What Do Christians Hope for?

 What do we Christians hope for? What is our hope about? In today’s Gospel, we see the existential impact of Jesus’ message on the people of His time. In other words, the Gospel shows Christian hope against the background of human desires. The other readings will help us to delineate the object of our hope, what is it that we expect from Jesus’ Gospel.

1. The words of John the Baptist, though not coming from his discouragement, may very well apply to our discouragement: “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” (Matthew 11:2-11). We had expected peace, happiness… we had expected health, financial stability from You, Lord, and we have not always obtained what we had hoped for. “We had hoped that you would do this or that for us, and here we are… are you the one that we were expecting would make our lives better, or are we to wait for another?”

Jesus’ response is amazing: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor…” Receive money, perhaps? No. The sick received health, but the poor “have good news brought to them.” The signs of the messianic times are fulfilled in Jesus’ miracles: the Messiah was supposed to show by those miracles that He was the one sent by God. But Jesus had not come to offer a worldly salvation. The poor receive, not money, but the good news.  And because we perhaps expected a worldly, material salvation, Jesus adds, “And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.” As if He were saying, “blessed is anyone who is not angry at me because I do not give him the worldly goods that he was expecting.” One day, perfect healing and peace, with eternal life to enjoy them, will be the reward of the just. This is also good news. But, for now, the good news is forgiveness of sins and spiritual redemption for sinners.

We may think that this message does not have much appeal in today’s world, a world so concerned about enjoyment here and now. And, however, this is what people need, and this is what people are so thirsty for. Jesus points this out when He says, “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?” A reed shaken by the wind is something worldly and unimportant. Who would go out of their way to see something worthless? “What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces.” Someone dressed in fashion is something also worldly but perhaps worth seeing. Normal people may go out of their way to enjoy that, but not to the desert! “What then did you go out to see? A Prophet? Yes.” People went out of their way to listen to a prophet, to someone who spoke about something different, something new. They went to a desert to find water, to find what they could not find among the distractions of the world. Today’s human beings are not different.

2. So, what is the Good News about? Has it anything to do with our deepest desires?

God promises His presence; He promises to accompany those who struggle in this life. He does not stay far off, He comes near to those whom He loves: “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God’” (Isaiah 35:1-6a). The beauty of Christmas is that of a God Who can be seen, Who can be touched, a God Who comes so close as to get hurt.

God promises compassion and liberation from sin and spiritual slaveries. (Psalm 146) “The Lord sets the prisoners free. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind and lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous and watches over the strangers.” He will judge one day, on Judgment day; but on Christmas day He came to save sinners from the future wrath. He does not hate those who sin, He feels compassion for them and wants to set them free. The beauty of Christmas is that our God came not to destroy but to deliver. He came to help.

God promises consolation and joy: “the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Consolation is a consequence of spiritual healing, joy is a consequence of liberation from sin. The joy of Christmas is the joy of being friends again, the joy of reconciliation with God. The joy of being welcomed once again under His tent, or in His manger. It may not be comfortable at times, but what matters is that we are together.

God gives us true affirmation, true hope. God thinks you can, because He has planted the seed of His word and His love in your heart. “The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains” (James 5:7-10). God is the farmer, and we are for Him a precious grain. He is patient with us, because, as a good farmer, He knows that His seed is good and that the early waters of baptism and the later water of His graces are all we need to blossom into the best fruit. God “the farmer waits for the precious crop from” you. What is that fruit, what is that precious fruit that God is expecting from you? You have it within yourself, because He has already planted it. Let us not be afraid to blossom!