Hope in the Time of Corona

In the 90’s, Garth Brooks released the song Unanswered Prayers. Its refrain—Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers—apparently spoke to many hearts as the song soon became a #1 hit. The words remind us that at times we receive what we hoped for, but not what we prayed for.

Hope invites something new into our present. Most times, we expect the new will be better than what we have now. Yet for the new to be welcomed, even recognized, something else must be let go. This is an Easter message. Throughout his public life, Jesus tried to lead the apostles to a new understanding. They had to let go their own hopes for a new Davidic kingdom, which got in their way of realizing that their expectations for the Messiah were not quite in sync with God’s ideas. They derived these lessons from encounters only after discovering the empty tomb.

**   “We were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel” (Lk 24:21).  Listening to the stranger who had joined their journey to Emmaus, the disciples began to grapple with the possibility that their hope had been realized in an entirely unexpected way, as they felt their hearts “burning within.”

**  They came to grasp that they were being entrusted with the continuance of Jesus’s mission. The post-resurrection accounts are filled with peace be with you, do not be afraid, do not cling to me, tend my sheep, and go. Their hope of the arrival of God’s kingdom required that they take courage, leave their fears behind, and get to work!

The hope of Easter does not arise from ruminating about how much better the world could be. God gives us a glimpse of a new future, a change from the present moment; but first we need to let go, to stop clinging to what was.

As the COVID pandemic seems to be waning, it’s easy to expect to revert to pre-COVID ways of living and experiencing Church. We hope that everything will return to “normal.” Pope Francis and our bishops, however, have summoned us to hope in a revitalized community gathered in the Spirit. They call it a synodal Church, and it may look and feel different than we had hoped. Today’s disciples can hear the Risen Christ say also to us: peace be with you, do not be afraid, do not cling to me, tend my sheep, and GO! because sometimes, HOPE is an action verb.

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