Eleven year old Annie lived at the Municipal Girls’ Orphanage in New York City during the Great Depression. Forced to do hard labor during the day, and neglected during the night, it was certainly a “hard knock life” for Annie and her fellow orphans. What kept her going during her struggle? What allowed her to have any joy in the midst of such hard circumstances? Well . . . it was hope. Hope for a better tomorrow.
This is the setup for the 1977 Tony Award winning musical “Annie” that featured a song that articulated the virtue of hope, on which this story hinged. This song (“Tomorrow”) has become an anthem for many whose “today’s” are less than ideal. Listen to the words of this classic song:
The sun’ll come out tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow
There’ll be sun!
Just thinkin’ about Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow
‘Til there’s none!
When I’m stuck with a day that’s grey and lonely
I just stick out my chin and grin and say, “Oh!”
The sun’ll come out Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on ‘Til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow, tomorrow! I love ya tomorrow!
You’re always a day away!
In this musical, the hopes of the little orphan Annie are ultimately satisfied when a rich billionaire welcome her as his own, paying the price to welcome her to his family – with all the benefits therein.
I was thinking about this musical (and song) today as I prepare for this Sunday’s sermon at Wildwood Community Church. This week we will have part 2 of the “Tomorrow” series. This week we will be in Matthew 24:15-31 where we will see the promise of the return of Jesus to this earth one day — great news for those of us struggling in our “today’s”.
In light of His promised return, we have the hope of a truly better TOMORROW . . . at least in the ultimate sense. Before Jesus returns, He lets us know that this earth will face great difficulty, including rebellion by humanity and outpourings of the wrath of God. But at the end of this, Jesus will return in a dramatic way and ultimately set all things right. Far more than pinning our hopes on a billionaire, Jesus points the hope of our TOMORROW on the Son who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In light of this, we might be able to sing:
The SON will come back TOMORROW
Bet your bottom dollar that TOMORROW
We’ll see the SON
So ya gotta hang on ’Til TOMORROW come what may!
See you in three “tomorrows” as we talk more about this in our 9:45 and 11:00 services.