Advent: Hope

Hope. 

4 letters do not seem like they are large enough to encompass such a powerful word, but perhaps that is part of the beauty of it. Perhaps 4 letters are just enough to bring life to an action and feeling that can have such a profound impact on our state - and the world’s state - of being. 

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Last year at this time, I was much more hope-filled than I am this year. I was staring down a world of opportunities in virtually every area of my life and was beyond optimistic for the future. Throughout 2020, most of the things that I was hopeful about a year ago have faded away or been drastically altered - my hope is much different now than it was then, and that’s okay. Hope is flicker of light, a flame that waxes and wanes, it comes and goes in its intensity, as do most things in our lives. 

During Advent - in the first week of our liturgical new year - we are invited to light the candle of hope - to revisit, reignite, and reflect on the hope we have had, the hope do have, and the hope we will have. We are invited not only to consider our hope, but the hopes of the Church and the world - the hopes of the saints who have come before us and those that will come after us. We are invited to reflect on the hopes that have been brought to fruition - the ones that have become reality - and the ones we have lost. In this moment, we are invited to sit in the ouroboros of time and of our hope and allow the tension to center us in this season of preparation. 

And so, as I reflect on the past, the present, and the future of hope, I treasure that which I have seen come to pass and that which will come to pass, I value the hopes of humanity as we collectively labor to bring goodness and justice for all people into the world, and I ponder it all in my heart - the good and the bad - so that I may remain faithful to the work I have been called to. 

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The act of hoping is radical. It is the thing which carries us to action. It is the thing that pushes us to do more. It is why we took to the streets demanding justice in 2020. It is why we wore our masks. It is why we voted. Because we allowed our hope for something better than our present to carry us forward. Hope is the story of humanity, and it is a story we must continue to write.