Good afternoon, friends. This is Pastor Don from St. John’s.
I went to the library the other day and picked up the new book simply called Hope written by Jane Goodall. You know her, don’t you? She’s probably the world’s most famous living naturalist and maybe is best known for her years of research among the chimpanzees in Tanzania. Like few other people, she has first-hand experience of so many of the great disturbing problems of the world from the ecological crisis that is upon us, to hunger, war and violence and human apathy. Some days those problems seem so far from Troy, Ohio, but she has lived in the middle of them.
So, it seems quite encouraging to me that she would travel the world and write books to inspire us all to maintain and strengthen our commitment to hope. The pandemic and the political divisions alone threaten to cause us to despair. But when asked the question: Do you honestly believe there is hope for our world – for our children and grandchildren, Dr. Goodall says unequivocally: YES!
I don’t know about you, but I tire of the endless stream of reasons to despair. Eventually, it all has the effect of paralyzing me rather than motivating me. A better plan is to pick up a copy of Jane Goodall’s book or do a search for references to “hope” in your Bible, or check out the “Progress Network” on the Internet to hear news of what could go right in our world! In other words, change your diet and focus on hope.
LET’S PRAY. God of hope, we are choosing today to lift our hearts and prayers to you in the words of the Psalmist: May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. AMEN
