I got thinking about the Bible verse that says “…these three remain: faith, hope and charity…” (1 Corinthians 13:13) when a song from my childhood floated up in my mind. Of all people, it was Dale Evans (yes, as in Roy Rogers & Dale Evans) singing the song she wrote with these lines, “Faith, Hope and Charity, that’s the way to live successfully. How do I know? The Bible told me so.” If you’re anywhere near my age, maybe you remember hearing this song too. After all, in the 1950’s Roy Rogers & Dale Evans were a Hollywood power-couple as the King of the Cowboys & the Queen of the West. Putting aside whatever else might be said about the 1950’s or Hollywood and Bible combinations, this little Sunday School style song is still stuck in my brain.
Bible translation can be tricky. Most contemporary versions now read “faith, hope & love,” with the word love replacing charity. A robust understanding of either word will work. But what about that middle word, stuck in between faith and charity – the word hope? I rather like hope standing between faith and love/charity. Maybe that’s the way it works. For faith to be expressed in love, it has to pass through hope. But what kind of hope is this? We all have our troubles; our “Woe is me” days. Some days I remind myself of the old saying “This too shall pass” with the retort “Oh, it’ll pass alright – like a kidney stone.” Not a lot of comfort in that! What I want is a hope that comforts. What I want is a hope that’s sure as gravity; one I don’t have to think about or strive for. But, in reality, both faith and love tell me that’s not how it is. It seems to me that hope has both an active and a passive side to it. It requires me to do my part, sometimes to do hard things, to risk something new, whether I like it or not. But it also requires me to recognize that I am not in charge of the world. Most days I’m quickly reminded that I’m not exactly even in charge of myself! King Solomon on his throne I’m not. Maybe hope first gets its power from a deep humility. Knowing that I’m an earthling, not an angel, is a good starting place. But what marvelous gifts we earthlings have been given! We do know how to exercise our hope muscles! We know that even as we have hope in God, God has hope in us. We can’t do everything but think about all we can do. And we can do it together, cultivating people and places that build us up as the Body of Christ. For me, one of those places is Centering Space. And it’s a space that works its hope muscles, whether that’s by circles of song or prayer or poetry, or blessings pets or sharing meals. Maybe it’s holding a space for hanging out in the living room or scheduling a time of retreat or spiritual direction. There are listening ears and listening hearts here. All are acts of hope, fed by faith and manifest in love. When it’s all said and done, these three remain. Thanks be to God!
~ Ginny Douglas
