Will the recession degenerate into a depression? Will more of us lose our jobs? Will congress act selflessly? Do those in power even know what will correct the economy, and if they do, can or will they do what is necessary? How is it going to turn out? For that matter, how is the Iranian nuclear situation going to turn out? What about China’s imperial ambitions, Russia’s increasing belligerency, or North Korea’s provocation?
What about our 401k, IRA, pension, or retirement?
Sometimes life is like a “thriller” of a novel where we keep turning the page to see how our hero deals with adversity. But in life we can’t turn the pages any faster than one day at a time.
As we face the coming pages of our lives, though, we can do it with hope. Paul writes, Romans 5:3-5 “…we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” We have hope for the pages to come because of the strength and deliverance God has given us in the past, and because of the assurance of God’s love that the Holy Spirit continually pours out in our hearts through the means of Grace, the gospel in word and sacrament.
Even our Christian calendar teaches us this in these Sundays before Lent. “SEPTUAGESIMA” is a real mouthful. It is the name given to the first Sunday leading up to the penitential season focusing on the suffering and death of our Savior. But notice, “Septuagesima” has to do with “70,” because it is about 70 days before Easter.
It isn’t so many days before Lent, or so many days before the crucifixion. Rather as Christians we look forward to the ultimate victory that we have in Christ over sin, death, and hell. We start out this season of the year knowing “how the book turns out.” We start out Lent counting the days until the resurrection!