New Hope

March 16, 2013

             The personal sense of irony is stark in my mind. As I sat down on Wednesday to begin prayerfully contemplating the topic and direction of this column today, my attention was drawn to the 43rd Chapter of Isaiah.

            Tomorrow, some churches will share this text from Isaiah in worship so it seemed appropriate that I spend some time in prayerful contemplation over the special words of the prophet as God proclaims that new and wonderful things are about to happen. God will make a way. Ours is to forget the old ways and look toward the bright, new, and exciting things that God will bring about. Into the desert wastelands of life, God will bring new life, new hope, and new possibilities. Something new is to spring forth and God’s challenge to the church simply is, “Do you not perceive it?”

            Historically, the promise of restoration speaks to the Jews who had been hauled off in chains to live as slaves in Babylon. Theologically, the prophetic vision looks to Jesus Christ and the amazing transformation he would bring to the world as God’s Anointed.  Coming, as this text does, in the Fifth Sunday of Lent, it looks to the transformation of lives available in the upcoming observance of Holy Week and celebration of the Resurrection.

            It is a text of incredible hope and promise, as well as a text that cautions the church not to cling too tightly to older ways of thinking and to trust the Divine movement of God’s immeasurable Spirit to bring powerful and profound change to the world. Isaiah’s bold vision from God reaches in to the depths of despair, the darkness of isolation, and across the distance of separation to connect the people of God with our loving Creator. It is a powerful and wonderful expression of Biblical hope.

            Amid my studies, I glanced up to my Facebook feed to see a clergy friend of mine in New York post that bells were ringing and the smoke was white. Instantly, my focus shifted from Isaiah to the internet as I waited in wanting anticipation, prayerful hope, and tearful excitement to see who the Vatican would elevate to the highest religious office in the world. Nothing could have prepared me for the overwhelming joy I was about to encounter.

            When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was named Pope Francis, an Argentinean Jesuit Priest and faithful Catholic committed to profound social justice, it was an amazing moment of profound joy for me. Isaiah’s vision of profoundly new and powerful transformation was amazingly real for me in a new way. God really is doing a new thing!

            Only history can determine the legacy Pope Francis will leave with the Church, but at this traumatic moment of global change, church scandals, economic instability, and rapidly changing roles for Christianity throughout the world, I truly believe the new Pope has powerful and profound possibilities for all Christians, not just Catholics.

            As the new Pope assumes leadership, there is no doubt that the overwhelming joy of the day will gradually fade. His job will be challenging and exceptionally difficult. Clearly, not everyone will be happy with him, nor will he be able to simply be everything to everyone. Pope Francis does, however, restore a renewed hope for Christians, even for those of us who do not consider ourselves to be Catholics. It is just as Paul called for us to do in 1 Corinthians 12:26.

            Our call as people of faith is hold him and the Church he leads in prayer as his very public example will define all of Christianity in powerful ways. It is exciting to see how his legacy will unfold, and a joy to have watched history in the making! 

Back