April 30, 2024 ~ Tuesday, Week 5
We should ask God to
increase our hope when it
is small,
awaken it when it is
dormant,
confirm it when it is
wavering,
strengthen it when it is
weak,
and raise it up when it is
overthrown.
~ John Calvin*
Well, God, I think I'm a pretty hopeful
person. But as I think about it in this moment, I'm not always sure what I'm
hopeful about. When I was young I was hopeful about a happy marriage and
great kids, a successful career and lots of travel. Some of it has
happened. Some of it went a very different way. There were times
when things were so bleak I didn't care enough to even want to have hope.
But then, through no action of my own, hope blossomed again.
SO, what am I hopeful about now?
Mostly, I want to be hopeful even when hope by itself
doesn't change things. Of course I hope for the usual list: good health,
healthy family and friends, world peace, ending hunger and violence,
etc. But so much these days, well, I guess most of the time, is beyond my
control and that takes me down a path of despair, or, at the very least feeling
disheartened.
I want to and hope to be a better follower
of Jesus, taking to heart, especially His commandment to love You and all my
neighbors and myself. Some days are better than others with those. At the very
least, I know that when life is painful and chaotic, I can pray for
the desire to hope and for, as Reinhold Niehbuhr says in his prayer, the
wisdom to accept the things I cannot change and change the things I can**. And,
when I am feeling hopeful, send a reminder for me to give thanks to You ~ an
unexpected butterfly or a child’s smile, or the neighbor's dog who runs to me
and licks my hand even with no treat in it! While I do know that You are
always here, sometimes a little kick somewhere can
help. amen.
*John Calvin [1509-1564] was
born in France and so would have been addressed by the French pronunciation of
his name mostly lost to us over time, which is approximately Zhawn
Cal-vawn. The ordained Calvin left the Roman Catholic Church and became a major
player in the Protestant Reformation. His writings were contentious and he
was influential in at least one execution. He and his contemporary, Martin
Luther, had respect for one another early on though each had a
differing theological view. There was a disagreement between Luther and a
Reformer in Zurich, Huldrych Zwingli, over the interpretations regarding the
Eucharist. Calvin's opinions on the matter caused Luther to
equate Calvin with Zwingli. From those tempestuous
beginnings, Calvin's theological perspective is seen as the major
influence for the Reformed, Congregational, and Presbyterian churches
throughout the world today. While not my favorite theologian, the lesson to be
gleaned is that there is always something useful to be gleaned from reading
and/or listening to someone with whom we disagree.
** Here is the full, original, unabridged Niebuhr text of the
famous Serenity Prayer:
God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that
cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
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