Hope in 2021
“We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In Advent, on Tuesday nights via Zoom, some of us did a really focused bible study on Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians—what is thought to be the oldest part of the New Testament. Leading the study, I personally did a lot of prep work, and was also deeply enriched by our conversations in the little fellowship we formed. I am holding the insights we earned from our study close as we move into the new year.
The verse I quoted at the start of this article includes the words faith, hope, and love. The triad of faith, hope, and love is usually discussed in conjunction with the beautiful passage that often gets read at weddings—1 Corinthians 13—where Paul puts love at the pinnacle of the list. Put here, in his earliest letter, he writes about the same triad in a slightly different way:
work of faith labor of love steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The emphasis is not on the abstraction of faith or love or hope—but on the noun that Paul has paired with each: work, labor, steadfastness.
In 2021 I am hoping I can focus on the energetic, action focused nouns as much as the abstractions—my faith takes work to cultivate and disciplines to nurture. Love, compassion, friendships, fellowship—these things take labor to build; creatively find ways in COVID to safely exercise pastoral ministries, etc.
And I endeavor to be steadfast in this—the long haul of things through COVID can be wearying—just as many of the trials of life can be wearying. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians to stir up hope in them when they were experiencing anxiety, the pain of sudden separation from Paul, and other trials.
In 2021 I want to focus on the concrete—work, labor, steadfastness—so that I can grow in the spiritual things: faith, love, hope.
I invite you to consider for yourselves how you can draw your minds to some actions you can take in 2021 to increase your faith, your love, and your hope.