Hope in Action  Rev. Ernie Mills

The ancient Greek myth of Pandora relates the story of how Pandora released all the evils from the box but closed it just before hope escaped. The Greeks did not have a positive view of hope. It was seen as passive and leading to a false view of comfort and a trap for humans to simply acquiesce to their suffering. And yes, we can sit around hoping for something to happen, which is comparable to the constant inaction of our politicians behind the platitude “thoughts and prayers” as a response to mass shootings and gun violence. But our hope needs to be active; it needs to be courageous and even audacious. Our hope must not acquiesce to the suffering, fear mongering and incivility that seems to be taking hold in the global psyche. Our hope must be active, not passive.