Hope Abides

My inner spirit is overshadowed this morning by the tragedy in Orlando.  My heart goes out to those slain and to their families and friends, to the people of Orlando, and those who serve that community, and to the perpetrator and his family.  

There is a phrase from the Psalmist that I use often in my prayers:  “Do not disappoint my hope.” My hope is in God’s dream.   That dream is that one day we shall live together as brothers and sisters, regardless of all the labels used to define us, and that we will love one another.  That hope is embedded in all of us in one form or another and we can readily see it budding each time some tragedy occurs.  Most people (as in Orlando) bond together, weep together, and hold one another.  This is simply a prelude to the dream’s fulfillment.  We are, we can, and we will, really be brothers and sisters someday.   There are always some, however, who disappoint my hope and what I believe to be God’s dream by reacting in contrary ways and I fervently pray today “do not disappoint our hope,”  do not frustrate the dream. 

In the midst of a senseless tragedy it is sometimes difficult to see “Love at the heart of all things.”  Indeed, I’m struggling with that this morning.  Albert Einstein was once asked, “What is the most important question you can ask of life?”  Einstein answered, “Is the universe a friendly place or not?”  I believe it is a friendly place in spite of—that is the one thing I cling to—it is my hope.  “Oh, God, please do not disappoint my hope.”