Weekly Reflection - 10/18/2022

Weekly Reflection - Hope - Georgia Burke Lu

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Lately I’ve been thinking about hope, which seems in awfully short supply these days. Natural disasters everywhere, toxic politics threatening democracy, random slaughter of innocent children and now even the threat of nuclear Armageddon, a nightmare I thought we had safely locked in a box sometime in the 60’s. Some days it’s hard to soar on wings like the eagles, and I do grow weary.

But Paul tells us that the Christian life, in its essence, boils down to just three elements: faith, hope and charity. And in Hebrews he says quite beautifully that Christian hope is "a sure anchor for the soul, firm and secure." We have received the gift of hope in God’s love and purpose. It’s there to draw on and we are called to embrace it and actively, bravely, live lives grounded in joyful hope.

I felt that joyful hope—and in fact felt electrified by it-- this Sunday when St. Mary’s began its own journey of renewal and exploration with the first big activity connected with the Vital + Thriving initiative. The energy of the almost 70 parishioners of all ages who participated in our timeline event and the enthusiasm and courage with which they tackled questions about our past and our future gave me so much hope and joy. St. Mary’s isn’t single-handedly going to change the world, and most definitely isn’t going to convert it. But it certainly felt that our community will not be weary and not be faint, that as we embark on the Vital + Thriving journey together we will find the preferred and promised path for St. Mary’s into the future, and together we can joyfully play our small part in God’s greater plan. Those eagles of hope seem to have found a nest somewhere above the corner of Union and Steiner. It was great to see them.