When I was a small boy growing up in a poor family of thirteen children in the USA, Christmas was the big day of the year for all of us, we waited for the day in joyful hope, wondering what Santa Claus would bring us. Because we were poor, and all our friends and neighbours were likewise poor, we might have hoped for something grand like an electric train, but we expected something small like a spinning top or a yo-yo. Among our friends no one ever got anything like a new bicycle, although I once got a used one. Occasionally someone got a new shirt or pair of galoshes (rubber overshoes for the snow), practical things that Santa thought were best for us -and probably were!
As the oldest of the six 'little boys' (we had three older brothers who were the 'big' boys), I well remember leading the pack downtown to do our Christmas shopping and each of us having a whole dollar (US) to spend. We were also full of hope that we might find something nice for Mom and Dad and our other brothers and sisters, and excited when our mission was accomplished. Before we got on the street- car to go home, we were able to treat ourselves to a chocolate milk-shake (with 6 straws) with the money left over. A wonderfully delicious treat then; a wonderful memory today.
The prophet Isaiah has me thinking these thoughts today: "Courage! Do not be afraid. Look, your God is coming, he is coming to save you. The eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy.... They will come to Zion shouting for joy, joy and gladness will go with them and sorrow and lament be ended."
One of the earliest prayers I learned was the Act of Hope: O my God, relying on thy infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon for my sins, the help of thy grace, and life everlasting. Amen. That, together with the Acts of Faith, Love and Contrition, has been the mainstay of my night prayers for almost seventy years (though not always the same words). I think that just routinely saying them for so long has made me a person full of hope always sure that, even in the midst of poverty, sickness, disappointments, failure, and trials of many kinds, tomorrow will be better than today. That is a simple description of hope.
St. Paul says (Rom 8:24): "In hope we were saved. But hope is not hope if its object is seen; how is it possible for one to hope for what he sees? And hoping for what he does not see means awaiting it with patient endurance." When we have received what we hope for, when we see it, we no longer hope for it. We have it already.
The opposite of hope is despair. When people cease to hope that God will save them, help them toward salvation, or forgive their sins, they are in a state of despair. When they do not even believe in God, in his love and mercy, or that he will keep his promise to save them, despair seems the logical thing to do. Here in Hong Kong where there are so many suicides for a variety of reasons, we are inevitably led to conclude that lot of people have lost hope and despair of their lives ever changing for the better.
John the Baptist sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the one who is to come or are we to look for another?" Jesus did not answer him directly with a 'yes' or 'no', but said, "Go back and tell John what you see and hear." What they heard and saw was what Isaiah had prophesied centuries earlier that the Messiah would heal the blind, the lame, lepers, the deaf, and even raise the dead to life. Before Jesus, these all had been forced to accept their condition as hopeless, but through faith in him found that that was not so. Others in the same or similar condition could now hope; they need not despair. Best of all was the Good News to the poor that they had a Father in heaven and a brother in Jesus who loved them. They could now hope that however bad their situation, they had a God who pitied them and was prepared to change their lot. However poor, however sick, however lonely and abandoned they felt, however helpless, Jesus had come to right the wrongs, to fix the broken, and to turn their sorrow into joy. When people believe that, it becomes easy for them to hope that their tomorrow will be better than today.
For a long time I have not believed in Santa Claus and even knew that the gifts we received at Christmas were the very best my parents could afford. They also taught me my prayers including the Act of Hope, which was a gift still valuable to me today. And I have learned as well that God is the giver of all things, loves us in our poverty and can be counted on in all our needs. In ten days we will again celebrate the coming of Jesus. We know what he has done and can do. Let us listen to Isaiah one more time: "Your God is coming to you. Rejoice in him, praise his name. Let all the earth rejoice and sing for joy. Let the wasteland bring forth flowers like the jonquil. The glory and splendour of our God shall be seen." Oh yes, rejoice, the Lord is near.