Scripture:

'Hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.'  (Romans 8.24-25)

Reflection:

Reflection:

These words came from an activist: patience for St Paul was not a passive thing! He and his correspondents needed hope in the face of persecution and experience of injustice and violence, just as much as we need hope in our troubled times. He was convinced that love can and will win through. ‘Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (v39). He urged us to pray without ceasing. A Collect for this Sunday runs:

Heavenly Lord,
you long for the world’s salvation:
stir us from apathy,
restrain us from excess
and revive in us new hope
that all creation will one day be healed
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

David Harmsworth