Where Is Hope in the Face of Hopelessness?

Last night as I was watching the evening news, there was a story about a man who was shot in a drug related incident in Southeast Houston. One of the images was that of a 10 to 12 year old girl who was crying uncontrollably. She was not related to the man; she just happened to live in that apartment complex and witnessed the life of a man ebbing away in front of her. I cannot express the sorrow that I felt for that young lady being exposed to the wickedness of this world.

Then this morning I read the readings assigned for today in the Daily Office. The Old Testament reading is from Ecclesiates 3:16:"I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well."

It was a summary of last night's news. In the face of such tragedy, where is the hope? It comes from the second reading for today, Galatians: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."

In the end, our help is in the name of Christ alone who faced hopelessness when he died for us and restored hope when he rose for us. Our task in this world is to work with the Holy Spirit to bring hope in the face of hopelessness.