What is the Hill?

Amanda Gorman's poem from the Inauguration is called The Hill  We Climb. 

What is the hill we climb?

Her poem says:

If we're to live up to our own time,

then victory won't lie in the blade.

But in all the bridges we've made,

that is the promise to glade,

the hill we climb.

If only we dare.

The poem begins in the shade, and with a such for light.  It describes  the country in which we live.  In the cadence of the poem we hear about the losses, the catastrophes, and the lack of justice.  She talks about the challenges we face.

And she offers hope.  Hope that we can stop sowing division and stop staring at "what lies between us, but to what lies before us." 

The hill we climb is to leave a better country for our children than the one that we inherited and the one that we have created so far.  And to climb the hill, we must put down the violence with which we confront each other, and build bridges instead.

In that way, we will find the light that always exists - in that way, we will be brave enough to be the light.

Can we do that?

Hope in a Bird Sighting

Western Tanager
Pixabay.com

On Twitter the other day, I saw a tweet about a bird (haha) in New York City.  The person who posted (Warren Lieght) saw a crowd gathering on a sidewalk and was worried that something awful was happening.  As he approached, he noticed everyone was looking up into a tree.  In the tree was a Western Tanager.  As the name suggests, it is rare to see this bird in New York City- one hadn't been seen for 4 years in the city.  Leight wrote, "I felt great relief that all these folks had gathered - not to witness another 2020 loss - but rather to see a rare bird.  How lucky I was that a street full of New Yorkers reminded me that if you keep looking up, you might see something rare and wonderful."  It was so unusual, that a Manhattan Bird Alert had gone out on Twitter, which explained the crowd. 

What struck me though, as I read through the tweets, was how much joy and hope this bird had provided to those who saw it.  Other people replied with their rare bird stories, too. 

We should not forget that joy, delight, and hope can arrive when they are least expected (even in a pandemic year).  We have to be watching - we have to be willing to see and notice.  What small thing will bring you joy today?  What seemingly small act can you do to bring joy to someone else?

"Hope is a thing with feathers that perches on the soul."  (Emily Dickinson)  Read the whole, delightful poem, here.

Hopeful Language

We just helped our son move from Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Henderson, Nevada.  The three of us each drove a vehicle - my son drove his car, I drove our minivan, and my husband drove the moving truck.  To get there, the three of us drove 1800 miles, eating in our car and in hotel rooms (trying to be safe).  The scenery out the window was usually fantastic (on the way back, there were just a few too many cornfields). 

Much of the drive through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada was through areas that were dry.  Dry dry dry.  And hot.  HOT HOT HOT.  I don't care what they say about a dry heat, it was 110 degrees when we unloaded the moving truck, and all the dry heat meant was that you got dehydrated faster.

Anyway, Dry and hot. But along the way, there were small bridges that passed over what were called "Washes."  Such as Rattlesnake Wash.  These were what I would call dry creek beds.  There must be times during the year when water washes through them.  And there are parts of Henderson named Green Valley and Spring Valley.  Lush, even green, names.  There were "rivers" where there was barely any water.  Tiny things we would not call a river - we would call them a creek.

What struck me about all of this was that the language used to refer to them was hopeful.  Even though a wash had no sign of water, the language suggests that it would, eventually.  Even though Green Valley didn't look very Green, the name suggest that sometimes it is.  Calling a small creek a "river' suggest that sometimes it is a river, or it suggests that even though we know this flowing water is tiny, we are so grateful for it that we will call it a river.  It is that abundant to us.

How does our language reflect our hopefulness? 

For example, I am usually annoyed by someone calling the period of time we are in, our "new normal."  To me, that does not convey any hope at all.  To me, it says, "This is normal.  This is what we expect in the future."  I would rather call it the "current reality."  This is what it is now, but nothing in that phrase says that where we are now is where we expect to be in the future.  To me, "Current reality" connotes that there will be a future reality, and it may be different. 

What hopeful language can you use today?

Hope is not a Strategy

I am working on completing a Certificate in Nonprofit Executive Leadership from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.  The first course I completed (its a four course track) was in Strategic Planning. 

The professor repeated a phrase that many of the students appreciated: 'Hope is not a strategy."  It wasn't one of my favorite "take home" from the class, and it's hard for me to wrap my head around.  As I was writing this post, I found this article.   

One of my pet peeves is phrases that sound good, and as if they ought to be true, but under the light of examination, are full of holes.  At first, I thought this was one of those phrases.   As a Christian, hope isn't a wish.  Hope is an anchor. We have faith in the assurance of what we hope for.  

But then I read this from the page I linked above:

Hope will only get you so far. You cannot just wish away your (or the country's) problems. There needs to be a concentrated effort to reduce problems and to increase positive opportunities. Just sitting around thinking about how the current situation could be better is not going to change anything, you also have to act.

Hope is not a strategy.  Hope is the assurance we have that the goal we are trying to reach is possible.  Strategy is the description of the action to get there.

2020 has been quite a year so far.  So many have died from a novel virus.  And now, in the past few weeks, we are (once again) face to face with the inequality in our society.  We can hope things will change.  We can have faith change is possible.  But hope is not a strategy.  What will we do to be the change?

Anxiety into Hope

 When I watched this, what impressed me the most at first was that Nadia took the scripture that we might not think has much to do with us - who was Caesar and who was the ruler in Jerusalem at the time Jesus was born - and developed it in a way that helped me to see how the people who read it would experienced it, and how that experience can form my own thoughts today.

 When we read it on the surface, we might not notice that part of the scripture at all. But the idea that there are forces in the world against which we feel powerless is very relevant today. And the idea that Christ can overpower all of that is incredible hopeful.

 Where is anxiety in your life? Can you turn it into hope? I pray that it is so.

 Second lesson in this is that the Bible offers us so much more than what is on the surface. The literally true fact is who was ruling at time. The truth is so much more. We should remember that, and apply it to our study, shouldn't we?

Perspectives: Drive Home

Usually, my perspectives pictures are ones I really like, or that are unusual, or that make me think of something I hadn't thought of before.  Not today. 

Today's image is of my drive home on Tuesday of this week.  Unexpected snow. 

I post it because it reminds me that we are yearning for spring. I think that's why I like St. Patrick's Day so much.  It's green, and close to spring, and hopeful.

We yearn for spring. We ache for God. Both bringing life and hope and beauty.

May your St. Patrick's Day be filled with hope and life and beauty - and some green, too.

Perspectives: Hope

Posted on Last Sunday was The Day of Hope in West Virginia. It's an initiative of the WV Council of Churches to celebrate and support a drug free lifestyle.

Hope can be a difficult concept to grasp when you are addicted to drugs, or when a family member is addicted. How can you find hope when the addiction keeps clawing, pulling you or your loved one back into the lifestyle that defeats life? How can you find hope when addiction is the wall that stands between the addict and hope? 

One of the songs we sang in worship on Sunday had the title "Christ has Broken Down the Wall."

Christ has broken down the wall, Christ has broken down the wall.

Let us join our hearts as one, Christ has broken down the wall.

What is impossible is possible for God. That is the hope.

Faith without hope

I attended worship yesterday (well, it's yesterday as I right this) at First UMC in Elkins. Rev. Dallas Forren preached a sermon called "Trust and Obey;" the scriptural basis was the walk to Emmaus passage.

Dallas said that the two people walking were having a "pity party." He said that if he had been Jesus, he would have kept on walking, not stopped to walk with them.

The two companions were walking back to their old lives, and they were walking with a faith that had not hope. Imagine. A faith that had no hope.

Do we ever have a faith that has no hope? I think we do, even when we don't recognize it.

I'm with Dallas. I think if I were Jesus, and I saw us walking down the path, on our way back to our old lives (once again), I would be tempted to keep on walking. Cynicism is so hard to push through.

Instead, Jesus walks with them. He listens to them. He doesn't leave them alone in their pity party. Even in their hopelessness. Even when the don't believe he exists anymore, even less that he was the Messiah. Even in all of that, he walks with them. 

Even in their hopelessness, they are not alone.

Where are you experiencing hopelessness today? Know that Jesus is listening.

Become the Happy Ending

As the Western District Lay Leader, I gave the devotional at a recent workshop.  Here it is:

As I thought about this devotional this morning, the word Hope kept moving through my mind - so much so that I became convinced that Hope was what I needed to talk about this morning.

So - and this isn't how one should write a devotional - but I went to Bible Gateway online, and searched for the word hope in scripture.  And I found 202 references to the word hope.  That didn't really amaze me, but what did amaze me was that 15 of those references were in the book of Job.  If you think about Job, I imagine he felt hopeless.  

If you think about it, many of the people around us feel hopeless.  Think about it for a moment. Who around you might feel without hope?

• The person addicted to drugs - who feels hopeless to recover?
• The parent who watches a child suffer - and feels hopeless to stop the pain?
• The friend who watches someone slowly die from Alzheimers?

Have you felt hopeless?

Have you ever attended a church meeting and left feeling hopeless? 

But, you are here today, and you come with hope. You come here to learn more about the job you have been called to do - for the work you are about to set about doing is work that is in response to a call from God for you to use your talents and gifts for the work of God's kingdom.

In Acts, Chapter 2, verses 43-47, Luke writes, "Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved."

This is church.  This is what church is about.  The Guideline page that started me thinking about hope uses the word HOPE to describe the church. 

H - hospitality - We offering welcome and inclusion to those who do not know God.  We go into the world in outreach and mission, offering hope through our words and our deeds.

O - Offer Christ - we offer Christ by providing opportunities for people to commit their lives to God - think baptism and communion.

P - purpose - We nurture people in faith, demonstrating to them that they have a God-given purpose in the world - to live out their belief in acts of piety and mercy. - being living demonstrations of grace

E - engagement - We send out grace-filled believers who are putting their faith in action.

We as a church are a circle, offering hope to the world. You can hear echos of that in the passage from Acts.

I heard it said once that we as the church, through what we say and what we do, become the happy ending.  I hope when you leave here you feel more empowered, equipped and excited to be the hope for the world so that the church can become the happy ending.

Children of Hope

Christians are not waiting for the end of the world but for the new world of God's kingdom on earth. We are not the children of despair; that is, of darkness; we are the children of hope, that is, of light. As such we have the assignment to encourage one another in living faithful, holy lives as we await Christ's return (J. Ellsworth Kalas, Adult Bible Studies, Spring 2013)

How often do you hear, or say, or think, "What is the world coming to?" I don't have to point out to you the despair that is all around us. We all see it. We see drug addiction, hate crimes, terrorism, dishonesty, selfishness, pain and suffering. We see it, and we suffer from it, and we fear it.

But we are not children of despair.

What does it mean to be children of hope? How do we bring light to the world around us?

I think the way to start, when we are surrounded by depair, is to open our eyes to the light that others are shining around us. Look and see the person who is helping in flood recovery. Notice the stranger who offers a hand to the person who is downtrodden, and lifts her up. Pay attention to the friends who are smiling, who offer encouragement, who share the stories of the light. Listen for the actions of God amid the despair, because you can be certain God is there.

And then what? Help. Serve. Encourage. Shine.

Hope

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

What is hope? If in suffering we find God, and from God we are given the grace of the ability to endure, and from endurance, our character is changed, and from that, we find hope - what is hope?

Hope is the certainty of the presence of God. Hope isn't a wish - it's not like, "I hope it doesn't rain." Hope is another word whose meaning has changed because of Christ. We have hope because "God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."  Christian hope is the certainty that God is with us, present and active in the world. And it is the certainty that God loves us. This is hope, and it comes as a gift from God.

Don't hear me wrong. No where in these four posts have I said that God brings us - causes our - suffering so that we will develop hope. I don't believe that; in fact, I think this passage says that isn't true. What is true is that we will all face suffering. What is true is that God will not allow us to suffer alone. God gives us the grace of God's presence, strength and hope.

That's really good news.

Hope, Part 2

Yesterday, I talked about hope.  Henri Nouwen says that the opposite of hope is fatalism.  He says that fatalism is the attitude that makes us live as passive victims of exterior circumstances beyond our control.  If you've been in a church meeting lately, then you might have experienced fatalism.  How do we avoid that?  How do we grasp faith and hope instead of fatalism.

I think we have to remember from where our hope comes.  Our hope comes from Christ.  God is in our world, and in our lives, and in our churches.  Our job is to recognize and follow God.

I think we forget..  I think we habitually move through life blind to the presence and hope of God.

And I think as we work in ministry, as we go to Church meetings, as we walk through our days, we need to remember that God is with us, and to point out to others that God is there.  That God is involved.  In this is our hope.  We are loved. God gives us grace enough to love each other.   And we are a church that can make a difference in the world.  We have to make sure that we don't forget it.

Hope, Part 1

Three stories to talk about hope:

First story - Have you ever watched the television show Castle? The main character's name is Richard Castle.  He grew up as the son of a single mom; they didn't have much money, but they got by.  He grew up to be a rich author who follows a homocide detective around for story inspiration.  During one episode, he's trying to explain to her why he loves Christmas - why it is so important to him.  As he was growing up, even though he and his mother didn't have much money, she made each Christmas special.  She is an actress, and each Christmas, she put on a production of the Nutcracker, right in their cramped apartment. It gave him hope that something better would be coming.

Second story - The President of the Foundation where I work has a habit of responding to the question, "How are you?" with "Better."  For someone who works with him and hears this often, it can get just a little annoying.  The usual response from the unsuspecting questioner is a concerned, "Oh, were you sick?"  No, I'm just better.  A couple of Sundays ago, our associate pastor used this as an example of what sanctification is.  For me, it turned something that is usually a little annoying to a light of hope.  I'm being sanctified.  I'm better than yesterday.

Third story - Last Sunday was the Sunday each year when we remember our baptism.  For me, it was an especially moving morning of worship.  Water - symbolized by fabric - flowed from the altar to surround a urn that was a fountain.  Moving, living water.  People brought bottles of water and placed them around the altar as a response to a chemical leak into the water supply in the Kanawha Valley.  During worship we talked about how we can be a more welcoming congregation - to everyone.  We sang about wading into the water, and how God will trouble the water.  It was a morning of hope.

So, what is hope, and why do we have hope?  Hope is not wishful thinking - hope is not, "I hope we have ice cream for dessert.  Hope is certainty.  Hope, I think, comes from our faith that Christ is with us.

Ephesians 4:1-6  I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

For someone like the character in Castle, there is hope in the knowledge that he is loved so much that his mother would make Christmas a special time in their lives.  There is hope in the idea that God loves us so much that God doesn't give up on us.  Each day God works in us so that we are better.  There is hope in the idea that a group of people can be a church - not just a gathering of people, but a body of Christ, making a difference in the world.

Watch Night

Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis

 This morning I was reading a devotional from the book Lighten the Darkness: An Advent Journey through Hope.  In it, the author, Dena Douglas Hobbs, was discussing her memories and experiences with Watch Night worship services.  Imagine for a moment a worship service on New Year's Eve filled with prayer, confession and celebration of the changing of the year.  I think it would be a great way to enter the new year, releasing the burdens of the previous year - the sins, regrets and worries of one year - so as to enter the next year free and ready for the coming of Christ.
A friend on Facebook posted a graphic that says, "I can't believe it's been a year since I didn't become a better person."  The graphic was meant as a joke, but I think it is a joke with some teeth.  We feel that way - we are weighed down with the guilt of regrets and sins, and it doesn't leave much room for hope.

Watch night is the time when we watch for Christ to enter our lives.  Hobbs talked about a tradition in an AME church.  As the people are praying and the year is changing, the pastor yells, "Watch!  Waaaatch!"  I think to experience that might be overly frightening for me, but there is truth in it.  Watch.  Jesus is coming into your life, into your new year, if you will allow it.  Watch, the next year is full of hope and grace, if you will make room for it.  Watch!

Watch!  Christ is coming.  Christ is here, and come every day.

Watch!  And have a grace-filled, hopeful, new year.

Hope vs Optimism

I was reading today in preparation for a devotional in our office meeting. Henri Nouwen says that many people confuse joy with optimism. They are very different. Optimism is the confidence that tomorrow is going to be better than today. Contrast that with hope. Hope results from the faith that God will be with us, no matter what happens tomorrow.

Too often, I think, we assume that hope is optimism. We place our hope in the idea that tomorrow will be better. That's not always the case. Sometimes tomorrow is no better, or is even worse. Tomorrow may bring healing and good news, or it may not. It may bring death and crisis. I enjoy being optimistic, but I place my hope in God.

Faith in God results in real hope. Hope that says that God is present -- even if the worst happens.

A pair of friends of ours at church lost their adult daughter a few years ago to cancer. Their daughter told them that not matter what happened -- death or healing -- that it would be OK. That's hope. That's confidence in God, not in a happy ending.

Reframing hope

I was looking through blogs this evening, and found the phrase, "Reframing hope."

What does that say to you? What does it mean to reframe hope?

Sleepy, but I'lll give it some thought,a nd get back tomorrow.

Living Inside Hope

I found a reference to the following quote today on RevGalBlogPals:

The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof." ~Barbara Kingsolver

What does it mean to live inside your hope?

What is our hope? Our hope is in Christ. Our hope -- our certainty -- is in Christ. How often to I stand aside, admiring my hope from a distance?

What would it mean in my life if I lived inside my hope, under its very roof?

Hope is their middle names

I mentioned yesterday about the Foundation providing administrative assistance for the Council of Churches' fund for the families of the miners who were killed in the mine last week. We've been processing the checks that come in so that they can be deposited.

I've been a witness to what can be done in the name of Christ for people we don't even know. A woman whose middle name is Hope (literally) gave a substantial donation to the fund. Her middle name is Hope.

People are writing short prayers on their envelopes -- God bless the miners' families. I get the feeling that people are thinking, "I can't really do anything to make this better, but I can do this, so I will."

Really, every donor's middle name is Hope.

A Place to Live

This arrived in my email today. I've read it before; I've co-taught a class based on the book. Even so, it struck me today as a great passage:

Father Damien was a priest who became famous for his willingness to serve lepers. He moved to Kalawao, a village on the island of Molokai in Hawaii that had been quarantined to serve as a leper colony. For sixteen years he live in their midst. He learned to speak their language. He bandaged their wounds, embraced the bodies no one else would touch, preached to hearts that would otherwise have been left alone. He organized schools, bands, and choirs. He built homes so that the lepers could have shelter. He build two thousand coffins by hand so that when they died, they could be buried with dignity. Slowly, it was said, Kalawao became a place to live rather than a place to die, for Father Damien offered hope.

--John Ortberg, God is Closer Than You Think

In a world where we see death, violence, destruction, illness and sadness, the coming of Christ has transformed it as a place of hope. Our world is no longer a place to die; it is a place to live.

Because of Christmas, we do not move from day to day in a world in which we are dying. We move day to day in a world where we live -- living until we live with God.

The world is changed. We are changed. Alleluia.

Bringin Hope

I had a post planned for this evening, but my evening didn't go as planned (to say the least), and I just got home. So let's try this instead -- another RevGalBlogPal Friday Five.

Name 5 things that give you hope.

1. The Bible and my faith -- this is entirely obvious, but the purest hope comes from this source, in every aspect of life.
2. Those moments when God's presence breaks into the world, and you know that He is active in the world. You know those moments, right?
3. Those perfect days, when the temperature is about 72 and the sky is completely blue. Spring is coming, and you know it on days like that.
4. Having a real conversation with my son gives me hope that one day he won't be a teenager any more, and he will be capable to real conversaton on a regular basis.
5. Those moments when you can see the adult hiding inside the child -- in a smile, a look, whatever. These moment give hope that one day the work of raising a child will create a wonderful adult. The glimpses are small, but they do happen.