Hope. (October 2023)

Dear Friends

I’ve been thinking about hope recently; what it is and how it is sustained. Hope is a deep vein coursing its way through the Body of Christ. It is a fundamental ingredient for Christian faith.

We are met by hope as we read the Bible. Think of the psalmist’s assurance: “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.” (39: 7). There’s Paul’s way of speaking about Christ as he launches into one of his letters: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope.” (1 Timothy 1: 1). We learn that having hope is the work and blessing of the Holy Spirit: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15: 13). In the ancient wisdom of the book of Proverbs: “The hope of the righteous ends in gladness, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.” (10: 28). Paul’s letter to the Colossians speaks of the mystery at the heart of our faith: “…which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (1: 27b).

Hope is in the hymns we sing. “All my hope on God is founded; he doth still my trust renew.” (Rejoice and Sing 586). As we approach Christmas, we might find ourselves singing: “Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in thee. Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art;” (R&S 138). Looking back at Easter, we might share: “Hope in the Lord whose timeless love gives laughter where we wept; the Father, who at every point his word has given and kept.” (R&S 88). And, if we find ourselves singing ‘Amazing Grace,’ we find ourselves in hope: “The Lord has promised good to me, his word my hope secures; he will my shield and portion be as long as life endures;” (R&S 92).

We could go on. There might be many ways to weave these and other mentions of hope together; to compare and contrast them. What I’ve been pondering is the way in which hope is simultaneously rooted in what we know and projects us towards what we have not yet experienced. The hope of faith needs deep roots.

We find these roots in the words of faith in song and Bible used and reused across generations. But we need deeper roots than just what other people say. We need faith to be rooted within our own experience as well. If I am to trust that God is real, that God loves me, that Christ died to save me from my sins, that the Holy Spirit is at work in me, then I need to have some feeling for that for myself; some ways in which it has ceased to be theory. And Christian hope comes alive as I see it in the lives of those around me. It is as I share with you and see some of the ways in which you keep alive your faith in spite, often, of the most daunting challenges, that my own hope is inspired. There is a strongly shared sense to Christian hope.

But hope also throws me into the future. Hope is that conviction at work in us that sees possibility where currently none seems apparent. Hope trusts that God is at work even if there are things that seem to suggest otherwise. Hope tells us that change is possible and that something good can come even out of despair. This hope is deeply wedded to all that we know of God. God is the one who gives life and constantly works to shape life towards flourishing and fullness. The cross and empty tomb speak of God’s willingness to enter in to all that destroys hope and to redeem and transform all people and all things. The Church is to be a sign and a foretaste, imperfect yet real, of God’s coming kingdom in which all will be made new.

To have hope is a big thing. To hold on to hope in the face of pain and suffering is a very big thing. But hope is at the heart of the journey we are on together. It is a guiding light for our path, revealing that God is at work and that things can be well.

May you be touched by hope today.

Yours in Christ,

Neil