Pastor's Message for February, 2007
Optimism, Pessimism...and Hope
I was interested to read in the January 21st New York Times Magazine of all the research and speculation about the effect of either an optimistic or a pessimistic outlook on a person's life.
According to some research the majority of people tend to be optimistic about their personal chances of success...but pessimistic when it comes to the bigger picture - the fate of civilization, the future of the planet. The golden age always lies in the past, never the future. A conjecture here is that as we age, we become aware of our diminishing powers and nostalgic about the happy times from our past (forgetting the wretched ones) - and then project that bias onto the "stage of history."
On an individual basis, optimism and pessimism are interrelated in a strange way. Excessive optimists may become disillusioned when their expected good fortune fails to materialize time and again - and fall into a pessimistic foreboding. On the other hand, the pessimist, with his or her lowered expectations, may more often be surprised by unanticipated success and become something of an "optimistic pessimist" - like taking an umbrella along to assure a sunny day.
It reminds me of a line in a poem by the 19th century poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins: "tell Summer No, Bid joy back...keep hope pale." ("Strike, Churl"). I guess you'll never be crushingly disappointed or defeated if you keep your hopes pale, your expectations minimal. But what sort of life is that?
It seems to me that we have been given the gift from God that transcends both optimism and pessimism - and that is the hope that arises from our faith in a faithful and sovereign God. Not the "pale hope" of which Hopkins writes, nor the naïve optimism of a Candide ("this is the best of all possible worlds") in Voltaire's sardonic novel. Optimism puts all our chips on some specific outcome, which as often as not, fizzles; pessimism drains life of the spirit of adventure and possibility.
Hope, on the other hand, does not bank on our envisioned outcome, but on God's working his purpose out in and through us - which may or may not result in our preferred end, but which assures us that God's more excellent way will finally prevail - and we will not be undone by whatever the outcome.
St. Paul speaks of hope as one of the three eternal verities, along with faith and love. Romans, chapter 8, is a treatise on the nature of hope: "For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." - and these audacious words of hope: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." I once heard a Christian describe himself as a "short-term pessimist, a long-range optimist." Perhaps that's another way of speaking of hope amid a "creation...groaning in labor pains." (Romans 8:22). "And not only creation, but we ourselves...groan inwardly while we wait..." (8:23).
Well, it is February once again - and what better month for holding on to hope amid the bleak landscape and the piercing chill of the air? There is a visible clue, however, in the midst of midwinter: did you notice...the days are getting longer! The light is increasing! And less visibly: dramatic things will soon be happening beneath the earth. The Season of Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday, February 21 - and the very word "Lent" comes from the word "to lengthen." But even before Lent begins, hope is brightening and lengthening the day.
The Lord bless you and keep you,
Rev. Dr. Floyd W. Churn
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