Along the journey of Lent, the practices of our faith call us back to the importance of resolve and hope. We cling to the practice of faith in the face of challenges because our faith speaks of resolve and hope. As Cecil Sherman said, “Faith is more like sandpaper than dynamite.” It works slowly and over time!
We stand at the corner of resolve and hope because life is challenging. It is challenging on our personal journey as we navigate our individual turns and stops, but also along the larger journey, which includes the ills and pains of society. As we try to respond to these challenges and to seek a better solution, we need the gifts of resolve and hope.
As we face these challenges, we might feel discouraged. Tim Brodhead has worked with a non-profit, which works on development projects in sub-Saharan Africa. He says, “Success means something is wrong. It means that we are either choosing very simple issues, or we’re deluding ourselves about our results.” We do not have to seek these challenges. They find us! We need resolve and hope to face them.
One place we find resolve and hope is in the community of faith. It is like bees in the winter. Individual bees are ectothermic, maintaining their body temperature based on outside sources of heat. It means the cold of winter is a threat. Collectively, though, bees are endothermic, maintaining their body temperature from within.
Within the hive, they gather together, moving their wing muscles and buzzing together, creating heat for their safety. We find resolve and hope together! We find it in gathered worship and singing hymns. We are sustained by eating together and praying for one another. We foster resolve and hope through the connections we create and the community we maintain.
Along the road of Lent, we can renew our resolve and hope as we travel together!
-Tripp