Quote for Reflection (Sunday, February 2, 2025)

“Although the word Hope (elpis) is little used in the Gospels, elsewhere in the New Testament it conveys the confident trust in God’s redemption won through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, whom 1 Timothy simply calls <our hope=. On the basis of what God’s power wrought in Jesus after his death ‘the pioneer of salvation made perfect through sufferings’ believers hope for the resurrection of the dead. The complete reliance on God, with its present assurance if future salvation, transforms the believer and so liberates from false hopes and causes joy. In such a way is the kingdom said to be already present. Indeed the desire for the coming of the Kingdom is at the heart of Christian hope. One cannot inherit eternal life unless one’s heart is set on the values and right relations that make up the Kingdom. To long for eternal life with God, then, is to long for a world made new, in which God’s presence removes all suffering and death”.