hope

I'm a hopeful person. I think I'm realistic, but I see hope as a gift. Most days I think the world is a beautiful place and it's filled with fine folks. There's evil and there's suffering and injustice. There's certainly sin. There are lost people who never live in God's dream for them. But there's also places where we see the Kingdom breaking out.

Evidently a recent blog post hid a nerve with me because it's stayed with me for weeks now. http://emergingquaker.blogspot.com/2009/10/new-age-girls-and-boys-quakers-and.html

I've wondered am I one of those Pollyanna Quakers she's referring to?

My experience is different though. I'm much more likely to run into harsh cynicism. I more often meet folks with an attitude that blinds them to beauty. Folks that distrust all other people and motives. Folks that refuse to accept that people can act in other than self interest (and the worst greedy, uncaring self interest at that). The attitude I see more often assumes that the world is a hard place and that it's on a quick road to destruction. There's nothing much we can do and any action or faith is not only too little too late, but actually stupid and a form of denial. Folks with this attitude often have sense of superiority. " I'm clear sighted and see the world as it is. You are stupid and engaged in pointless action." Some of these folks have experienced hardships and violence that I haven't. But I've run into this attitude in lots of places. In our meetings, in our youth. In privileged folks who seem to use it as an excuse to ignore suffering and a reason to disdain working for change.

So it's a line to walk.

I've been reading a book this week Doing the Truth in Love by Michael Himes (it's quite good I recommend it) and today's reading included some passages that really spoke to me. He makes a distinction between hope and optimism. Optimism is "a pleasant state, nice if you have it, but if it evaporates, it is of no ethical significance." Hope is different. "Hope does not put a rosy glow on reality: hope deals with reality even when it has no particular glow whatever. Hope deals with what is there in the belief that God is at work even when what is there does not make us feel good or raise our spirits. " "It has everything to do with facing the fact that things may be an utter and total mess. . .with the conviction that God is at work in the mess." "Hope recognizes, You will be nailed to the cross but in some way, God will triumph even in that."

That's the resurrection message that I've lived with.