Hope is an exercise in imagination: to believe the world can be better than it is. Let us hope for and work for what is worthy: a world of peace.
Here’s a transcript:
I’m thinking about the second chapter of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 2:1-5). That’s his vision of the mountain of Jerusalem, Mount Zion, becoming the focus for the peoples of the world, streaming into its gates to learn the ways of God. In those days, Isaiah imagined, then swords would be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning books because it would be the day of peace.
There are times in life, in history, in communities, in societies when the word “hope” gets tossed about: How do I find hope? How do I maintain hope? In the face of what may be really severe conditions, somebody afflicted by a major storm or an earthquake: where do they find hope? Someone in the midst of war: where do they find hope? Someone in the midst of injustice: where do they find hope?
Ind I wish that I had a way to tell you how to feel hopeful. The problem is that I can’t tell you how to feel anything. The hope that I can say something about is a hope that we choose. It is an exercise in imagination, of looking at what is and deciding that it does not need to be that way. It can be different, it should be different, and with work and the grace of God it will be different.
I can still feel pretty pessimistic about it all, but I choose to believe that the evils that are will fail, and the good which is not yet will come to be.
So there’s that decision to hope. There’s also the choice of what to hope for. I stand with Isaiah: a vision of peace, a vision of people ordering themselves into a supportive society. There are plenty of people in the world who hope for very different things. They might hope for their personal enrichment. They might hope to dominate others. They might hope that their nation invades and overthrows others. To my mind these are not worthy hopes.
These are not the hopes of Isaiah. They’re not the hopes of Jesus. I’d say they are not the hopes — the proper hopes — of the followers of Jesus.
Choose to hope. Choose to hope for blessed communities. Choose to hope for peace.
That’s what I’m thinking. I’m curious to hear what you’re thinking. Leave me your thoughts in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.
