Romans 5:1-5
Not Disappointed
May 22, 2016
As a young boy growing up in Richmond, VA, I first learned about the game of Dominos at the Pine Grille. It was a
bar/meeting place at the corner of Pine and Cary Street in the heart of the city. It was only a few blocks from my rowhouse home. A group of men at the window table played it faithfully. Matching the white dots on the black blocks with
precision and strategy. I’ve learned since, and it is a popular passion lately on TV, that dominos can be lined up (in order
to be knocked down) in another type of game. And this game is sometimes mirrored in life. It could be called the
“Domino Effect”. Wendy recently heard a safety lecture at a nuclear plant that illustrated it. It went something like,
“You notice something that could lead to an accident, but you say or do nothing about it. The next person who comes
along slips and nearly falls, but still does not report it. Then a fall, and a mild injury, cured by an evening’s rest, but still it
is kept quiet. And then (the next domino), an injury that renders a worker disabled. All because people were too busy
or preoccupied. And at any time, they could have stopped the domino effect.” Maybe my next job will be as a safety
educator, what do you think?
Our words of Paul in his Romans letter today is a dominos section. Suffering produces/knocks over . . . . endurance.
Endurance produces/knocks over . . . . character. Character produces/knocks over . . . . hope. And hope does not
disappoint us. Paul has come to his conclusion with hope. His words are reminiscent of this advice in the book of James:
“Count it all joy when you meet various trials, for you know that the testimony of your faith produces steadfastness.
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete . . . .
The phrase “not disappoint us” is so prominent in our passage today. “Not disappointed” is so not where we are.
Disappointment invades our lives over and over. Have you ever heard or said as a parent, “I will always love you, but . . .
I am disappointed in your behavior”? There was one specific instance of disappointment that warmed my heart. When
she was in junior high school, our daughter, Rachel, announced one day she was going to begin training to run on the
school cross country team. She even trained with me a few times. Her dad was a runner, her brother had run some
races with me, maybe she thought I’d like it if she did too. (I did). School began and we were all busy. I noticed Rachel
was getting off the bus to come home. I asked Wendy why Rachel wasn’t at cross country practice. Wendy said that she
had decided not to run cross country because she didn’t like running. My response: “Oh?” I said “Why didn’t she say
anything to me about it?” Wendy’s reply: “She didn’t want to disappoint you.” I just had to smile. I later reassured
Rachel that it was OK if she didn’t like running; and that she never had to do an activity that she didn’t enjoy to please
us. To me, it was example of her respect for us. I was glad for that. Wouldn’t that attitude of never wanting to
disappoint your parents be an excellent deterrent to poor choices and hurtful actions? Another sermon perhaps . . . . By
the way, in the last year she has become a 3-4 times a week runner and just loves it. Go figger . . . .
In our epistle passage, suffering (the first domino) is disappointing. You lose the big game . . . . You forget your lines in
the play . . . . You get a pink slip at work . . . . You hear “the test results are positive” . . . . A loved one dies . . . . is hope
still being produced? Maybe it’s the dominos in-between that are the snag.
Endurance?
Who wants to bear with suffering,
to let its repeats and sheer weight
make us stronger . . . . to endure.
Character?
Is character something we learn?
Who wants to be a part of such
enduring suffering that eventually
leads to character?
Is there hope?
Different translations of these verses are instructive, I think. The New Revised Standard Version says “we boast in our
sufferings”, while the older Revised Standard Version says “we rejoice” in them. The King James Version (of 1611) is
very poetic. It reads: “we glory in our tribulations . . . . worketh patience, and patience, experience; and experience,
hope: and hope maketh not ashamed . . . .” Disappointment can be shaming, can’t it? Another little nuance is that the
New International Version translates endurance as perseverance. I’ve always liked the word persevere. It seems a little
more active. In all of these, different shades of meaning, but the end result is “and hope does not disappoint us”.
So is disappointment a part of life? Not necessarily, because to be disappointed is an emotional response, and since it
is emotional, it can be largely a choice. I hope you’re saying . . . . “Easy for you to say . . . .” But if we are faithful, we are
“not disappointed” because we have hope.
For the readers of this letter, their new faith gave meaning to life. It was a new life that taught compassion toward
others, freedom to all, and a validity of meaning in life. In their new faith the one God was not capricious or uncaring
(like an emperor or a Roman god of mythology), but a God of love through the loving actions of his son. For them the
society that encompassed and encircled them was bringing suffering and loss. Paul was instructing them as to what this
all meant. These, in the end, “produce hope, which does not disappoint us.”
If we look carefully, we can see the reason for this passage’s selection for Trinity Sunday in the church year. All these
are mentioned and listed.
- “Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”
- “Share the glory of God”
- and ends with “God’s love . . . . poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”
It’s a good passage to highlight the triune God. Even though it’s not perfect as the word “Father” is absent. But we
understand that it is God the Father.
Whenever I read the beginning of Romans 5, I think of Chip Studwell at Bridgewater College. Chip’s dorm room was
beside mine, and we became friends. Chip suffered from diabetic retinopathy, he was gradually losing his eyesight due
to his diabetic condition. He spent a lot of time on my elbow as I helped him navigate. I also helped him prepare his
insulin amounts for his daily injections. Another favorite activity of ours was foul shots at the gym. He had played
basketball in high school, and had played at Bridgewater before his loss of sight, so it was a big part of his life to at least
shoot a ball. He had his moments of frustration and anger, of loss and sadness. Wouldn’t any of us? But he would often
quote to my amazement “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces
hope, and hope does not disappoint us.” When he walked across the stage to receive his diploma there was not a dry
eye in the house. He became a walking/living illustration of faith. Since graduation, Chip has served as guidance
counselor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. I have no doubt of his continued life of inspiration.
We can clearly see the first century application of Paul’s words. And over the centuries since, many have found solace
with the personal application as well. Surely we can identify through the victories of folks like Chip or even ourselves.
To me, to all believers, there are also beautiful corporate metaphors for the people of God. For those who have
practiced a faith that “gloried in tribulation”.
They saw the rainbow. Noah and the few that were spared in God’s mercy:
That was God’s sign of hope to prove that we are a “not disappointed” people.
They followed the pillar of fire as they were rescued to a promised land:
That was God’s sign of hope to prove that we are a “not disappointed” people.
The lamp in the temple burned for eight days on one day’s oil supply at the rededication
of the temple by the Maccabees. (Today’s Hanakkuh celebration)
That was God’s sign of hope to prove that we are a “not disappointed” people.
The five thousand hungry for God’s word were fed from a few loaves and fishes. Jesus
teaching and caring for his learners.
That was God’s sign of hope to prove that we are a “not disappointed” people.
They ran to report that the stone was rolled away to release a risen Christ.
That was God’s sign of hope to prove that we are a “not disappointed” people.
As I thought about my words today, the theme of hope brought to mind an old hymn “Whispering Hope”. There’s
always a song, right? It was written in 1868, recorded by many artists over the years (my favorite version is by Jim
Reeves in the late 1950’s), but rarely found in any recent hymnals. The words tell us about hope.
Soft as the voice of an angel,
Breathing a lesson unheard,
Hope with a gentle persuasion
Whispers her comforting word . . . .
Whispering hope, oh how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart, in its sorrow rejoice.
And from our text:
“We rejoice in our sufferings,
knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character,
and character produces hope,
and hope does not disappoint us.”
Even if it sometimes whispers.
Rev. Stephen W. Broache