“We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (NSRV Romans 8:22-25)
During the last few weeks, as the world has shut-down over the threat of Covid-19, I have found myself wondering, “How can Christians, or even humans, have hope, patience, or faith in a time such as this?” As businesses shut down, unemployment rises, loved one's pass, and normality is replaced by an eerie abnormality, it feels easier to slip into the chaos of the moment and forget the hope, joy, and peace that was easy to find earlier in the semester when my greatest concerns were surviving finals and maintaining a social life. Even though the concerns and troubles of past weeks have not gone away, they have lost their grip on my mind as the real threats of death, poverty, and despair have settled over the world. When infection rates and death tolls are only expected to rise, how can anyone expect to have hope and “wait…with patience” when an end an answer is not in sight?
In times of darkness, it is easy to forget that darkness was present when it was light. Even though it has dimmed, light matters more when it is hard to see. The same can be said for hope. In his letter to the Romans, when he mentions hope, Paul takes great pains to define it as something that cannot be seen. Yet, even though hope cannot be seen, Paul claims that is saves. At first glance, Paul’s definition seems of little use to a people who are suffering. It is tempting to ask, “what can one do with definition of hope that cannot offer immediate solutions and cures for those in desperate need of hope and change?” However, objections such as the latter fail to understand the power of the hope that Paul offers.
By defining hope as something that saves without being seen, Paul rescues his readers from investing themselves in the innumerable distractions that provide false hope. Instead of offering a temporary quick-fix that would only serve to tape over a leaking pipe, Paul offers truth that can fix the whole system. In the case of this pandemic, Paul’s definition of hope is the difference between a vaccine and the hundreds of false cures for Covid-19. Like false cures for a worrisome pandemic, there are many false hopes – accumulation of power, acquisition of wealth, delving into pleasure, or embracing the answers offered by science and human endeavor - that seem more powerful and sensible than waiting for a hope that is not seen, or even guaranteed. However, these false cures and false hopes are exposed in time once it is recognized that the answers that are seen are rarely the answers that are needed. In a pandemic, true hope is found in the vaccine to come; in life, it is found in the Savior who comes as the embodied hope of hurting world. Even though Paul’s letter to the Romans now speaks to more than an audience of afflicted and confused early Christians in Rome, the cure that he offers does not lose potency or relevance.
When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans “between 52 and 58 CE,” he was attempting to reconcile differences between Jews and Gentiles so that they could be united in one church. As the followers of Christ attempted to understand the life and legacy of Jesus, they attempted to understand how the Son of God could die and leave behind the injustices (i.e., poverty, greed, and persecution) and institutions (i.e., the Roman Empire) that they had hoped would be abolished by his ministry. Even as Paul and the disciples instructed Jesus’s followers to anticipate and prepare for the end, they were forced to come to grips with the reality that Christ might not return when they expected. It seems that modern Christians find themselves in a similar situation.
Despite hundreds of years of growth of the Christian faith, it remains uncertain when we the hope of the world will be realized. The “groaning in labor pains” of “the whole creation,” mentioned by Paul, is sustained by generation after generation that “wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” As lives come and go without the realization of the Kingdom on Earth, without the vision of Christ victorious over tyrannical systems of oppression, it is easy to lose hope as these same lives end without seeing this hope. However, Paul never promised that the saving hope would be seen.
When Paul wrote to the Romans, he acknowledged the reality of their suffering without offering false reassurances. It is likely that he addressed Christians whose minds were occupied by troubles and unmet wants and needs. However, instead of offering solutions to the problems Christians knew, Paul offered a hope that went beyond what was seen. As a follower and messenger of Christ, Paul continued to spread the message of a hope that went beyond full stomachs, peaceful neighborhoods, healthy bodies, and just interactions. For, even though Christ fed the hungry, ate with outcasts, healed the sick, and spoke against injustice, he did so with the intent to look toward what was not seen in the suffering of the present. Therefore, when Paul spoke to the Romans, he reiterated the word of Christ by speaking for a hope that is more than suffering and death from life; it is life and hope despite suffering and death.
If hope seems useless during this pandemic, it is only because we have grown used to false hope. Instead of placing faith in that which is beyond the grasp of science, technology, and innovation, we have confined hope to what is seen and known. While toilet paper, sanitizer, guns, jobs, food supplies, and protective equipment are vanishing, it is tempting to group hope within this list of disappearing necessities. Those who understand Paul’s definition of hope, will find an abundance of hope in any and all times. The hope that is embodied in Christ does not depreciate or vanish; it holds steady as a reservoir that fills without fear of being emptied. However, to access this reservoir, we need to delve into the discomfort of a solution that does not feel like it has come. Unlike the last-second save in a movie, or a miracle cure, we cannot equate hope with results on Earth.
The hope embodied in Christ does not mean that people will not die, suffer, or continue to face the same challenges that have afflicted humans before and after the coming of Christ. However, the hope for a triumphant kingdom of Christ and the fulfillment of the Law offer purpose and life despite all that make hope seem useless or futile. The hope of Christ cannot calm like the cool, disconnected answers of science and rationality, but it can continue to offer life when human answers and logic fail to cope with a reality and existence that confounds, frustrates, and confuses. As the beginning from an end, Christ offers a purpose and life even when the world and false hope seems at an end.
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