Repeat hope to overcome hopelessness - a sermon by Roger Schmidt

This sermon was preached by Roger Schmidt at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva
At the beginning of the week when we were praying for South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho and Namibia.
Roger, a pastor from Germany, is the Lutheran World Federation's youth secretary - yu can find him on facebook.
You can find the liturgy for the worship this is part of here.
At the beginning of the service large buckets of sand were scattered on the marble stpes of the altar. The service sheet had a picture of brooms on it and at moments throughout the service the sand was move and swept to different part of the chapel.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

It is once again Monday morning. And probably you did what you do most Monday mornings. You rode the bus, took the car or came here by bike. Then you entered the chapel. You grabbed the worship paper, looked around to find a free seat. Maybe you were a little bit disappointed if someone else was already sitting in the place where you usually sit.
It is Monday morning, once again.
And on this day, like on every other day, we are going to repeat things that we have already done before, checking email, chatting with the colleague next door, going to the cafeteria or hastily eating the lunch that we brought with us.
Life is made up of repetitions. And I think that is a good thing.
Only if we repeat our behaviour are others able to know what they can expect of us.
Only because I am going to say "hi" to my colleagues today and tomorrow, are they going to say "hi" to me, today and tomorrow. Repetitions are a good thing. They are the basis of every day life. They make it possible for us to live in a community.

However, there are other repetitions: repetitions of war, famine and injustice.
How often do we have the impression: We've seen it before.
While we were preparing the worship together, my colleague Rolita said that we should be talking about the attacks on foreigners that took place in South Africa. I said that I cannot talk about that. I know too little about the context. I've never been to South Africa, how can I voice my opinion? But then I realized: I can talk about what happened in my own country time and time again. I can talk about how in times of social tensions, the weak attack those who are even weaker.
This is again a repetition.
A repetition of hopelessness.
The repetition of suffering.
The repetition of death.

Repetitions define how we understand our life.
Repetitions determine how we interact with the world.
And how often do we let the repetition of hopelessness determine our life?
In the little play at the beginning of the worship service, the repetition of hopelessness was symbolized by the sand. Repetitions of hopelessness disguise what we need to see more clearly: the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That is what the biblical texts this morning so clearly talk about. In Matthew, at the end of the sermon of the mount, Jesus tells us: Whoever, heard and does these words, builds a house on a solid rock.
Of course through our baptism we are built on rock.
But the repetitions of hopelessness are so powerful and sand gets on the rock.

That is why the Old Testament reading makes such an impression. It does not only contain an admonition to do the right thing. It is a Jewish method for fighting the repetition of hopelessness by the repetition of hope. I am reading once again the short passage from Deuteronomy 6:

Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy provides a prescription against the endless repetition of hopelessness: and that is remembering.
And how do you best remember? By repeating, again and again.

If we want to sweep away the sand that has fallen on the solid foundation of our faith – we have to repeat what our faith is all about. We have to hear the good words of the gospel. We have to hear once again that God, the creator of heaven and earth, has not forsaken us. He has come to us in Jesus Christ leading us through death to life. We have to train our voices in songs of praise. We have to talk about the hope that is in us.
The vicious cycle of hopelessness can only be broken by the repetition of what we can believe, by the repetition of hope.
Therefore, let’s do that. Let’s sweep away the sand of hopelessness. Let’s repeat the good practices of faith. Let’s do that this morning, tomorrow and again and again.
Amen.







Repetition the Monday morning routine
Our life is made of repetitions
Only what we repeat is real (?) by repeating we decide what we allow to be real

A true enough example woman with HIV and aids

Repetition of hopelessness south Africa and example xenophobia
It I'd this the endless repetition of hoplessnesd that drags us down

Retelling of the bible texts A