Compass of Hope

"Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope.
Sometimes we cry with everything but tears."
-Gregory David Roberts

There's a wonderful part of the movie, "Elizabeth, The Golden Age," in which Sir Walter Raleigh describes being at sea with only the fragile hope of finding land. I don't know whether it is our tenaciousness, resiliency, or stubbornness that keeps hope alive, or if it is an inner compass of faith that keeps our eyes searching for our horizon, our relief from being adrift. How is hope born? How is hope cultivated? How is hope kept aflame? We are a nation whose history is tied to hope, to the belief in a new land, better opportunities, and freedom. In the movie, "Elizabeth, The Golden Age," the description of hope extends for several minutes beyond the clip (if you visited the link) in which you are taken to sea through the descriptive words of Raleigh. You first allow yourself to believe with certainty that land exists, and then experience the passionate correlation with resurrection.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, We are thankful for hope that keeps us alive, keeps us striving, and keeps us loving. We owe our stubborn, passionate belief in hope to your majesty and love. We know that you are able to use all circumstances for good. We may not see the immediate results of the changed course, but we search on the horizon for the glimpse of rebirth, of new lands. Cultivate our hope for a growing congregation, for the outreach into the world, and for the continued nurturing of our church community. Let us believe that we do not have to choose one course over another, but that the journeys may parallel, crisscross, or marry. We may establish new settlements, create new cultures, but our single allegiance is to the One who first loved us. We believe in resurrection. We believe in love beyond our hopes. We love in hope and more. Amen