By Rev. Dr. Ed Hird
Our hearts were
created to be filled with rising hope.
For each of us in this New Year 2017, hope is a choice. Will we be hopeful or hopeless, thankful or
thankless, joyful or joyless? Billy
Graham said that people in the most affluent societies are feeling this sense
of despair and hopelessness.
William Barclay memorably said that there are no hopeless
situations, only people who have grown hopeless about them. After the fall of
France to Nazi Germany, Britain stood alone. Winston Churchill said to his
cabinet: “Gentlemen, I find it rather inspiring.” There is something in hope
that not all the shadows can quench. Emily Dickinson wrote: “Hope is the thing
with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and
never stops at all.” Alexander Pope in his famous Essay on Man memorably stated
"Hope springs eternal in the human breast, Man never is, but always to be
blest"
For many people, hope has become equivalent to wishful
thinking. The term ‘I hope so’ often
means ‘don’t count on it’. Real Hope however
doesn't mean maybe, could be, or possibly. It is an assurance of what is to
come. Hope is rising expectation of good
things right around the corner.
Dr McNair Wilson the famous cardiologist said in his
autobiography Doctor’s Progress:
“Hope is the medicine that I use more than any other – hope can cure nearly
anything.” Dr. Harold Wolff, Professor
of Medicine at Cornell University, commented: “Hope, like faith and a purpose
in life, is medicinal. It is not exactly
a statement of belief, but a conclusion proved by meticulous controlled
scientific experiment.” You can take rising hope to the bank in terms of its
practical impact on our lives.
In John Bunyan’s bestseller Pilgrim's Progress, it was Hopeful who comforted Christian in
Doubting Castle. We are called to be a people of Hope. As one song puts it, hope is a candle, a
light in the window, showing the heart how to come home. With God, all things are possible. Billy Graham, who recently turned 98, said:
“I’ve become an old man now, and I’ve preached all around the world. The older I get, the more I cling to that
hope that I started with many years ago.”
Faith, he commented, points us beyond our problems to the hope we have
in Christ.
In just two months, there will be a Festival of Hope at
Rogers Arena. The Billy Graham team,
including his son Franklin Graham, will be there, sharing a message of rising hope
and encouragement over the three nights.
I was privileged two years ago to attend the well-attended Greater
Toronto Festival of Hope. The music was
impressive with top bands and local musicians involved. The spiritual hunger especially among the
young people was significant. I have served
over the past two years to serve as the North Shore Representative on the
Greater Vancouver Festival of Hope. You
are invited to come on March 3rd to 5th and experience a rising of
hope in 2017.
Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, Rector
-an article published in the January 2017 Deep Cove Crier and the January 2017 Light Magazine
2 comments:
Thank you for sharing this hope-filled message, Ed. Truly uplifting! Incidentally, I recited Emily Dickinson's Bird of Hope poem in a homily on the First of Advent; that day the Advent Candle representing the Light of Hope was lit. ~~+~~
My favourite word in the world! HOPE. This is such a lovely article pointing to that heavenly, for sure, without a doubt - hope. This is perfect - "Hope is rising expectation of good things right around the corner."
Thanks for the good message, Ed.
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