Come, Hope of the world

Spes non confundit, ‘Hope does not disappoint’. This is the title of the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee of 2025 issued by Pope Francis. Hope is the central message of the Jubilee.
The theme of hope reminds me of the passage of the disciples of Emmaus, particularly their words to the mysterious pilgrim who walks beside them: “We had hoped that he was the one who would redeem Israel…” (Lk 24:21). The two leave Jerusalem disappointed and embittered by the apparent defeat of the one they believed to be the Messiah. They are discouraged because they cannot interpret what is happening. They had only their own interpretation of the facts in mind, they were not willing to change their point of view, to let themselves be turned upside down.


How many times has this happened to us too? How many times have we also said: we hoped that this situation would go this way, we hoped that this opportunity would open up, we hoped that this problem would be solved... and instead disappointment arrives (often linked to a previous illusion) and we see everything in black, even where everything is not black.


In these situations we need someone to come close and walk beside us, to show us the sure source of hope, the Word of God, to make us encounter the One who is the Word. Only in this way can we find Hope again, which “is not just a positive thought. Our hope has a name, it is based on our faith in Jesus Christ. It is not something, but Someone” affirmed Auxiliary Bishop Birkhofer.


When reciting the Creed we say: “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord” we affirm that in Jesus we can have direct access to the Father, in Him we can become children in the Son. 
How does this reality change our lives? How does this connect to our hope? If we believe in a God who is Father, then we can believe without doubt that each of our lives has a good origin, and that we are not wrong if we continue to hope. Only Christians call God Father, that is, only thanks to Jesus is it possible to know God in this way. And only thanks to Jesus is it possible to become children of this Father. If we really deeply understood what this means for our lives, everything would change…


Our hope is based on a promise that is made to us by the Father and the Son. The promise is not that everything will go well, that there will be no difficult moments, crises, or pain. The promise is that of the Holy Spirit, the Gift of gifts, the One who gives us the right posture with which to face different situations, the right perspective, who shows us the choices to make. And makes us unexpectedly fruitful.


The Christian life is a journey, it proceeds step by step, and the journey “also needs strong moments to nourish and strengthen hope”, writes Pope Francis.
This year there will be, for each of us, personally and as a community, several strong moments. And everyone can choose whether and how to recognize them, how to live them, how to take advantage of these great opportunities, whether they are special or hidden in an apparently ordinary daily life.


The experiences that some young people share in our magazine can also be considered ‘strong moments’ that nourish the hope both of those who set out to meet and of those who are met. The encounter with every other person is also an encounter with the Other and with the Beyond. “Hope does not live on great books, articles and so on... it lives on encounters... it lives on testimony. We need roots of hope that speak to us of what encourages us and gives us confidence, even in small steps. As Christians we are on a journey to improve this world, which is in disorder” emphasized Bishop Birkhofer.


As children in the Son, pilgrims of hope, we can then invoke:

Come, hope of the world, ... Make us prisoners of hope: and may our whole life come to meet You with unmistakable signs of expectation.

Giulia


* Magazine On the Roads of the Exodus 2024 n.4 (Read more)

*Artículo en español Por los caminos del éxodo 2024 n.2 (Leer revista)