One of the last things which Pope Francis did was proclaim this as a holy year of hope. In a world which seems to be going to hell in a handbasket hope is a precious commodity. The Bible shows many examples of hope. The prophet Jeremiah was constantly badgering the king, princes, priests and people to reform before it was too late. Then it became too late. The enemy was at the gate. The temple, city, kingdom were about to be destroyed. It was at that moment that the prophet shifted his tone. Instead of a message of doom he offered hope. “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD when ….Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. ” What moment are we in currently? Do we need to hear the challenge and heed the prophet to change our ways to more closely resemble the God of mercy and compassion? Or have things gotten so bad that we instead need a word of consolation, a word of hope that no matter how things to be going, God isn’t finished. Probably a little of both. Jeremiah knew it was hard to hold onto hope when things were falling apart all around you but it is precisely at that time when we must throw ourselves into the arms of God in loving trust.
