In Spanish, esperar and its cognates mean hope, wait, and expect. The English "desperate" comes from the same root, so yeah, de-spero equals without hope, or de-hoped. No more hope or wait or expect.
We often talk about God's passionate love for all creation, about God's charge for all of us to love the same way Jesus of Nazareth – the Christ of God – shows us. In the power of the life-bestowing Holy Spirit of Pentecost, we do what we can to enact justice for all. Most of us attempt to show others the kind of merciful consideration and forgiveness we want for ourselves. But more than love, more than justice, more than mercy, Christianity is about hope. We actually expect newness and we wait for resurrection because Easter has erased death. Easter has erased despair!
No longer desperate, we hope. We wait. We expect. We trust. Because we know!
Illustration notes: I designed my header "HOPE" candle during Advent 2019 for the cover of our Lessons & Carols worship folder. With the world over a year and a half into Covid-tide, Advent 2019 feels long ago and far away. I love how the image our FMF host Kate provided also is abloom with flowers. Planting, waiting, hoping, and harvesting is such an icon, such an action of non-desperation!
What a beautiful image. Thank you. Your naughbour on fiveminutefriday
ReplyDeleteBeautifully stated.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
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