Faith, hope and love

With our faith we will hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope
Martin Luther King in his speech at the march on Washington.

I watched the POTUS' inauguration today remembering the excitement and enthusiasm of his first inauguration (isn't inauguration just a one-off?), the sense of history being made.
Although much of that novelty and sense of anticipation is lacking this time around, I am still filled with hope and perhaps a more realistic hope than I had 4 years ago. Then, I had the sense that anything might happen. Now I know that the impossible takes a little longer.
Obama's speech on this, the birthday of MLK, was full of challenging sound bytes. Whatever else he is, he is a skilled orator. But also a man of passion, who dreams of inclusivity.
Yes, there is so far to go, many mountains to climb, but there is still reason to hope that he can bring to bear the kind of manifesto that is the Lectionary for this Sunday:
Luke 4:18-19
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
With the prayers of the faithful behind him,perhaps despair can give way to hope and we will be witnesses of this gospel being fulfilled in our lifetime.
TBTG

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