Faith without hope

I attended worship yesterday (well, it's yesterday as I right this) at First UMC in Elkins. Rev. Dallas Forren preached a sermon called "Trust and Obey;" the scriptural basis was the walk to Emmaus passage.

Dallas said that the two people walking were having a "pity party." He said that if he had been Jesus, he would have kept on walking, not stopped to walk with them.

The two companions were walking back to their old lives, and they were walking with a faith that had not hope. Imagine. A faith that had no hope.

Do we ever have a faith that has no hope? I think we do, even when we don't recognize it.

I'm with Dallas. I think if I were Jesus, and I saw us walking down the path, on our way back to our old lives (once again), I would be tempted to keep on walking. Cynicism is so hard to push through.

Instead, Jesus walks with them. He listens to them. He doesn't leave them alone in their pity party. Even in their hopelessness. Even when the don't believe he exists anymore, even less that he was the Messiah. Even in all of that, he walks with them. 

Even in their hopelessness, they are not alone.

Where are you experiencing hopelessness today? Know that Jesus is listening.