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The Gift of Hope

December 3, 2022

Isaiah 4:2-6 | 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 | Luke 21:5-19

[The Coming of the Lord]

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Before the sprawling malls arrived to dominate the retail landscape, Downtown Providence was the place to go to shop, especially for Christmas.  The Outlet, Gladdings, Cherry & Webb, Peerless and many other stores clustered within several blocks of Downcity for the gift-hunters, who bustled about, lists in hand.

In the center of it all was the Shepard Company, occupying most of the block between Westminster, Washington and Eddy Streets.  “Meet me under the Shepard’s Clock” was the watchword, and the musical jingle, directing the shoppers to this location on Westminster Street, just outside the store.  Inside, the glowing cases and holiday displays beckoned the browser to buy that special watch, glittering jewel, luxurious clothing/accessory or, upstairs, a toy on a special child’s Santa list.  The escalators and elevators hummed and clattered, carrying the shoppers to the upper floors, while seasonal music floated in the air.  Time was limited.  No Sunday hours, or 24-hour online access, and only on Thursday and Friday evenings did the stores stay open to – gasp! – 9 PM.

The focus, urgency, limitations and immediacy of those halcyon days only made the quest that much more precious, and the results that more gratifying and filled with delight.  Hopes and sugarplum dreams that danced in our heads became real in the light of Christmas morning.

Some of those realized dreams may have been contained within a special holiday box that Shepard’s issued in the Fifties and Sixties.  Covered in prancing white reindeer and evergreen trees, the red boxes provided merry anticipation, and hopes, of what might be contained within. 

Of course, the contents would be something tangible, -something to hold, to wear, to play with. But what about a gift that is not something to empirically behold?

This past Halloween, in the midst of the hundred-plus trick-or-treaters who ventured to our door, there came a young girl, probably about ten years of age, up onto the porch, bearing a large decorated rectangular box.  Dressed in flowing Grecian garb, with precise makeup on her porcelain face, and a gold band in her hair, she intoned, with the greatest solemnity:  “I am Pandora,” proceeding to recite poetic phrases about the evils of the world that had been released, yet promising not to inflict them upon this household.  When asked what was still inside the box, she simply said, “Hope,” – making her exit back into the darkness, after obtaining some treats from our proffered basket.  Oh my.  Most impressive.

Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians addresses the concerns of the young Christian community regarding Christ’s return, while they worry that those who died before the Lord rose will not be among the believers who will be caught up and brought to eternal glory.  They are also preoccupied with the notion that Christ’s second coming is imminent, and thus are conflicted over how they should conduct their day-to-day lives, and plan ahead.  God’s got this, Paul reassures them.  No one is going to be left behind.  We should not worry, as others who do not believe.  When Jesus returns, it’s going to be big and dramatic.  Those who have died will rise first, then the living, and all will be made whole, in God’s way, and in God’s time.  Forever.  Therefore keep watch, prepare, encourage one another, anticipate, and have Hope.

So Hope may be the eager anticipation of something delightful, wrapped-up, Shepard’s style.  Or perhaps it’s nestled safely in Pandora’s box.  Or, as we journey through Advent, we will find Hope manifested miraculously in a manger in Bethlehem, wrapped up for us, a Gift from God.

Laura Sullivan