Advent One

Blessing of Hope

So may we know 

the hope 

that is not just 

for someday 

but for this day- 

here, now, 

in this moment

 that opens to us:

hope not made 

of wishes 

but of substance, 

hope made of sinew 

and muscle 

and bone, 

hope tha thas breath 

and a beating heart, 

hope that will not 

keep quiet 

and be polite, 

hope that knows 

how to holler 

when it is called for, 

hope that knows 

how to sing

when there seems 

little cause, 

hope that raises us 

from the dead- 

not someday

but this day, 

every day, 

again and 

again and 

again.

-Jan Richardsom
from The Cure for Sorrow