James 5:7-10 (NRSVue)
Be patient, therefore, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Brothers and sisters, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Title: A History of Hope
Date: December 16, 2023
Author: Jackson Ringley
James gets that hope is hard. Hope requires us to believe deeply in something that hasn’t even happened yet. We have no evidence nor proof. It’s counterintuitive to our whole world, so James tells his readers to look back to the prophets.
The prophets are masters of the hopeful imagination. In the face of horrible tragedies, the prophets were bold enough to envision a reality where things were better. Together with their communities, they tried to see the world anew despite the terrors they endured. This was no easy task, but it demonstrated just how deep their faith was. They knew that God was bigger than anything they could experience, and so they hoped for a better world.Maybe that’s what hope is – the belief that God’s goodness will always prevail, even when it’s hard to see how that might happen.
May we all live as hopefully as the prophets, dreaming of days when all God’s people are free from oppression, suffering, and despair. May we imagine together that glorious day when joy echoes throughout the world, all because of God.
Be patient, therefore, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Brothers and sisters, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Title: A History of Hope
Date: December 16, 2023
Author: Jackson Ringley
James gets that hope is hard. Hope requires us to believe deeply in something that hasn’t even happened yet. We have no evidence nor proof. It’s counterintuitive to our whole world, so James tells his readers to look back to the prophets.
The prophets are masters of the hopeful imagination. In the face of horrible tragedies, the prophets were bold enough to envision a reality where things were better. Together with their communities, they tried to see the world anew despite the terrors they endured. This was no easy task, but it demonstrated just how deep their faith was. They knew that God was bigger than anything they could experience, and so they hoped for a better world.Maybe that’s what hope is – the belief that God’s goodness will always prevail, even when it’s hard to see how that might happen.
May we all live as hopefully as the prophets, dreaming of days when all God’s people are free from oppression, suffering, and despair. May we imagine together that glorious day when joy echoes throughout the world, all because of God.
Jackson Ringley is a graduate student at Yale Divinity School and the Director of Social Media for Youth Mission Co. He is active with Montreat Youth Conference and Montreat College Conference and enjoys helping young people find their own voice in the Church and world. Jackson holds a BA in English and Global Studies from the University of South Carolina and has a deep passion for queer writing, global literature, and storytelling as a means for social transformation. You can probably find him watching Abbot Elementary, dancing to Taylor Swift, or enjoying a good cup of coffee.
