In this podcast we explore the seeming opposites of hope and hopelessness. I read recently that hope begins in darkness. We don’t often think of hope as tied to darkness as it so often calls upon the light, but indeed it does. I don’t know that we can know realistic, deep hope unless we have come through something that threw us into a dark cave. Our good friend, Dr. Matt Russell, once said, “Hope is in the nevertheless.”

In our teaching, we hope that we illuminate what it means to have faith in the teachings of Jesus rather than in Jesus. If we can sink into these wisdom teachings, not just with our mind, but with our hearts and bodies, we can create more of what we think hope stands for, which is, I hope, LOVE. If we stay at the level of literalism, we will not become LOVE, but stay in our egos. We will not be able to understand paradoxes like “we come out by staying within” or “the light begins in darkness.”

Y’all. This is, I think, I hope, the meaning of being alive - to be in pursuit of the light within, and some never find it. In this time of division and increased violence, I hope that we continue to contribute to pursuing the light. So, so grateful for our community. Thank you for being with us!

A couple of references to puruse:

The Way of Paradox by Cyprian Smith

Our Only World by Wendell Berry

The Sermons of Meister Eckhart

(Please excuse my dog gagging in the background! Life happens!)