Wednesday, May 7, 2014
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It was a dark cloud over the last Super Bowl Sunday, because the news had rocked Hollywood. It rocked Broadway, and then countless everyday folks who wouldn't forget the compelling characters that this actor had created on the screen. Academy Award-winning actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman, found dead in his apartment of a drug overdose at the age of 46.
Social media was filled with grieving reactions of a lot of stars. Words like "devastated" and "heartbroken" showed up over and over. I mean, after all, Hoffman was considered one of the most gifted, most admired actors in show business. And the sadness was compounded by the many reminders that he was so talented, so young, and the circumstances of his death so wrenchingly tragic.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hope in the Darkest Hour."
The autopsy revealed the exact cause of death. But there is no autopsy for a human soul to find out what went wrong there. Yes, Philip Seymour Hoffman had admitted his addictions. Those closest to him said he had beaten those problems in rehab. On that Sunday, drugs allegedly killed him.
Comedian and actor, Jim Carrey - who is no stranger to success - went beyond simple condolences in his response to Seymour's death. He said, "Dear Philip, a beautiful, beautiful soul. For the most sensitive among us the noise can be too much." I guess you don't have to be a star to know what he's talking about. So many people live in quiet desperation, closer to the edge than anybody knows.
Actor Val Kilmer suggested in his reaction that "addiction comes from trying to escape the pain of living. We all struggle with this." The escapes are many: drugs or alcohol for some, an affair for others, pornography for still others, or just running into a relentless schedule or a consuming workload.
But that "pain of living" afflicts virtually all of us humans. Sadly, escape is never an answer. Escape always seems to ultimately run into a wall. And wherever you go, you take you with you. But Philip Seymour Hoffman's own words are important to hear in the midst of that shock and mourning that followed his death. He told the New York Times: "I try to live my life in such a way that I don't have profound regrets. That's probably why I work too much. I don't want to feel like I missed something important."
Look how many people slip away from this life, knowing that they have missed something important, and never knowing what it was. Like a source of untouchable peace that would sustain me when that "noise" becomes "too much." Or a source of strength that enables me to overcome "that pain of living." Rather than escaping into something that solves nothing and just creates more pain. Or a hope so strong that not even the darkest of days can erase it.
Where can I find the power to conquer my inner darkness when there's no scriptwriter who's going to write a happy ending? I'm not going to find it in me. It's not going to be in my greatest achievements or my personal strength; even my deepest relationships. Life is too hard, my resources too finite to find ultimate answers by looking in myself. Or around at the people close to me.
Now, our word for today from the Word of God, where the answer really is, the hope is, Ephesians 2, beginning with verse 12 that describes people being without hope and without God in the world. If I do not have a personal relationship with the God I was made by and made for, I am without hope. But then it says, "In Christ Jesus, you who were once far away..." We've got a wall between us and God. "...you've been brought near through the blood of Christ." Jesus died to tear down that wall.
And then it says, "He Himself is our peace." Peace is not a pill. Peace is not an escape. Peace is a person. His name is Jesus. And the question I ask you today, "In the midst of the storm in your life, is do you know Him? Do you belong to Him?" If there's never been a day when you've begun a relationship with Him, make this that day.
You say, "I need to know how." Would you go to our website and let me help you know how? It's ANewStory.com. The darkness doesn't have to win. Not with this light that nothing can extinguish.