Genuine hope is not blind optimism. It is hope with open eyes, which sees the suffering and yet believes in the future. It is only out of disappointment that hope can become wise…
True hope – which means the hope that endures and sustains us – is based on God’s call and command. We are called to hope. It is a command: a command to resist death. It is a call: the call to divine life… We have to learn it. We learn to hope if we obey the call. We learn to hope in the experiences life brings us. We come to know its truth if we are forced to stand our ground against despair. We come to know its power when we realize that it keeps us alive in the midst of death…
“It is not so much our sins that bring disaster upon us; it is despair,” said Chrysostom.
– Jurgen Moltmann, Experiences of God
