ISBC 7 - Hope is Not Solace
Chapter 7 of Hope: A User's Manual
I have a love/hate affair with church signs. Sometimes they can be clever and sometimes informational. Other times, they can be infuriating. MaryAnn shares one that her family saw while they were on a trip through the Midwest.
Look to eternity when the present is collapsing around you.1
Yes there’s some truth to that. Yes, it helps to have an eye on something beyond this life but sometimes we center so much on that perspective that we miss the here and now and the hope that we can be a part of fostering in this life.
As I read this chapter, I thought of something Archbishop Desmond Tutu once shared:
“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in."
Sure we can stand on the shore and shout to the proverbial (or literal) people struggling down the river. We can say, “don’t worry, there’s something better somewhere downstream - you’ll be fine!” Or we can go back to find out what the heck is happening upstream! But here’s the thing, that takes some more work.
Several of the places I walk with Scout have big bridges that cross some decent-sized waterways. But to get further upstream to some of them means that I have to get off the path, off the easy trail, and maybe push my way through some trees and bushes to see what’s upstream. It takes some more work.
As I re-read this chapter, I was convicted by MaryAnn’s question toward the end where she writes:
But those of us with faith in the end of the story, those of us who affirm the resurrection, aren’t off the hook from that radical presence and shared unknowing. The resurrection is not an answer, but a new set of questions: How will we now live? What does the resurrection call forth from us?2
How will I now live? What does the resurrection call forth from me?
What about you? What bushes can you forage through to see what’s upstream?
Grace, Peace, Love, and Joy,
Ed
McKibben Dana, MaryAnn. Hope: A User's Manual (p. 41). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.
McKibben Dana, MaryAnn. Hope: A User's Manual (p. 43). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.
Church signs—nearly always read them—similar reactions as yours!!