“It was a dark and stormy night….” Do you recognize these words? If you are a Snoopy fan like me, or if you read the comic section in St. Paul newspapers, you probably do. These are the words of Snoopy, the famous beagle from Charles Schultz’s Peanuts cartoon. Among Snoopy’s many past times, whether it is a World War I fighter Ace, fine art collector, friend of Woodstock, or roof napper, he is also a “world famous author.” However, his stories are always rejected by the publisher. Perhaps he was rejected because he is not original, nor is he particularly creative. “It was a dark and stormy night….”
That is how all his stories begin. Even when Linus and Lucy try to help Snoopy find another beginning, like, “Once upon a time…” Snoopy persists, and writes, “Once upon a time, it was a dark and stormy night….” Up until his last comic strip in February of 2000, Snoopy was still writing about that dark and stormy night!
But, maybe, just maybe, Snoopy sticks to that line precisely because it is not all that original. Life can be full of dark and stormy nights, times of hopelessness and despair. A great irony about the weeks leading up to Christmas is that, although the air is filled with messages of peace and goodwill, love and family, we can often struggle more profoundly with “dark and stormy nights,” and, for that matter, dark and stormy seasons.
The Christians in Rome knew all about dark and stormy nights, and would! They were a small group of believers in the midst of a hostile environment. Rome was the capital of the ancient world, where impulses and new thoughts would spread throughout the Empire. To make matters worse, Roman values were not Christian values. Christians valued marriage, women, children, the sick, disabled, and elderly. They valued the virtues of compassion, charity, chastity, and humility. Their Roman counterparts didn’t. These believers had counter-cultural beliefs and attitudes. These Christians were a small minority in the world’s most powerful and influential city! That is not a good recipe for success! At the time of writing, Nero was emperor, who would later become famous for his persecution of Christians. The storm clouds were gathering for them!
Unfortunately, though, there were problems in the Roman churches, too. Although these churches were mainly Gentile, there was a strong and outspoken Jewish minority in these churches, too. As a result, they wrestled with the tensions that arose from food and worship issues. “What can I eat?” “What Old Testament days and festivals should we observe, if any?” “What about circumcision?” To Jewish Christians, these were important and fundamental about the faith; to Gentile Christians, they weren’t. These believers wrestled with the place and role of the Old Testament Laws.
To make matters even harder, these Christians were threatened by a number of false teachers who intended to lure them away from the faith and back to their old way of life. It is beginning to rain for them! And, like all people, these Christians had their own personal problems to deal with as well. Now, it is thundering! These issues would tempt anyone to hopelessness and despair.
Sadly, though, there are dark and stormy times in our lives, as well. It is not always sunshine and rainbows. Like the Roman Christians, we can face opposition in an ever-increasingly hostile world. Christian values, which once were the norm, no longer are. The Christian message of God’s love and salvation for all in Christ can be deemed “hateful,” “intolerant,” “restrictive,” or “exclusionary.” The storm clouds are gathering for us!
However, we can see these storms and dark nights in our personal lives. Christmas can be a sad reminder of the brokenness that we have in our lives. As we watch Christmas movies and see commercials with the happy, smiling family around the Christmas tree, we can be reminded that ours might not be like that. Family life is messy and complicated, isn’t it? We can have broken relationships, broken homes, broken promises, broken dreams, broken hearts, broken people, and bodies broken by sickness and disease. It is beginning to rain! But, all of these things point to a greater darkness, a greater storm, and a greater brokenness: it is called sin!
Sin creates darkness with its lust, idolatry, and doubt. Sin creates storms with its hatred, jealousy, covetedness, and greed. Sin breaks and separates us from each other and separates from God. All of these things can tempt us to hopelessness and despair. And, would you look at that, it is thundering! Maybe Snoopy was on to something when he penned, “It was a dark and stormy night….” He is a better writer than we thought.
But, Paul says, “Hold on a minute!” He says, “I know things are dark and stormy. I know things are tough, but don’t fall into despair and hopelessness.” As Paul ends his letter to the Romans, He calls them and us to abound in hope. That is his prayer! Paul assures that even in the midst of dark and stormy times, that God gives us hope in the root of Jesse.
The term “root of Jesse” is itself a term of hope! Long after David’s family tree was chopped down and left for dead, there sprung from the old stump a new branch, a new hope. The hand of God was at work! A mere root, one that is small, lowly, and from a defunct Jewish house, comes the Lord and hope of the nations. “In Him will the Gentiles hope!”
And this hope is a special hope. This hope is not a pious wish, positive thought, or a pipe dream. This hope is not found in ourselves, the world, military might, money, politicians, or hobby. This hope is complete confidence and sure conviction.
This hope is a gift. This hope comes from the Father, the “God of hope.” It really is a gift, and it comes by the Holy Spirit Who fills us with this hope. Since it is a gift, it a hope that is outside of ourselves. That means it doesn’t depend on us: our thoughts, positivity, attitude, or actions. It is not based on circumstances or time. This is a hope based on our faithful God: He is the object and source! And would you look at that, the clouds are parting!
Since this hope is based on Him, this leads us to our next point: this is a certain hope. This hope is as sure and certain as its foundation, the sure and certain Word of God! The Word is the means by which the Spirit gives us this hope. Paul writes, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.” The Spirit inspired the Scriptures, the ones “written in former days,” to assures us of God’s care and mercy, and to give hope. Those things were written for you, in your current circumstances. They were written to give you hope, a sure and certain confidence in God. The Old Testament is full of great examples to give us encouragement and hope.
I think of David, who would out of love for God and trust in Him, stood up to the giant Goliath. Who could forget his disastrous decision with Bathsheba, and also the forgiveness he received in spite of it? God didn’t cast him aside. I love how God preserved Daniel in unbelieving Babylon, and how Joseph, after being betrayed by his brothers, sold as a slave, wrongly imprisoned, and left there to rot, tells his brothers: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” I am amazed how God forgives the evil King Manasseh, who, after leading the people astray, and living a life of evil, finally repents, and is forgiven. These things and more were written with you in mind, to give you hope, and to assure you of God’s mercy and care. This hope is based on fulfilled promises! There is no doubt that God will bring us through the dark and stormy times. The question is how, isn’t it? And the answer is found where the Word of God points us. The rain is beginning to stop.
James B. Stockdale was one of the first American pilots shot down in the Vietnam War. Sadly, he was a prisoner of war for seven years. During that time, he was repeatedly tortured, put in isolation, and chained in painful positions. They did it in order to break him down and to denounce U. S. involvement in the war. After his imprisonment was over, Stockdale was asked how he could survive seven years of that kind of treatment. He said one word: “hope.” Hope of one day being released. Hope of one day going. Hope kept him alive. Hope saved him.
God’s Word points us to the Root of Jesse, the ultimate sign of our hope. It points us to the hope that saves and keeps us alive. On Good Friday, the world went dark as Jesus hung on the cross, bearing our sin and shame. The stump of Jesse was chopped and left for dead. However, the thunder stops! Three days later, light bursts forth from the tomb as He is raised from the dead! This Risen Savior comes to us today to bring new life and light in the midst of our dark and stormy nights. The root of Jesse springs forth in our lives. He is our sure and certain hope amidst broken relationships, broken homes, broken promises, broken dreams, broken hearts, broken people, and bodies broken by sickness and disease. Jesus is our hope for comfort in grief. He is our hope for healing in brokenness and hope for grace when we sin. He is our hope of life in the face of death, and when it approaches. By His death and resurrection, this hope is certain. These things are guaranteed.
And this hope changes how we live, according to Paul. It opens us up to welcome and love one another so that we abound in hope. As Jewish Christians in Rome learned that Jesus was also the hope of Gentiles, so we embrace all people as heirs of Christ’s hope: the eternal life He has won by His death and resurrection.
“It was a dark and stormy night, but you have hope in the root of Jesse!”