We Are Hope!

This morning I poured myself a cup of freshly brewed coffee and opened my iPad to look at the news and my Facebook feeds. 

Immediately I saw a post from a friend I’ve known all my life. It wasn’t one of those political or hateful memes that I ignore.

No, this particular post was a musical video that was made in 1985 as a charity event for Africa. I’ve seen it before but this morning I really needed to see it again.

Really, we all need to be reminded that there is hope for our world.

We just need to see it.

Watching this video was a great way to start my day.

A plethora of musical performers were collectively singing (some short solos were included as well) a song entitled: “We are the World.” Some of the performers included Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Ritchie, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Tina Turner and several more recognizable stars—both black and white.

The optics alone gave me hope. 

You may find this video on Youtube under: "USA for Africa--We are the World"

The video my friend posted had its intended effect on me. It reminded me that the world is indeed full of hope. There is hope enough for us all.

We just need to see it! 

Why don’t we see it? Why do we seem to be blinded to the wonderful hope that is available to us all—to every living person on earth? What is preventing any of us from embracing that elusive hope that brightens our day and gives us reason to get up in the morning?

Hope even makes my coffee taste better.

It has been said that one can survive for about 3 minutes without oxygen. In a harsh snowy environment you have 3 hours to survive without shelter. You can make it 3 weeks without food. You have about 3 days without water but only 1 second without hope.

As I write this post this morning and reflect on the need for hope the news doesn’t appear very hopeful at all. Another three police officers were shot and killed in Baton Rouge adding to the senseless violence of the past couple of weeks.

It makes me wonder when all this senseless violence is going to end. Yes it makes me angry as well it should. But is violence the answer?

Violence does not have to define us or our way of life. It does not have the last word because violence is never the solution to the problems we humans create for ourselves. Violence kills hope. It creates an endless cycle of death and destruction. There is no redemption in acts of violence.

But if we are going to be a hopeful people we must begin living like hope is a real possibility. We must do more than just pay lip service to hope. We must allow hope to energize the way we live.

I do have hope for us all. In spite of the season in which we all are now living I believe it will be hope that carries us through these difficult times.

Living with hope will help me avoid scapegoating, casting blame, thinking in binary ways of black and white, and digging in my heels in self-protective ways.

Yes hope is dangerous. It is risky. But it is our only hope for the future. 

We will get beyond these difficult days. I believe we will because I believe we Americans are a hopeful people. Our hope is not in one person, or one idea, or one ideological way to live, or even in one religion.

You may find hope in your particular faith tradition. Great! Now share it with all of us. You may find hope in your particular ideology. Awesome! Now share that hope with those around you. You may find hope in your preferred political party. Good. Now share that hope with everyone.

Live hopefully. Live as if hope is already an abiding reality for you and for all of us.

Our hope is in each other. Each of us brings to the table reason for hope.

 But it must be shared hope. 

Together we can carve out a more hopeful life for us all, a more hopeful way to co-exist as God’s children.

Hope is our only hope!

I do hope we all see this!