Reading:

We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.” Hebrews 6.19

Sermon: “Keep Your Hope Up .”

Do you have a favorite Christmas Movie?

I am quite sure most of you have.

I love watching and must watch “It is a Wonderful Life” 1946 about George Bailey wishing he had never been born, and then an angel is sent his way.

Or you love the sentimental holiday favorite with Bing Crosby and Danny Kay “White Christmas.”

For Peanuts fans everywhere it just would not be Christmas without the classic holiday tale… “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

You might enjoy laughing about the 8-year-old boy left home alone at Christmas in “Home Alone. " I have to say that I switched from enjoying this brave, innovative boy alone in the house to feeling the pain of the poor mother who tries everything to get back to her son.

Or enjoy the weird universe of Tim Burtons “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

I have never understood why so many Americans love the Holiday Action Classic “Die Hard” 1988 with Bruce Willis. But it is because I am a hopeless romantic and I am a woman, who prefers Christmas movies about human beings, joy, romance, family and hope.

Like the wonderful movie “Love Actually” 2003 a story about nine intertwined stories about love, Christmas, heartache and hope, or the movie “The Holiday” about two women one from America and one from Europe swapping homes at Christmas time..

I have enclosed a little Christmas Movie Survey in your bulletin. Please choose your 3 favorite ones and place your votes. Then I will reveal the result at dinner!

“It is a wonderful life.” is a Wonderful movie from 1946. The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a guy who has reached the end of his rope and hope, who has given up on his personal dreams to help others in his community, who has gotten so severely depressed that he plans to kill himself. But God intervenes and an angel Clarence Odbody is sent to show George Baily what life would have been if he had not lived. When George Baily sees all the positive impact and influence his life and being has had upon others, he turns from despair to hope, from sadness to joy, from bitterness to gratitude. And George Baily is given another chance in life. He now understands that his life with others and for others indeed is a wonderful life.

It is a wonderful Christmas Tale about how intertwined our lives are, how dependent we are on each other, how we do not always see the beauty and greatness of our lives.

The Danish Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard famously said, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

It could be a lesson for Geroge Baily that he needed to look backwards in life to see the bigger picture. To take lessons in life, we often need the perspective of time and distance. It is only when you look back and see all that you have undergone in these years that you get to know that you have won and all that you have lost.

Hold håbet op.

Stjernen viser vej.

Hold håbet op.

Mørket skjuler sig.

Hold håbet op.

Hold det foran mig.

Keep your hope high!

The star shows the way.

Keep your hope high!

The darkness is hiding.

Keep your hope high.

Keep it in front of me.

This is the chorus of the new Advent Hymn that Mette will sing after the sermon. It is a contemporary Advent hymn about hope as the outlook in life: a hope that shows us the way, a hope that shines like a star or beacon in front of us; a hope that is always in front of us… leading us, guiding us, encouraging us.

A hope that George Baily had lost sight of but found again when he was looking back.

Hold haabet hojt. Keep your hope high is a new hymn written by the author Dy Plambeck with melody by Marianne Soogaard in 2015. It is indeed a beautiful hymn about hope and waiting in the season of Advent.

The Author Dy Plambeck will visit us in February 2025 at Danish Service & Eve to talk about her authorship and hymns.

Let hope lead you and form you.

Then you might believe that life is a wonderful life despite struggles, problems and agony.

So, endure it, hope in it, believe in it, trust it and treasure it.

Hope is what we need and the world needs.

“I found love in a hopeless place,” Rhiana sings – and finding hope is what can lead you onwards, upwards and forwards.

Hope is a word filled with promise and light.

Hope is that persistent promise that tomorrow might hold the possibility of joy and something new, unexpected, changed and better.

Hope is a verb. As it is something we feel. Hope is something we act on and something we believe in. Hope marks us and shapes our outlook and perspective.

Where there is life there is hope… or is it, where there is hope there is life….

Hope whispers Keep Going when fear or despair says Give up. Without hope, people and their civilization cannot survive. The Bible teaches that. History teaches that. To silence hope and replace it with fear is fatal to any human being, any community, society or country.

No person, no community, no society and no country can flourish with fear as its base.

And what the world needs and what we need in Hope. There is enough to be fearful and discouraged about: the deep division in this country after the election, the mistrust, the climate change, the war and violence in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, the homeless and hungry in our streets, the misinformation, the Political discourse, the simple lack of goodness and dignity.

There is a new movie out in the Theater these days: The Musical “Wicked.” I have not yet seen it but will next week. But I have repeatedly read and enjoyed a poem by my favorite contemporary prophetic poet Amanda Gorman. “Do us Good.” Is a poem released last week inspired by Wicked.

And when I read Gorman’s poem, I am hopeful. For the next generation. For the Future. For change. For possibilities. For better days to come.

Are we born wicked or do we have wickedness thrust upon us?

Are we born bad or brave ?

There is a world we miss when we misbehave.

But we miss just as much when we misconstrue.

When we distrust what is different

And detest what is new.

Only with decency do we discover people are not born evil but born equal.

We will dream, soar into the blue, rise up to a new reality.

Because defending the good is how we defy gravity.

Defending good is how we defy gravity, darkness, despair, fear, evil, division, and violence.

Defending good will do us good.

That was the truth for George Baily that defending good made him realize that life was indeed wonderful, surprising and good.

That is the truth Jesus taught the world when he said do to others as you want them to do to you.

Defending good is how we defy gravity and fly with hope.

Hold hope up in front of you.

Hope is a verb. It is active, ever-living, restless. It needs to be nurtured, taught, envisioned, and shared. Hope for healing; hope for community; hope for humanity; hope for peace; hope for transformation; hope for a world where neighbors do good unto others; hope for a future of grace, mercy, and love.

Have a wonderful Christmas filled with hope!

Amen