Some of the most touching and poignant moments during a Discovery Weekend happen during the Cana Meditation on Sunday morning. After a day of Faith (Friday) and a day of Love (Saturday), a couple caps their weekend together with a day of Hope. At the start of the weekend, on Friday, a couple comes together in response to a call. In Faith, they come – not really knowing what the Lord may have in store for them over the weekend. They come only with the belief that God is at work in their lives, with the belief that the person that they are is a worthy gift to the significant other with whom they will be spending the weekend, and ‘hopefully’ the rest of their life. On Saturday, they learn about the language of Love, its movements and its moments, the confidence and dialogue that make love grow. Then, on Sunday, starting with the Cana meditation, they learn about Hope and the mysterious and abiding presence of God in their lives.
In recent times, I have come to realize the difference between optimism and hope. In winter, optimism is the excitement and expectation of better things to come in spite of the cold and bare surroundings; that joy and fun are possible even in the midst of the gloom and barrenness of winter. Hope is the trust that, even in the dead of winter, nature is actively at work preparing for the life and colors of spring; the assurance and confidence that things will eventually work out the way they have been meant to be. Hope is the trust that the universe is unfolding as it should.
Optimism in a relationship or marriage is the excitement and expectation that things will be coming up roses; that together the couple will be able to fulfill all their dreams. Hope is the unwavering trust that God is at work in their lives and in their relationship; that the presence of the Lord will mean that goodness and kindness will be theirs in their life together. Just as Jesus turned water into wine at Cana, the hope of the couple is that Jesus will also transform the mundane and ordinary in their lives into unbridled joy, hope that Jesus would turn whatever shortages in their togetherness into fullness unmerited and unimagined. Hope is the realization that God, who became man, is present in my life every single moment making sure things happen they way they should.
Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. John 2:1-11
His real presence in our relationships is the hardest to believe and yet it’s what gives us hope that will ultimately transform us into new creatures. And hope turns into certainty. I hope so becomes I know so.
Thank you for your comment Louie. The amazing reality of the fact that we are alive already surpasses and is in fact the guarantee to the audacity of our hope in the Resurrection and eternal life.