01-21-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 21 2024
In Psalm 37:9, we read: “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.” We talked a lot about hope during Advent, yet even with all the discussion, it remains a strange and often difficult concept to fully grasp. It is so much more than wishful thinking. President Obama said at a funeral years ago, “As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let’s use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and to remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together.” Some might describe those words as wishful thinking, but I believe there is a genuine possibility of their fulfillment. We must start with the notion that our hopes bind us together. Our deepest longings are probably not much different from those of our neighbor if we were capable of actually having a healthy conversation. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny. I can never be what I ought to be until you are allowed to be what you ought to be.” With the guiding strength of God, let us seek to bring this basic hope to every human being—something more than wishful thinking. 

I hope in you, O God, though that hope asks a great deal of me. Call me as a partner so that together—you, me, and all who are seeking a better tomorrow—we can all realize your great dream. Amen.