The Lure of Hope and Whisper of Joy

With real-world events getting more and more terrifying and dystopian, I am drawn to the lure of hope and wistful for a sense of joy. With mounting human injustice, my first response is to remember the 1970s song by Jim Strathdee.1 It says, “What we do while we wait depends on what we’re waiting for.”…

Read More

Grieve, Hope, Respond

St. Paul once wrote that we grieve, but not as those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). I saw that personally once, when I attended the funeral of a man who was the patriarch of his Hmong clan, some of whom were members of the congregation I served. The family had decided to have…

Read More

Kernels of Hope

Referring to the current world scene, one magazine writer used the phrase “rise in hate, kernels of hope.” I don’t deny the rise-in-hate part: it’s everywhere! But I prefer to point to the kernels of hope wherever I see them, particularly because some kernels become seeds that sprout and grow as others pick up the…

Read More