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Christ's ministry continues
Pentecost
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| Wayne Brouwer |
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It was Charles Dickens who prodded us to think about hope in his wonderful novel Great Expectations. Young Pip lives in a home with bleak experiences and few hopes. Yet circumstances provide a doorway into the future as a solicitor informs the family that a trust has been set up to provide for his schooling as a gentleman in London.
Everyone reads something different into this change of fortunes, and Pip himself does not find out for years who provided the beneficence. In the end, many of the "great expectations" about Pip's future and hopes are dashed, and Dickens leaves us in a world where the fates are at worst cruel and at best devious.
Thankfully the world of the Bible is much more gracious. In today's lectionary passage the hopefulness of God's intentions is at the fore. Through the Wisdom of Proverbs we learn again what a rich treasure is ours when we live in the house of divine Wisdom. Paul ties our expectations to the resurrection of Jesus and the justification it brings, assuring us of a hope that does not disappoint. Jesus himself provides fortitude through his promise of the Spirit of truth who will guide us on a path that is never a dead end....
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