Have you noticed that there are a lot of theories and opinions about what is best for our lives? So much of the critique that we hear typically acts as the preface for the sales pitch that we are about to endure, ignore, or buy. All we want is for things to get better for us, or families, and our neighbors globally. If there is a plan that can really help we wish people would stop trying to sell it, reveal it in phases, or force it upon us. Truth is an oft used word, but in many ways it is lost its brilliant lustre. Sadly, truth and institutions are being viewed as icons of ages past that are quickly being covered by the dirt excavated for the high-speed railway of progress.
We are a tired generation.
We are disillusioned people.
We are a desperate collective.
We are told that institutions are outdated and pointless all while we grow weary of carrying the cross of revolution. That is the dark secret of revolution by the way, it is never ends. Once we gain the victory over the established rule we find that we must implement institutional solutions to ensure that these changes are preserved which results in a new generation of revolutionaries who find our solutions incomplete or oppressive. It makes wonder if there are solutions for our dilemna in policies, economies, and careers or is there something else.
Justice should not be a word that is ever said in vain. Healing must be attainable today. Peace cannot be for the optimists alone.
Hope.
That is what we want for our today and tomorrow.
Hope.
Not obtuse musings of theologians or empty promises of politicians.
Hope.
Not to be feared. Not to be escaped.
What if we have had the answer the whole time? What if that pain inside is not merely a result of the time when we were violated or from the times we broke ourselves? What if that…..that feeling…..is something more than seen, more than visible in the life we see around us?
Hope.
I believe.
Hope.
I believe that Jesus is that which our bones and blood have been craving.
Jesus!?!
Yes.
I like Jesus as much as the next person. He said some good stuff about caring for the poor….
Yes, Jesus, but not like that.
Like what?
Making him a just another figure in history, like the ancients of eternal wisdom.
Jesus is sent to love and be loved by us.
Loved?
Yes. Loved and that is Hope.
I can’t give you or him that, because he is not here.
Except he is here.
Waiting.
Don’t worry about not sensing it. Just know that when you are ready to stop fighting against your soul.
Ready to step into the peace that beacons your heart.
He is closer than you know.
Rev. Shawn J. Smith 