Father Dominic Emmanuel

In my last column I wrote about the instances of supreme hope of sportspersons doing better than their best till the very last moment and more elaborately on the hope that kept the 33 Chile mine survivors alive and sane nearly 2,300 feet below the earth for 69 days.

You have probably heard of the case of the child of Mamta and Ravi Shankar, the latter, an Air Force sergeant. The couple’s eight-year-old daughter Apurva was snatched from them by the cruel waves of Tsunami in 2004 while Ravi was serving at the Car Nicobar air base. Since Ravi has no confirmation with regard to the status of his darling daughter, he continues to look for her, hoping to find her alive, some day, somewhere. Should anyone even attempt to argue with Ravi about his undying hope for his daughter?
There are any number people from all strata of life living on hope for years on end, certain that what they are waiting for will surely come — be it victory over an illness, a patch of bad luck, or whatever else. No wonder then that the phrase “hoping against hope” has become so much part of our vocabulary. Though hope is used in different situations, it is most commonly experienced by those who suffer from terminal illnesses like cancer.
Some of scientists are now discovering that “hope” can be explained scientifically. They hold that the body’s immune system, which works to repair damage and fight disease, is intricately connected to the brain. Thoughts trigger neurotransmitters, which send signals to discharge various hormones and other chemicals, which trigger emotions and other visceral experiences. These activities are monitored by the brain, which regulates chemical levels in the body. People who lose hope lose the desire to fight. Their thoughts, feelings, hormonal activity and immune response are not the same as those of people who believe that success is possible.
Famous psychologist Erich Fromm in his book, The Revolution of Hope, defines it as, “Hope is a state of being, an intrinsic element in the structure of life, and a causal variable in any attempt to bring about change... As an essential quality of life, hope, by its very nature, moves in the direction of transcending the status quo, individually and socially”. Another psychologist, C.R. Snyder, writes in his book The Psychology of Hope: “People with high hope have a greater number of goals across various arenas of life, select more difficult goals, and see their goals in a more challenging and positive manner than people with low hope”.
The Biblical definition of hope is “confident expectation”. Hope is a firm assurance regarding things that are unclear and unknown. As St. Paul says, “…for we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (Romans 8:24-25). Again, “Without hope, life loses its meaning” (Job 7:6). The Bible also confirms the experience of all those who believe and hope, “The righteous who trust or put their hope in God will be helped” (Psalm 28:7), “they will not be confounded, put to shame, or disappointed” (Isaiah 49:23).
The ultimate proof of eternal and everlasting hope for a believer in Jesus Christ is Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. As Paul says, “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain” (1 Cor. 15:14). The lives of the first disciples of Jesus Christ after his death on the Cross were full of fear, despair and darkness. But the moment they began to see and believe in the risen Lord, they got the courage to preach fearlessly about His love and life. Through His resurrection they hoped, as Christians continue to hope even today, that death is not the end of life but that they would live forever in a special form, a form that would be completely different from their current physical appearance. The certainty of this blessed future is guaranteed through the indwelling of the spirit (Romans 8:23-25).
The sentiment expressed elsewhere in the Bible is, “…but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint…” (Romans 5:2-4). Along with faith and love, hope is an enduring virtue of the Christian life, and love springs from hope. Hope produces joy and peace in believers through the power of the spirit.
It is also worth reflecting on the adage, “The path without God leads to a hopeless end but the path with God leads to an endless hope”.

— Father Dominic Emmanuel, a founder-member of Parliament of Religions, is currently the director of communication of the Delhi Catholic Church. He was awarded the National Communal Harmony Award 2008 by the Government of India. He can be contacted at frdominic@gmail.com