There is a four-letter word on my heart this week. And that word is HOPE. Hope can be a bit like courage—it is not necessarily something you need each and every moment of your life, but when it is needed, there is no substitute. That may be because both hope and courage take heart (the root word of courage is in fact, coeur, "heart" in French). This Holy Week, we live from the heart, that small space where hope and courage meet. And this, friends, is exactly what we need in the world and in our lives. We walk with Jesus in the depths of our heart; through our pain, sorrow, struggles, and confusion, we pray for courage. A heart-centered living that Jesus showed us in this last week of his life. We pray that, through this journey, we will know and hold fast to a hope that is an unspeakable gift. It is the anchor of our lives, a hope in God. It is that gift that calls for the gift itself. Hope calls forth hope.
I hope to walk with you, as together, we walk with Christ, this week. That together, in worship and service, in the breaking of bread and the silence of our prayers, we will come to that Easter hope that is ours forever. I pray for this deep, anchoring, life-giving gift for you and for me: Hope. A four letter word that we pray be upon our lips and in our hearts this and every day. I look forward to being with you in this most sacred of weeks.
Peace and Hope and Courage is yours in Christ,
Nick
