Hope is the expectation of something positive in the future,
yet at the same time it must sustain our present existence, which is often
marked by dissatisfaction and failures. On what is our hope founded? Looking at
the history of the people of Israel, recounted in the Old Testament, we see one
element that constantly emerges, especially in times of particular difficulty
like the time of the Exile, an element found especially in the writings of the
prophets, namely remembrance of God’s promises to the Patriarchs: a remembrance
that invites us to imitate the exemplary attitude of Abraham, who, as Saint
Paul reminds us, “believed, hoping against hope, that he would become ‘the
father of many nations,’ according to what was said, ‘Thus shall your
descendants be’" (Rom4:18). One consoling and enlightening truth which
emerges from the whole of salvation history, then, is God’s faithfulness to the
covenant that he entered into, renewing it whenever man infringed it through
infidelity and sin, from the time of the flood (cf. Gen 8:21-22) to
that of the Exodus and the journey through the desert (cf. Dt 9:7).
That same faithfulness led him to seal the new and eternal covenant with man,
through the blood of his Son, who died and rose again for our salvation.
At every moment, especially the most difficult ones, the
Lord’s faithfulness is always the authentic driving force of salvation history,
which arouses the hearts of men and women and confirms them in the hope of one
day reaching the “promised land”. This is where we find the sure foundation of
every hope: God never abandons us and he remains true to his word. For that
reason, in every situation, whether positive or negative, we can nourish a firm
hope and pray with the psalmist: “Only in God can my soul find rest; my hope
comes from him” (Ps 62:6). To have hope, therefore, is the equivalent of
trusting in God who is faithful, who keeps the promises of the covenant.
Faith
and hope, then, are closely related. “Hope” in fact is a key word in biblical
faith, to the extent that in certain passages the words “faith” and “hope” seem
to be interchangeable. In this way, the Letter to the Hebrews makes a
direct connection between the “unwavering profession of hope” (10:23) and the
“fullness of faith” (10:22). Similarly, when the First Letter of Saint
Peter exhorts the Christians to be always ready to give an account of the
“logos” – the meaning and rationale – of their hope (cf. 3:15), “hope” is the
equivalent of “faith” (Spe
Salvi, 2).
