Sermon from the the fifth Sunday after Epiphany – February 9, 2025, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church – Buffalo, NY .
Sermon Video | 8:30am and 10:30am Worship Services
Sermon Text | Isaiah 6:1-13 & Luke 5:1-11
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
There are times in our lives when what we really need is hope. Hope is a topic that churches tend to talk a lot about and many of us have different understandings of this word. Hope (as I am using it) doesn’t refer to a wish, a dream, or something left to chance – like when we say, “I hope I win the lottery.” Hope isn’t just a feeling that lands on you like a butterfly and then flits away as quickly and unexpectedly as it came to you.
Are you seeking hope in your life? Are you reading this because you need hope?
All of us experience times when we feel like we really need hope but are reluctant … maybe afraid … to really open ourselves up to the possibility of hope because we don’t want to be disappointed. Is that sometimes true for you?
At its core, hope arises from recognizing that something in your life and your surroundings is not as it should be. Situations, relationships, or life patterns may be unhealthy or even harmful. Yet, deep within your soul, you hold an unwavering belief that those conditions are not permanent … that change is possible.
Throughout the Bible, whether the literal word hope is used or not, stories of hope can be found.
In the reading from Isaiah, we heard as God called Isaiah to pronounce judgment on Israel for their faithlessness and evil deeds. Isaiah hesitated, aware of his shortcomings. But God found a way and offered hope. Notice that God didn’t treat Isaiah like a puppet and force him go to the people with the proclamation. Instead, God asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” To which Isaiah responded, “Here am I; send me!”
You see … God made a way … and invited Isaiah to risk and to participate in the hope God was bringing about!
In Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus approached Simon, who, along with others, had been out fishing all night. They were tired. I’m sure all they wanted to do was clean their nets and go home. But Jesus told Simon to go out to the deep water and let down the nets. After reminding Jesus they didn’t catch any fish all night, Simon declared, “YET if you say so, I will let down the nets.”
Just like with Isaiah, God made a way … and invited Simon to risk and participate in the hope that Jesus was bringing about.
We see God at work in our time, too. God makes a way and invites you and me to risk. But, instead of being limited to only being recipients of hope, God’s invitation is for us to participate in the hope that God is bringing about in the lives of other people.
For example, I emailed a letter during the first week of February [see letter here]. I had learned that the current administration cut funding to social service agencies, and wanted to share why that was important to our Holy Trinity family. While we’re used to politicians posturing and news shows analyzing from every angle, we very quickly saw actual cuts to organizations that have earned respect as reputable social services agencies (such as Catholic Charities, Jewish Family Services, Journey’s End, Vive, and Lutheran social services). Allegations were made that, in particular, Lutheran social services received “illegal payments” and that they engaged in “money laundering.”
Let me be clear … if there are illegal payments and money laundering, I and our national leadership want to know so that reform can happen. Instead of investigating, however, funding was immediately cut with no offer of proof of wrongdoing. Some news agencies listed a few frivolous-sounding items with exorbitant price tags that many people could hear and agree were not things we would want money spent on, but they did not give context to those accusations or share with the public which essential human services were cut.
In an amazing show of support, on Friday February 7, 2025 a group of religious leaders from around Buffalo … a group that I would guess was 100 – 200 people … gathered for a news conference in which local agencies spoke directly to the dire local impact of these cuts. At this event, I learned that 731 refugees have legally come to Western NY over the past 90 days and heard from experts that these are perhaps the most highly vetted people in the whole world. Holy Trinity has directly or indirectly helped support these and other families.
The expert agencies explained the devastating effects to our new neighbors of having funds cut off immediately and completely when rent is due, groceries are needed, clothing is needed … now. In addition to these basic needs, after the spending cuts, these neighbors no longer have access to social workers who were assigned to help integrate them into their new lives. In response, these agencies established a Refugee Partnership Fund (www.refugeepartnership.org) to help finish the settlement process of these new neighbors.
The comments offered by the experts and supporters in the room at the press conference, like mine here, have nothing to do with partisan politics. All of us are focused on impacted neighbors.
As people of faith, like Isaiah and Simon, we are invited to risk and participate in the hope that God is bringing about to care for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the resident foreigners. The Bible doesn’t preach a “gospel of efficiency” … but a gospel that compels us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, care for the sick.
As a result of these spending cuts, vulnerable people in our city are feeling abandoned, fearful, and uncertain. They are certainly lacking hope. Related actions by this administration have also affected our trans siblings, leaving them to feel even more on the margins – isolated, unwanted, vulnerable, and afraid.
Where is Jesus inviting each of us to risk and to actively participate in hope … to BE hope for others?
How do we become part of the hope and the answer to prayers for those who don’t have power, position, money, or voice?
The path is not always clear for exactly how we are to be people of hope right now, but, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” So, you and I take that first step in faith believing that God has already made a way, and that God has invited you and me to risk and participate in the hope that Jesus is bringing about.
In the name of Jesus. Amen!
Epicurious Lutheran 