This holy season is a time for hope. But what is hope? Is it the desire and anticipation of getting a certain gift for Christmas? Is it expecting something different to happen? Is it simply not giving up?
Former Czech president Vaclav Havel has said that, “Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” I like that description of hope. To me, hope means that I care about something. The outcome matters to me. I feel deeply about that for which I hope. But hope also means that I don’t have ultimate control over the situation. With hope, there is a dose of the unknown, the mysterious, that which is beyond our direct control.
Here’s a trivial example. I am hoping that we have a safe flight to Boston on Christmas Day. But I am not a mechanic and don’t control the condition of the plane. I am not a pilot and don’t control the operation of the aircraft. And I certainly don’t control the weather. But we want to be together as a family for Christmas so we have bought the tickets, we will pack appropriately, follow the directions, and hope for the best.
What kinds of things do we hope for that are of more significant import? Peace on earth. An end to poverty and hunger. The eradication of prejudice and bigotry. Respect and dignity for each and every human being regardless of life circumstances. A good education for every young person. A stop to global climate change. Access to health care for all people. Getting along with others. A steady job. What kinds of things do you hope for?
If we hope for these things, then it makes sense that we do something about them whether or not we will succeed. Regardless of the outcome. That is the nature of hope. And hope is embedded in the Christmas stories that we have from the gospels. In the story in Luke, God comes to Mary telling her the plan for her to have a baby. God had hope that Mary would cooperate but did not control her response. The child of promise is born to poor people in a setting of extreme political and economic adversity. Who can control the outcome of that plan set in motion? In the gospel of Matthew, Joseph takes Mary and Jesus to Egypt to keep them safe, but that, too, could have turned out badly. We are told that the magi journey for months to find Jesus. Again, many things could have gone wrong. And then there is all the promise invested in the baby. The infant morality rate was high. There was a lot of violence in the culture. That Jesus would live to adulthood was not assured. Yes, the stories were created after the fact but they are imbued with hope.
The Christmas season invites us to live out of hope. To do what makes sense because it is right, because it is something we care about, because we believe in it. What are we doing as we prepare to celebrate Christmas that expresses our deeply felt yearnings, dreams, and hopes? To embody hope is not to be assured of the outcome, but to have conviction about the prospect.
You grew weary from your many wanderings,
but you did not say, “This is hopeless!”
You rekindled your desires
at the expense of your anxieties.
Isaiah 57:10
Prayer: We pray to be people of hope. We pray to care about things that truly matter. We pray to live in a way that brings God’s hopes and dreams to fruition. Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 