“Hope” is the thing with feathers —
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words —
And never stops—at all.
So wrote the nineteenth-century poet, Emily Dickinson. What a beautiful image – and what a striking insight! Whether she knew it or not, Dickinson’s description of hope is a mirror image of St. Paul’s words in his letter to the Romans: “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (5:5).
Paul understood that it’s the Spirit, often described as a dove, who “perches” in our hearts. And he understood that the “tune” the Spirit sings is the melody of God’s love. That love – a love that can calm our hearts, heal our wounds, and lift our eyes to heaven – is what fills us with hope. And that hope is always there; it never abandons us.
A Jubilee of Hope
“Hope does not disappoint”: That’s the theme that Pope Francis has chosen for this special Jubilee year. Like every other Jubilee, this special year continues the Old Testament tradition of dedicating a full year to healing old wounds, releasing those in bondage, extending forgiveness, and lifting up all who are suffering (Leviticus 25:8-10).
For the people of Israel, the Jubilee year began as a remembrance of God’s mercy in the past and a call to extend that mercy to people in the present. But gradually, it also became a time to look to the future.
Especially during Jesus’ time, when Israel had been conquered by the Roman Empire, people looked forward to a coming Messiah, someone “anointed” by God to set them free from captivity and bring healing and liberation to the people (Isaiah 61:1). So, the Jubilee became a time of hope and eager anticipation for the great “year of favour” when Israel would be set free and all of God’s promises would be fulfilled (61:2a).
Today, as members of the Church and believers in Christ, we celebrate a new Jubilee. Now, our focus is the redemption that Jesus won for us. We celebrate him as God’s “anointed” One, the Messiah, whose death and resurrection have opened the floodgates of mercy to us (Luke 4:16-21). At the same time, we reaffirm our hope in the future, the “living hope” of heaven, “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:3,4).
Hope for All
In his document officially proclaiming the Jubilee year, Pope Francis acknowledges a universal truth that we can all relate to: “Everyone knows what it is to hope,” he writes. “In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come” (Spes non confundit, 1).
The Holy Father is telling us that hope is like a voice inside of us telling us, “Lift up your eyes” to the horizon and see the blessings the Lord has in store for you (Isaiah 40:26). It’s a voice telling us that God’s plans are for our “welfare and not for woe,” that he has plans to give us “a future of hope” (Jeremiah 29:11, emphasis added).
That voice of hope is in everyone. It may be buried under years of sadness, sin, broken dreams, and false beliefs, but it’s still there. Like Emily Dickinson’s bird that never stops singing, the gift of hope is constantly calling out to everyone, urging them to discover the love of Christ, a love that can fulfill all their desires and dreams.
But Pope Francis also knows that looking to the future can “give rise to conflicting feelings” (Spes Non Confudit, 1). We may worry whether we will receive what we are hoping for. We may want to hope in the Lord, but we may feel unworthy of his love, because of our sins. Or we may feel excited one day about our future with the Lord, but fearful and anxious the next.
Pope Francis also knows that some people have little to no hope at all: “Often we come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness” (Spes non confudit, 1). Perhaps they have experienced a lot of pain, and they dare not hope for anything good. Or perhaps their faith is weak, and they find it difficult to trust that God is good and wants to care for them.
Even for them, or for anyone who seems so lost that we fear nothing can save them, Pope Francis holds out hope. Everyone, he insists, can look to a brighter future: “For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope” (1).
Singers of Hope
Why is Pope Francis so confident that there is hope for everyone? Because the hope he is pointing to, is not based on someone’s situation or their talents, jobs, or finances. It’s not based on anything that anyone can produce on their own.
Rather, in his homily announcing the theme of the 2025 Jubilee, he said, “It is this hope, based on Christ who died and rose again, that we wish to celebrate, ponder and proclaim to the whole world in the coming Jubilee…. This hope has nothing to do with mere “human” optimism or the ephemeral expectation of some earthly benefit. No, it is something real, already accomplished in Christ, a gift daily bestowed upon us until the time when we will be one in the embrace of his love.” (May 9,2024)
And so, he urges us to fix our eyes on the Lord and his goodness so that our hope can be rekindled, deepened, and enlivened. Even if we consider ourselves already hopeful, there is still more we can receive from the Lord. And we’ll need it! The Holy Father is calling us to proclaim our hope to the world around us:
“Dear brothers and sisters, . . . let us lift up our hearts to Christ, and become singers of hope in a culture marked by much despair. By our actions, our words, the decisions we make each day, our patient efforts to sow seeds of beauty and kindness wherever we find ourselves, we want to sing of hope, so that its melody can touch the heartstrings of humanity and reawaken in every heart the joy and the courage to embrace life to the full. (Homily, May 9,2024)
So yes, we’ll need a hope that runs deep in our hearts. We’ll need a hope that fills us with joy, because we see how glorious our future can be. We’ll need a hope that looks at every person with the eyes of Christ – and sees them as the precious, unique, wonderfully made, and captivating work of art that they are. We’ll need a hope that fills us with love for them and teaches us to treat them with great dignity and honour, as we share with them the good news of Christ.
Shining the Light of Hope
Jesus has given us every reason to hope. By his cross and resurrection, he has redeemed us from sin and death. But he has done even more than that. By surrendering to death the way he did, he has redeemed even our suffering. Because he became like us in all things but sin, he knows what we are experiencing – and he walks with us through it, showing us how to stay close to him, no matter what happens. He has filled even our loneliness and sadness with the light of his love! All so that we can know his healing touch, and so that we can become beacons of hope in a world darkened by sadness and sin.
So as we enter this Jubilee year, let’s take to heart Pope Francis’ words of encouragement. Let’s dwell on them and take them as our own so that we can “always be ready to give an explanation for our hope” (1 Peter 3:15)
“Christian hope – as Saint Peter writes – is “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:4). Christian hope sustains the journey of our lives, even when the road ahead seems winding and exhausting. It opens our eyes to future possibilities whenever resignation or pessimism attempt to imprison us. It makes us see the promise of good, at times when evil seems to prevail. Christian hope fills us with serenity when our hearts are burdened by sin and failure. It makes us dream of a new humanity and give us courage in our efforts to build a fraternal and peaceful world, even when it seems barely worth the effort. Such is hope, the gift that the Lord bestowed on us in Baptism.” (Homily, May 9,2024)
May that hope take hold of our hearts this year!
Credit: ‘Word Among Us’ – India edition