Monday Morning Quarterback; Reflections from your Pastor

          “Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding from the movie Shawshank Redemption

I wonder if at some point in our lives, if we all feel this way.  The feeling that hoping for something is a waste of energy, a fool’s game, and can only bring more disappointment. Perhaps we feel the weight of having hoped for something, only to see it disappear. This may have been how the disciples felt when Jesus died on the cross, certainly it is expressed by the two on the Road to Emmaus story. They had built up so much hope that Jesus was the one, the Messiah, the one who would redeem Israel and make them great again. But, then the crucifixion dashed their hopes to pieces and they walked as if there was no longer a purpose for their lives.

But we live on this side of the cross, this side of the empty tomb. We have been shown how God keeps God’s promises and new life belongs to us as well because of what Jesus did. Our hope is not empty and indeed has already been made complete in the resurrection on Easter and each and everyday that we are reminded of the new life that Jesus is bringing forth. Where we see acts of kindness, people forgiving one another, folks helping strangers, grace being shared, prejudice giving way to love; wherever we witness darkness being cast out, we are witnessing the resurrection power of God. This same power that was given to Jesus has also been given to us. Not only in regards to the age to come, but in the here and the right now. NEW LIFE!  Embrace it, celebrate it, your hope does not disappoint. Instead, walk as children of God, steeped in grace, overflowing with love and mercy, and God walks with you to lift you when you fall, to comfort you when you grieve and to restore your hope in Christ. Thanks be to God, for the gift of new life.