Dear Friends in Christ,

"Hope". What a concept! What a gift! What a scarce resource, at times! We've been working through the book of Jeremiah-not exactly a comforting book-and yet in a time of national crisis, judgement, and despair-God, through Jeremiah, issues a word of hope! One of the more treasured verses of Jeremiah reads: "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." (29:11)

In these times we live in, we have seen hopes dashed and hopes lifted up. Covid dashed many hopes. Vaccines are helping supply hope. We've been through some very rough days and events as a nation. Yet some still dare to hope in this experiment known as 'democracy', and in the possibility of 'liberty and justice for all!'

Where does our hope come from? Is it from optimistic thinkers and dreamers? They might help, but our hope is rooted in God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Our source of hope is Christ, whose love conquers sin and conquers death. Our hope is found in the Good News that God isn't finished with any of us or this world just yet. God is making all things new!

I tend to discourage people from having unrealistic hopes, like of winning the lottery, or that left and right, black and white will have some beautiful "kumbaya" moment, if we all just pray enough. But hope is what followers of Jesus are to 'major' in. This is Christ's gift to us and one of our gifts to the world! And hope is what might keep us praying and imaging and dreaming of a world where all can dwell securely; where all children are clothed and fed and loved; where creation does not cry in pain; where despair and evil do not win the day.

Here's one of St. Paul's great insights on hope: Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Romans 5)

As long as God is still God; as long as God still loves us and this world; then we have reason to be filled with hope, and we are sent to be agents of hope! -Pastor Paul