"Invisible Hope" - Romans 8:22-27 - June 11, 2000

In the book, Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul, there is a story about Robert Miller, who lived in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Miller was a young boy who liked to play Superman. He would dress up as Clark Kent, disappear into a nearby phone booth and announce that he was Superman.

One day he stepped from the phone booth and as he cried out that Superman was about to take on an impossible task, some neighborhood kids replied, "Hey, Superman, when are you going to learn to ride a bike?" They taunted him and said, "The man of steel still uses training wheels."

Miller realized that once again he would be left behind as his friends rode off on their bicycles. He enlisted his Dad for help and after ten mishaps, he finally succeeded. He was riding, free of training wheels for the first time. But, soon the words, "You are going to fall" began to creep in and get louder and louder until sure enough, he took another spill.

His father replied, "You almost had it, until you listened to fear and you fell." Frustrated by the experience, Miller said, "I quit, I don’t want to learn to ride." The caped crusader had given up. As the days passed he would glance at his bicycle parked by the garage.

One afternoon he got the notion that he could do it. He was going to ride that bike. As he grasped the handlebars, fear came over him again. He thought, "maybe tomorrow." But, then all of the sudden he heard the laughter of his friends riding their bikes through the neighborhood. If they could do it, so could he. He gripped the handlebars with renewed determination and pushed off. He took a deep breath and began to pedal. He started out the driveway with his Superman cape flapping in the breeze. As his father stepped out the door he said, "Look dad, I’m riding." Superman had beaten an enemy called fear.

This story is not unique. It is one that has been repeated millions of times. For anyone who has overcome adversity and acquired the courage to do something like ride a bicycle know it required several basic lessons. The first is that fear holds us back. The second is that success is never achieved without falling down a few times along the way. And the third lesson is the most profound. Something within us gives us the energy to go forward that cannot be explained.

I believe that the motivational power which gives us the courage and determination to rise above our fears is none other than the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our invisible hope. The Spirit of God intercedes on our behalf and thrusts us forward.

This is what Pentecost is all about. An event when the disciples were trying to describe this motivational presence of God which moved them from despair to hope, an event that empowered the church to grow and expand the faith. At Pentecost the hearts and lives of the disciples were opened wide for the Spirit of God to enter. Unable to communicate before they now had the ability to speak with complete strangers. A new language emerged, a language which gave them courage and determination to move forward. You might say it was the day the Church learned to ride a bicycle.

Our world is full of people who have never learned to ride a bicycle. Unfortunately it is filled with people who never try anything that will enhance their lives because of fear. When fear grips us it leads to frustration and ultimately hopelessness. People are afraid of falling, making a mistake, or experiencing pain and suffering.

Notice that the scripture reads, "the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now." In other words, the early Church did not reach the point of being faithful without persecution and suffering. Stumbling and falling are a reality of life. And when we quit because the pain is too unbearable or the suffering too unimaginable, we have given in to fear.

To be the Church in the new millennium is not an easy ride. People have too many options. Their busy lives forces them to use "worship time" for leisure and attending to personal needs. Satisfaction happens only through instant gratification. Patience has become a lost virtue. More and more of one’s personal income is spent on drugs that ease the pain and medicine and insurance that protects us from being set back by a crisis or accident. And people are led to believe that the path to personal success is as simple as following some set of instructions.

If you have ever assembled a bicycle on Christmas Eve or a gas grill on Memorial Day Weekend, you know that it doesn’t happen without a few bruised knuckles and a lot of aggravation. Success is never achieved without some grit, groaning and sweat.

I recently read an article about Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s, in the Ohio magazine. He too learned to ride a bicycle at an early age. Only for Thomas it was a matter of survival. He delivered groceries to earn money while living in Knoxville, Tennessee. Thomas had to struggle early in life. He was adapted at the age of 6 weeks and his adapted mother died when he was only 5. Thomas and his father moved from state to state, looking for work. In Ft. Wayne he began working at the Hobby House Restaurant which led to his interest in the fast-food business. He later moved to Columbus, Ohio where he became the regional manager of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Then in 1969 he founded Wendy’s. The first store opened in November of that year on Broad Street. Now there are over 5,500 stores.

Thomas attributes much of his drive and endurance to his adaptive grandmother, Sinclair. She was a devout Christian woman who had a profound influence on Thomas’s life. Thomas believes that "within the laws of God and man, anything is possible." He had plenty of struggles to overcome from the minute he was born. His wife, Loraine, says "He is kind to everyone, no matter if he’s known you for years or if you’re someone he just met." Thomas understands the importance of communication with others. I believe that his success and especially his compassion for people has been inspired by the Spirit of God. He knows how to speak the langueag of love.

Today’s scripture gives us a set of valuable lessons that help us to deal with the hurdles of life that stand in our way. Fear is overcome with hope, invisible hope, for if seen it would not be hope. All of us will have to struggle at times. To deny that is to deny what it means to be a human being. And when we have the courage to pursue our dreams, even when we can’t see the outcome, we can rely on the Holy Spirit to intervene and sustain us with invisible energy.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio