Thought for Today
Psalm 33:18 Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
Psalm 65:5 By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
Matthew 12:20 He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory. 21 And in his name the Gentiles will hope."
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Happy New Year! Happy 2026!
My computer tells me that 2026 is the Year of the Red Horse in the Chinese calendar. It also tells me 2025 was the Year of the Snake. Hopefully, horses are preferable to snakes. Thankfully, as a Christian, I do not put much credence in the Chinese calendar.
This morning, I’m wondering whether or not 2026 will be The year. The year when we see discernable progress toward God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven. The year when we see hunger, need, want, war and misery depart from God’s Creation. The year when all of humanity comes to understand Jesus’ words, “Matthew 25:40 And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'”
Today, right this very moment, there is still hope. There is hope that this year, at all the food pantries around the world, there will come the day when no one shows up in need of assistance. There is hope that every homeless shelter around the world will be empty, there will be no one living on the streets or in their cars. There is still hope. Irrespective of my own cynicism, irrespective of your cynicism, there is still hope.
We all know that hope is a ‘sometimes thing.’ For example, we can assert with full confidence that at the end of today, the supporters and fans of at least 3 college teams will have lost all hope for a national championship. In each of today’s bowl games there will be a winner and a loser. Some will have to console themselves with “Wait until next year.”
But, I am thinking about Christian hope. “The Christian anticipation of the future as the fulfillment of God’s purposes based on God’s covenant faithfulness and the resurrection of Jesus Christ as known by the work of the Holy Spirit in the church.” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 133) That hope still abides.
There is no particular reason why 2026 cannot be the year of the fulfillment of Christian hope . . . it is all up to us. Collectively and individually, we are the agents and guarantors of hope. It is all up to us.
I do not often challenge the words or ideas of the apostle Paul. In fact, Paul’s writings have greatly influenced my own spiritual journey. I find Paul’s words to that fledgling church in Corinth especially meaningful. I know we often associate the 13th chapter of that letter with weddings and often hear it read at weddings. But, Paul’s words were written to a congregation in turmoil. Paul wrote those words to unite that congregation, to remind them of the faith, hope and love that originally brought them together.
This year, I hope Christians throughout Christendom will unite around our common faith, hope and love. I hope we can find commonality, irrespective of denomination, nationality and everything which divides us, to unite together and make this in our Christian calendar, the Year of Faith, the Year of Hope and the Year of Love.
Stay safe, make hope a reality, trust God,
Pastor Ray