A Prisoner of Hope
Written by Mike Erre
A quote attributed to Cornel West sums up my feelings in this current political season, “I cannot be an optimist but I am a prisoner of hope.” I skipped watching the national debate, knowing that my social media feeds would be flooded with “highlights.” It turns out I didn’t miss much, and I spent the next several days afterward lamenting, with many others, that these two men were our only choices.
I find it easy to fall into despair, cynicism, and fear regarding our political future. I am not optimistic. The deep divisions and grievances that fuel our political discourse make it difficult to feel that things are moving in a positive direction in our country.
And yet, I still find myself “a prisoner of hope.” Hope is different than optimism, of course. Optimism is often just a general wishful feeling that things will “be okay” and “everything will work itself out in the end.” Perhaps they will. Or maybe our politics will continue to grow darker.
For those of us who follow Jesus of Nazareth, however, our hope is rooted in something much firmer: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and his promise to make everything new.
As Curtis Chang and Nancy French point out in their delightful book, The After Party, Jesus was in a culture war of his own, and he was tested by members of the various Jewish sects regarding where his allegiances lay. Jesus refused all such tests. But he did offer signs, however. Signs are current pointers to a future event.
One such sign is the Lord’s supper, where people from all backgrounds and disparate political beliefs share a meal to remember, honor and anticipate the coming eschatological feast at the return of Jesus. Every Sunday, when I share communion with my brothers and sisters who don’t all look, act, or think alike, I again become a prisoner of hope: hope that our political differences will not disappear, but are instead swallowed up by the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ and the beauty of his Kingdom; hope that one day members of every tongue, tribe, and nation will fall down in adoration of the Lamb; and hope that our present difficulties are nothing compared to the eternal glories that will outweigh them all.
Resources
Check out The After Party book here
Prayer of the Week
We ask you, Master, be our helper and defender. Rescue those of our number in distress; raise up the fallen; assist the needy; heal the sick; turn back those of your people who stray; feed the hungry; release our captives; revive the weak; encourage those who lose heart. Let all the nations realize that you are the only God, that Jesus Christ is your Child, and that we are your people and the sheep of your pasture.
Clement