Sometimes I think that the words written by the prophets and the Psalmist in our Old Testament readings today reveal more confidence in the goodness and kindness of God than are demonstrated by the people in the New Testament parable who knew about the glorious riches given to them in Christ Jesus but did not respond to the invitation to follow Jesus. For me, there are two distinct kinds of hope evidenced here when I consider my own faith responses to God’s kindness.
At one level, from an Old Testament perspective, I hope God will take away my fears and tears and refresh my soul. I hope the Lord will guide me and give me courage. I hope to experience goodness and kindness every day of my life. At another level, from the New Testament perspective, I know I already have all that. I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. My fears are resolved by the death and resurrection of Jesus. I have experienced every goodness and kindness in the forgiveness of sins and the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. So, in what else must I so confidently hope?
I reflect today on Ephesians 1: 17-18. It is a prayer I pray with intentionality. “May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, so that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.” To me this means that while everything has already been given to me and done for me, I am challenged to respond with an even greater hope. But what is this greater hope? Until I reflected on these verses today, I did not realize how ready I am to move to the next level of hope in my faith responses. This verse really calls to me. Not being sure what it meant, I checked with a few on-line study guides. Paul gives us this prayer to seek deeper wisdom and knowledge of God to enlighten our hearts toward greater understanding of God. We are called to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit to move beyond just the facts of what we believe to be true to a deeper personal relationship with God from a heavenly viewpoint. As I grow older, growing toward greater confidence and wisdom in the hope of the future glory promised by God seems like a good discipline. It is exciting to trust we can even better know how much God loves and values us as we place our hope in sharing in the glorious riches in Christ Jesus from a heavenly perspective. May we all pray to know what is the hope that belongs to our call.
Barbara Dilly
I came to Creighton in 2000 and retired in 2020. My twenty years of teaching, research and service in the Jesuit tradition enhanced my own life. It was an exciting time of celebration. I loved teaching and interacting with Creighton students because they responded so eagerly to the Ignatian pedagogical emphasis on the development of the whole person. It is this spirit of whole person development and celebration of life that I hope to infuse in my reflection writings.
My academic background is eclectic, preparing me well for the Liberal Arts academic environment at Creighton. I earned my BA in World Arts and Cultures from UCLA in 1988 and my Ph.D. in Comparative Cultures from the University of California, Irvine in 1994. My research focused on rural communities in the American Midwest, Latin America, and Australia. I taught Environmental Anthropology, Qualitative Research Methods, Social and Cultural Theory, and Food Studies courses.
I retired to Shell Rock, a small rural community in Northeast Iowa where I enjoy gardening, cooking, quilting, driving my 65 Impala convertible an my 49 Willys Jeepster. I have lots of fun playing my guitars with friends from the Cedar Valley Acoustic Guitar Association. But most importantly, I am still working to make my community and rural America a better place. I host a community quilt studio and serve on the Mission Board of my church. I also serve as the Climate Committee Chair and on the Executive Board of the Center for Rural Affairs.
