Mtr Taylor Devine

Dear Friend,

Our reading from Romans 8 today makes me think of the long and sometimes challenging road of hope.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

This waiting, on a grand scale, for the making new of the of the world by God, and this longing, on a small scale for things to add up and to be okay, feels relateable, all the way from the early Christians’ writings to our ears. Priest, Poet, and Lawyer the Rev Pauli Murray wrote poetry throughout her long career, and one of her more often quoted poems, Dark Testament, Verse 8, says in part:

Hope is a song in a weary throat.
Give me a song of hope
And a world where I can sing it.

Life on the grand scale and the day to day has plenty of opportunities for weariness. Finding hope that is rugged enough for real life can be hard work. This holy yearning - for justice, for resolution, for peace - is a gift and a challenge of the Spirit. The same Spirit who still moves and animates and cajoles us to love. May we have and share some hope today.

In Christ,

Mtr Taylor