"Hopefully" in Irish is “le cuidiú Dé,” directly translated it reads "with the help of God."
Hope is an important word, actually an important part of one’s life. All humans live with the awareness of the future, the difference is that some see the future with hope and some without which leads to despair. As church we are to vision the future with hope. This of course is our promised inheritance, our life with The Divine in Heaven, which should allow us to live with hope. This is the promise for our eternal life, which has already started on earth. So how do we vision hope on earth as it is in Heaven?
Just looking at the Gospel of Matthew I am encouraged by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, specifically the Beatitudes (Ch. 5). They read with a future promise. For example verse five, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Jesus also tells us, “So not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (6:34) And Jesus states this with the command that we do strive for the Kingdom of God. We are to pray according to Jesus, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” (6:10) We are to live our earthly lives with the knowledge of God’s promise made known to us through Jesus. This is the promise of an eternal life and a promise of it fulfilling on earth as well.
However, having hope does not mean it will be all rainbows and happy faces. Honestly, having hope is most evident when bad things happen. If we live looking at the future with Jesus’ teaching and the resurrection in mind, we will have hope. We look hopefully to the future and realize it is all because of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment