Hope in Hopeless Times

Hope in Hopeless Times

‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Matthew 24:36-44

Have things ever been this bad? 

In the latest National Church Life Survey, only 19% of Australians said they felt hopeful about the future of the world. Around four in ten (44%) reported being low in hope. The main reasons given were war and conflict (66%), followed by economic insecurity (52%), climate change (41%) and finally political instability (39%). It sounds very grim. But the reality is that, yes - things have often been this bad.

When I was young, complaining to my father about doing my paper round on early mornings in cold Melbourne winters for very little money, he said “Son, at not much older than you I was dodging Japanese bullets fighting in New Guinea for two shillings and sixpence a day. Don’t you complain!”

Our teaching today from Jesus is a reminder that things were very bad in his time too - and his call is to keep hope alive. As Tom Wright has shown, this text, which appears with other eschatological texts in Matthew 24 and Luke, is referring to the future destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in the 66-70 CE war with the Romans. As Luke puts it, “Where the corpses are, there the (Roman) eagles will gather.” 

It was the devastating destruction of the centre of Jewish national identity. As Luke writes “When you see the armies surrounding Jerusalem…” In our current times, we can see echoes of this in places like El Fashir in Darfur, where masses of civilians are being killed. I was in Darfur in 2004 and saw the horrific rape and pillage by the Janjaweed - Arabs killing African black people. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who have killed so many innocent civilians recently are the sons of those same Janjaweed, repeating the same violence again in Darfur.

Many at the time when Jesus said these words foresaw the fate of Jerusalem once Roman General Vespassian (who later became Emperor) had amassed his legions in Palestine. I think both Jesus and Paul foresaw this in some way, a generation before 66CE. Jesus knew all this was going to happen so in this text is vindicated.

The events we call Advent occurred when Israel was occupied and oppressed by an Empire. It was - and is - hope in hopeless times. We locate our hope in this assurance that God is with us: ”Unto us a child is given” - Immanuel, God with us. 

Jesus was crucified by the imperial occupiers but was vindicated and raised up by God. In the resurrection, a new creation begins - a new age, eternal life - which is the power of the age to come breaking into the present. And it inaugurates a new community, gathered from East and West, who follow the Way through all manner of catastrophic upheavals.

As a young Christian, I first encountered this text as lyrics to Larry Norman’s  classic ‘I Wish We Had All Been Ready.’ One man and woman taken, and the others left. Our hope was in the Parousia - the Second Coming of Christ - when Christians would escape from catastrophic end times. But Larry’s interpretation, I believe, was wrong. Jesus is speaking of one being taken by the Roman oppressors, and another left.

Matthew’s Great Commission does not repeat this hope only in the Parousia. Instead, Jesus says “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of this age”. He does not say until my Parousia. Love breaking through, even in the face of trial and tribulation, is the ongoing promise that begins in Advent - the promise of God’s presence with us. 

It is this presence that gives us hope. Not hope grounded in an apocalyptic intervention, but in the sure knowledge that God is with us through it all.

Rev Tim Costello is a respected Australian community leader and advocate on social justice, leadership, and ethics. He is Executive Director of Micah Australia, Chair of the Community Council for Australia, Director of Ethical Voice and holds several advisory and advocacy roles, including spokesperson for the Alliance for Gambling Reform. Previously CEO of World Vision Australia, former Mayor of St Kilda, and a Baptist minister, Tim studied law, education, and theology, bringing a unique blend of experience to his work.

This devotional is the fifth in a series of daily email devotionals for Advent 2025 reflecting on the realities of our broken world along with the unshakable hope that love still breaks through. It explores how God’s love disrupts, heals, and transforms—breaking through darkness, despair, and injustice to bring light, joy, and renewal.

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Common Grace is a diverse movement of individuals, churches and communities passionate about Jesus and justice. We have come together as those from different Christian traditions who stand in the continuity of the historic Christian faith, centred on the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ as witnessed to in holy scripture. This series highlights the diversity of followers of Jesus across these lands. These voices may not agree with one another (or with you), but they are each an expression of longing for the God whose love we see break through in Jesus.

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