LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5

In a world that tries to tell us that the “good life” is all about ease, success and happiness, Paul says to glory in suffering and that suffering will be transformed into hope. But it won’t be by our work that suffering is transformed, but only by God’s grace.

Hope is never about what we’re doing, but always about what God is doing. And God is inviting us to something more than the superficiality the world celebrates. That something more is hope in the person of Jesus.

I know because even when things get hard, I have a deep, abiding sense that “all shall be well.” This thing that I have is a gift from God. If you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about hope.

I think that author Kate Bowler nails its definition here, “But hope isn’t wishful thinking. It’s an anchor into the future.”

Hope is what reminds us, on the daily, that this world is not all there is, and that redemption is ours. However, the tricky thing about hope is that it’s hard to explain apart from its opposites: despair, suffering, failure. We know because we live in a broken, sinful world, that the Christian life is always a both/and.

The Apostle Paul writes about suffering and hope in this way:

“We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and

In the Roman world that celebrated success and wealth, status and ease, Jesus proclaimed another kingdom (not of this earth) where you didn’t need any of those things to be seen, known and loved. Those proclamations are still true for us right now, today. In Jesus’ kingdom, the last are first, every hair on your head is counted, and blessed are those who have nothing but their own hands to offer.

As you read this issue, we pray that you will recognize the hope that surrounds you, that our hope in Christ sustains us, and that we are strengthened by the belief and hope of a redeemed world yet to come. And for those of us with hope to spare, may we share it with a world in need.

Pax Christi,

Spd Book Club

Book club meets both in-person (at SPD in the Fireside Room) and via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. Find the Zoom link in our most recent E-newsletter or by contacting social@spdlc.org.