The Nature of Hope (03/25/2026)

One of the things I love about spring is the morning ritual. It doesn’t happen in the winter because the songbirds are wintering somewhere warmer than Wisconsin if they have any sense. But then in March they begin to return. And every morning, beginning 30 minutes before sunrise, they sing. It isn’t just any song; it is a song of true hope. It comes in the dark just before dawn and it comes from every direction. The birds sing their songs of praise because their hope prevails. It may be dark, but they know the sun is coming. And so, they sing.

And every morning as I sit outside on my porch and their song begins, my heart stirs with hope. If birds without a smart phone to tell them the time of sunrise can still so automatically respond in hope, should I with body, mind and soul not also be able to respond to life, regardless of how dark it is in the moment, with true hope? Paul said it best, “Rejoice in the LORD always! Let me say it again, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to everyone for the LORD is near” (Phil 4:4-5).

As we continue our Lenten journeys, though we must pass through the Garden of Gethsemane and Calvary, we know the LORD’s loving plan for our salvation and the sorrow of Christ’s suffering for us is tempered with the hope of the empty tomb. Our journeys should not be made in sadness for show but rather in penitential joy knowing the whole story, knowing Jesus’ victory over sin and death. Let us be like the prodigal son who returns, ready to confess our sins and atone for our errors to a LORD who rushes out to meet us and embrace us.

Until tomorrow, love well.