Hope and Living in the Present (Midweek Message)

Hope and Living in the Present

Fr. Tony’s Midweek Message

August 22, 2018

Elena and I are at the beach with Charlie and Marie.  Being on vacation brought to mind a repeated scene from when our children were young.  When on home leave in the United States, we would travel, often staying in a different hotel each night.  Just after breakfast each day, in the car, the children would begin the questions:  “Where are we having lunch?”  “What will we have for dinner, and where?”  We parents found it somewhat annoying, since often this worry about what was next on the schedule pushed out the enjoyment of what we were doing at the moment, and, on occasion, we had no good answer since we didn’t know what restaurants were available in the next stop of our road trip.  We usually just said, “You just had breakfast!  Why start worrying about dinner NOW?” 

Worry about the future can encroach on our enjoyment of the present.  And always dwelling on the future (or the past, for that matter!) robs us of what really matters:  connecting with eternity, the timelessness of God, and living fully in the present moment, the only place where we truly are free to make choices and love. 

Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt 6:34). 

The vision of the prophets in the Bible turned worry about the future into hope. One of our beloved canticles for Morning Prayer shows this well: 

Canticle 11 The Third Song of Isaiah

Isaiah 60:1-3, 11a, 14c, 18-19
Surge, illuminare

Arise, shine, for your light has come,*
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.

For behold, darkness covers the land; *
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.

But over you the Lord will rise, *
and his glory will appear upon you.

Nations will stream to your light, *
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.

Your gates will always be open; *
by day or night they will never be shut.

They will call you, The City of the Lord, *
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Violence will no more be heard in your land, *
ruin or destruction within your borders.

You will call your walls, Salvation, *
and all your portals, Praise.

The sun will no more be your light by day; *
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.

The Lord will be your everlasting light, *
and your God will be your glory.

Even the “bad parts” of the prophetic vision quoted by those who preach doom and gloom are actually expressions of real hope.  The Revelation of John is not so much about the woes coming for the wicked as an expression of hope that despite current suffering, in the end all will be well. 

Given the current political state of our nation, and the ongoing degradation of God’s creation in the natural world, it is easy to worry and focus on negative fears about the future.  But Jesus teaches us to live in the present and focus on the task at hand.  And our faith is that in the end all will be well.  So we just have to keep on working for justice and honoring creation, serving, and loving each other.  The vision of hope given us by the prophets help us live all the better in the present, rather than distract us from it. 

Grace and peace,

Fr. Tony+