This year’s observance of a “Jubilee of Hope,” our recent celebration of Pentecost, and last week’s memorial for St. Barnabas all tend in the same direction for me.  They move toward a future solidly rooted in the striving of the present.  This consistent element has found a place in my prayer and preaching.

One of my favorite statements involving hope is this: “without hope in the future, there is no strength in the present.”  I appreciate that sentiment and have used it often in talks and writings.  Without confidence that things can be different and can be made better, I can lack the will and the energy to make a difference with my efforts now.  Hope points us into the future with its positive focus and assurance that things will improve with our commitment.  Its place as one of the theological virtues asserts our trust in God’s promises and the belief that God rules for all time.  It emphasizes and expresses our longing for the Kingdom.  And so, I work with hope for the establishment of that reign now.

Pentecost, of course, highlights the gift of the Holy Spirit assured to us by Jesus.  This Spirit enlightens our way, solidifies our will, and energizes our actions.  Jesus had promised:

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth . . .   The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you.” (Jn 14:16, 26)

Yes, this Holy Spirit guides and encourages the Church as it moves forward.  The Spirit helps us to understand better the teachings and intentions of Jesus as we strive to live our Christian life.  She opens up ways of thinking and acting that can only lead us towards a deeper union with our God.  The Spirit directs us into a future where our God rules.

Yes, and Barnabas.  I am genuinely captivated by the life and lessons of Barnabas.  When I preach during the Easter Season I often hold up this early Christian disciple for admiration and emulation as we hear his story in the Acts of the Apostles.  His name says it all.  “Barnabas” means “son of encouragement.”  Each time he receives coverage in the Acts, he demonstrates how he embodies that name.  He gives encouragement: to the Church in Jerusalem, to the Gentiles in Antioch, to Paul as he embraces his ministry, to the people to whom he and Paul are sent on mission, and (I am confident) to Mark.  The drive to build one another up is an essential movement for a more desirable future.  I know how the incentive that people have offered me has shaped my life.  On my best days, I realize the need for me to be a source of that same support to others as I accent their gifts and excuse their failures with a hope for change.  Encouragement helps me to lead others and to be led into a better future.

A quote from Jeremiah stimulates me:

For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope. (Jer 29:11)

Discovering God’s plan for us and then cooperating with it to the best of our abilities leads into a better and more joyous future.  The emphases of these days—with the Jubilee of Hope, the celebration of Pentecost, and the memory of Barnabas—direct us to this blessing.