2025 A Holy Year of Hope
A woman dying of cancer was asked how she could remain cheerful She relied, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.” We all have a little hill to climb, but we do not all have the hope and faith of this woman dying of cancer.
Many of us have a fear of getting too close to God. Perhaps the suffering of Jesus frightens us. Perhaps God will expect too much. Perhaps we will have to give up our vices and pleasures. Or we fear God’s punishment. More likely, as Jean Vanier put it, if we get too close to God, we are likely to get a hug. God loves us!
Pope Francis has declared 2025 a Jubilee Year, a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God. “May it help us to recover the confident trust that we require, in the Church and in society, in our interpersonal relationships, in international relations, and in our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect for God’s gift of creation.” (Spes Non Confundit 25).
A Holy Year is a time of forgiveness and reconciliation. Jubilee Years were proclaimed in the Old Testament every fifty years. Often slaves were freed; even land went back to original owners. Most important, it was a time to re-establish a proper relationship with God and with one another.
Fixing our hope on Jesus becomes easier if we have real-life examples that show us God’s grace at work. Chip and Joanna, the Fixer Upper couple, model Christian lives filled with hope. They giggle at each other, hug their children and live lives of hope that reflect the foundation of their love is Jesus Christ.
Chip said, "As for Fixer Upper, we have been surprised at the impact of our faith through the show. We haven't been overtly evangelical… Jesus said the world would know His disciples by their love for one another, and we've glimpsed this in practice and strive for it every day."
Another real-life example involves Ryan, a police officer, who was leaving a convenience store when he spotted a couple sitting against a stone wall. Ryan couldn't believe his eyes. Right there, in broad daylight, the pair was shooting up heroin! Ryan turned on his body camera and confronted the couple.
But he was in for another shock -- the woman was pregnant! Instead of arresting the couple, Ryan showed them pictures of his wife and four children, which included a ten-month old baby. Next, he offered to take Crystal's baby girl once she was born. Crystal couldn't believe it. But he was serious.
Tearfully Crystal told Ryan how desperately she wanted someone to adopt her baby. And that's when God revealed His true reason for bringing Ryan to that convenience store! Ryan and Rebecca had been contemplating adopting another baby. "God brought us all together,” Ryan said. “I really don't have any other way to explain it."
Another example of God’s providence involves actor Chris Pratt who was getting ready to go to party while living in Hawaii. Chris was hoping to find alcohol, drugs and girls. A man approached him outside a grocery store and said, “Jesus told me to talk to you.”
The man invited Chris to a church. Later Chris surprised his friends by saying that he was going to change his life.
"For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to…give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
(591 words)
