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Commentary

By Liz Quirin

A Radical Kind of Hope Needed

Advent speaks of longing and anticipation. We have reached the half way point in our hopeful waiting, and we can still examine where we are and from where we have come. It’s never too late to begin our preparation to welcome the Christ child at Christmas. If we believe God came to us as a baby, helpless and dependent on his mother, Mary and Joseph to care for him, to protect him from harm, how can we turn away from the Child; how can we get lost in our own wants and needs, especially during this season of preparation.

What we need is a radical hope. By radical, I mean a hope that requires action, not just meditation and prayer. Both are necessary and a preparation for action, but in the end, action is necessary to move our hope from passive to radical. When we see the poor, the hungry, we can pray for them, and then we must look in our cupboards and pull out some of our own provisions and take them to our parishes and food pantries.

While we may not have much in reserve, we must place our trust in this radical hope that in providing for the poor, God will provide for us. If we truly believe that we are the hands and feet of Christ in the world, we have to use whatever we have to spark the flame of hope in others. We need to see Christ in others and know that we must reach out. Not only do we see the face of Christ in the poor, we must see him in our neighbors, our friends and ourselves. Look in the mirror. Do you see the face of Christ staring back at you? If you do, then you must consider acting as Christ would act, to reach out to someone else, someone who needs to find hope in you. If you don’t see Christ reflected back to you, then look harder, longer, until you do.

The danger lies in us if we wait for everyone else to take the first step, to make the first move. Sometimes the smallest action can make a difference: a smile at another person waiting in a line, a box of cookies or a cake baked for a neighbor or a parish event, a donation made to a charitable organization. It doesn’t have to be world-changing but it can be life-changing for the one giving as well as the one receiving.

It never hurts to begin the process with prayer and reflection. What is God calling you to do today, not tomorrow or next year. Each day is a gift, and to use this gift wisely, you have to think about its purpose, your purpose, but we all know “the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” so prayer and reflection can be seen as the fuel to propel us into action.

Hope feeds on itself. If you have hope, you won’t give up easily; you won’t be deterred by minor — or even major — setbacks. Talk to other people about this hope, this preparation for a better world, for spreading the message that the Child will come into homes and hearts soon. Then, get moving.