiritually healthy range?
        Clear breathing?  Shallow and weak, or with “Sighs too deep for human words.”    “Breathe on me, Breath of God.”
        BP?  Check the blood pressure, perhaps a little higher than normal.  Is it fear-based or hope-based?
        Pulse?  Check the heart rate.  Anxiously high, or Pumping the energy of Love steady and strong?
        Temperature - faith gone cold or right up there at 98.6?!

        We worry so much about what the future may hold, that it drastically affects how we view the world and creates such a state of mind, that most of us are skeptics at best and many of us have become down right pessimists through it all.  Our spiritual and physical health will greatly suffer with just such an outlook on life.
        And it's no wonder: To listen to the news on a regular basis can create a terribly insecure feeling within all of us.  We can so easily get spiritually confused, our faith weakened by doubt and disappointment which can leave us lukewarm and dispassionate in our religious convictions.  Without that conviction and passion, hope eludes us. 
        And we all have become acutely aware of how these spiritual vital signs do, in fact, influence those physical vital signs.  The life filled with stress and anxiety and fear contributes to all kinds of health issues.
        Skepticism and negativism have become habits in our culture.  And a hidden danger can sneak up on us in the guise of “I'm OK, You're OK." A good self-image is helpful, but denial or delusion can be unhealthy.
        We must keep a watchful eye on any tendency we may have to blame uncontrollable innate tendencies or external influences.

It's in my gene-pool.

It's the way my father always was, too - I take after him.

That's just the way I am.
        To be sure, much of what we are has come to us naturally, we might even say is God-given.  But there are a lot of things about ourselves that can and need to be changed and updated.
        And, to complicate matters, most of us are change- resistors to varying degrees.
        Those habitual patterns and unconscious reactions must be pulled out, examined and evaluated for their effectiveness and hope-producing value.
        Awareness is forever our greatest and highest aspiration as maturing Christians.
        Awareness of self, Awareness of God, Awareness of others; lifting us to the higher road - offering a spiritual perspective on reality which will produce hope.

        All of Scripture is about helping us adopt a spiritual perspective on our lives.  The future is in God's hands and all will be well.
        Psalm 91, the text of “On Eagle’s Wings”, written entirely in the future tense, is so very clear on God's being there with us in all of our trials and tribulations. 

He will save you He will cover you

You will not fear, no harm, no disaster

God will Rescue, protect, deliver

“And he will raise you up on eagle's wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun and hold you in the palm of his hand."
        No anxiety necessary.  Keep hope alive.
        In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is telling his followers the story about poor Lazarus and the unnamed rich man making a couple of  points: Be wary of a life that is too comfortable or a faith that is blind to struggle and pain - in our own lives and in the lives of others.  And, no matter how destitute or persecuted we may feel, humility and gratitude will win the day.  
        Not to worry.  Keep hope alive.

        Fighting cultural tendencies, reshaping some of our own natural tendencies is our call in our Scriptures today.
        We need to work at becoming realistic optimists.
        Realistic: because we must be willing to see life as it really is, not glossing over it or denying it; 
        Optimists: because we can still choose to believe that things are going to be better in the future.  And then, live accordingly. 
        Faithfulness often calls us to do things that seem contrary to common sense, or at least against society's norms. 
        Not many of us will be imprisoned for our faith, or called to buy land with invaders at the door.   Yet truly embracing the notion of the future is in God's hands can change things for us.  We may make what seems like odd choices about spending money.  We may treat poor people differently.  We may upset others who may accuse us of being dreamy-eyed idealists.  
        If we truly believe the future is ultimately in God's hands and that all will be well, our priorities might need to be updated. 
        Realistic optimists are all around us:  Like my daughter Alli with the Red Sox; or Judy playing an encouraging song for me every Sunday as we drive from Route 3 to Plympton:  Started a year ago, as I faced some potentially serious health issues.  “Be Not Afraid”

“You shall cross the barren desert, But you shall not die of thirst.

You shall wander far in safety, Though you do not know the way.

If you pass through raging waters in the sea, You shall not drown.

If you walk amid the burning flames, You shall not be harmed.

Know that I am with you through it all.

Be not afraid, I go before you always, Come, follow me and I will give you rest.”
        Special people, stories and songs in all of our lives will improve our spiritual health index as we face the normal struggles along life’s path.  

       Finally, as soon as our faith gets squared away and our hope in the future pulls us forward, then we can translate that into positive actions in our lives in the present.
        A lot of what we do today, how we behave moment to moment is directly influenced by what happened yesterday and what we believe about tomorrow.
        If we play the game believing we can still win, we will play better.
        If we approach our children believing they can improve and grow and mature, they will pick up on that faith and react in positive ways.
        If we believe that love will win out over hatred, that goodness will overcome evil, then we will approach poverty, homelessness, cruelty, injustice and all other forms of human dysfunction with more effective programs based on a realistic optimism.

        Life is not easy.  There have been, are and will continue to be potholes, bumps, puddles even mountains all along the way.  
        Striving to keep faith strong and grounded, adjusting and updating our perspectives toward a realistic optimism, we can keep hope alive and begin to work more effectively toward the Kingdom of God.

        Just like Watty Piper’s book “The Little Engine that Could:” A train filled with toys and gifts for little boys and girls breaks down before reaching the children. After several very capable trains give excuses, a little blue train agrees to help. She carries that heavy load up over the hill, chanting her famous mantra: “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”
        Keep hope alive.