Hope is a Four Letter Word

Web Posted: September 14, 2004

Like many four letter words, the word “hope” can startle us. Consider for a moment the opposite of “hope”---hopelessness. When someone feels hopelessness or something seems hopeless, it seems there is no way out, no way for healing or forgiveness, for redemption, or for possibilities to occur. As human beings we sometimes need to be startled to recognize that there is hope and possibility where it seems there is none.

So what brings “hope” to our lives?

The prophet Jeremiah foretells: “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord…to give you a future and a hope. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all of your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 29: 11-14).

God’s plan for each of us is one of hope…of possibility. The Christian message abounds with messages of hope as Jesus heals, forgives, and shows mercy and compassion.

A few days ago some students were talking in a class about the idea of “vocation” and one of them proclaimed, “I don’t think a vocation is a destination…it is the journey.” Our vocation as Christians and believers is the journey of walking through life knowing that our God is a companion who brings hope to our experience and who has hopes for us.

Hope is something we can have…but it is also something we bring to others with our care and concern. This Mission Week is a reminder to all of us at Marquette that as a community we are able to bring hope not only to each other but to the Milwaukee community and far beyond when we use our gifts and talents in service of others.

Cedric Jennings, the young man whose story is told in A Hope in the Unseen (this year’s common text for all first-year students), recalls his teacher’s comment that, “The substance of faith is a hope in the unseen.” In the text, Cedric explains that he used to think about the “unseen” as a place…a place he “could not see up ahead” but a place he would reach eventually. He later realized he needed to accept who he was and see himself more clearly His teacher affirmed that insight saying, “The unseen may be a place in your heart.”

One of the gifts St. Ignatius offers us is a way to delve into “the deepest desires of our hearts” to know how God’s spirit is calling me to live my life, to have hope, to be more loving, and to bring hope to others. By learning to listen more clearly we will hear the words of hope in the fabric of our lives.

Theologians Evelyn and James Whitehead challenge us to see our Christian vocation as fulfilling “God’s dream” for our lives. “Christian maturing requires the interaction of dreams: our personal hopes in dialogue and in tension with the community’s dreams and hopes,” they write.

What do my hopes have to do with building the kingdom of God?