24th Sunday after Pentecost

 By the power of the Holy Spirit,

may you abound in hope. (Romans 15:13)

Cynicism comes easy, particularly for the wise: “It’s all vanity” (Ecc 1:2), concludes the wisest of mortals. The Bible frees us to go there—to acknowledge our own cynicism towards life. Maybe we need to go there in order to understand the mystery and miracle of hope. Hope is not something we conjure up. It comes from somewhere outside of ourselves—beyond wisdom. It comes as a gift—the gift of the Gospel.

Like all good gifts, hope requires renewal. That’s why we go to church on Sunday Morning—to hear again “the hope of the gospel.” That’s the meaning of the Apostle’s blessing that concludes his Epistle to the Romans:

May the God of hope fill you

with all joy and peace in believing,

so that by the power of the Holy Spirit

you may abound in hope.

During Pentecost, when we walk in hope even though Jesus can no longer be seen going before us, the unseen presence of the Holy Spirit empowers us to “abound in hope.” That’s a good  sign that the Holy Spirit is at work—that we “continue in the hope of the gospel” (Col 1:23).