Hopelessness Is Submission

“Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24-25)

Twenty years ago, when I was leading Back Bay Mission (Biloxi, Mississippi) through the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there were days when it was hard to imagine the tiniest step forward, let alone summon something resembling hope. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I purchased a plaque bearing words that became my daily mantra.

 “HOPE ALWAYS.”

Those words still have a prominent place in my office today. I find myself glancing at them often again now, as executive actions of the new administration in Washington, D.C. unleash an avalanche of harm to “the least of these” among us.

Feelings of dismay, grief, and anger come much more quickly to the surface. Despair is always close at hand. It’s tempting to wallow in it, to sink into the hopelessness of the moment.

But recently I came across a quote from Edward Said, who was a Palestinian-American academic and activist. He said: “Where cruelty and injustice are concerned, hopelessness is submission, which I believe is immoral.”

Hopelessness is submission.  Those words stopped me in my tracks, made me realize that giving in to my despair is a privilege that is not adequate to this moment. It does nothing to address the pain and fear of others. It doesn’t motivate change or fuel resistance. It capitulates to the chaos.

Hope is a strategy for engaging in the long game. It persists even when what we long for cannot yet be seen. It endures even when we’re gutted by the cruelty that overwhelms us on any given day. It prompts us to try again, to do the next right thing, to play our small and humble part in building a just and peaceful world for all. It’s anchored in a trust that God is always carving a path through our most tangled messes.

I suspect there will be many more days ahead of us when despair threatens, when a long line of other very intense emotions will show up long before we manage even a morsel of hope. That’s okay.  Feel what you feel. Hope will be there waiting. Refusing to submit.

The Reverend Shari Prestemon began her service with the national ministries of the United Church of Christ in January 2024. As the Acting Associate General Minister & Co-Executive for Global Ministries she has the privilege of supporting several teams: Global Ministries, Global H.O.P.E., Public Policy & Advocacy Team (Washington, D.C.), our staff liaison at the United Nations, and our Gender & Sexuality Justice Team. She previously served as a local church pastor in Illinois and Wisconsin, the Executive Director at Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi, and the Minnesota Conference Minister. Her call to ministry grew, in part, from early Global Ministries experiences, especially service as a Peace & Justice Intern in Dumaguete City, the Philippines.