Is hope anything like oxygen?

It has been many years since I read Frank W. Herberts celebrated novel
“Dune”, but there is one story told within that novel that is still vivid
in my mind. The story takes place in a desert world, so absolutely dry that
the dead are dealt with in a way that reclaims every ounce of moisture in
their bodies. One of the characters has grown up on another planet; one
with water. He tells the story of drowned fishermen being recovered with
bruises upon their shoulders, the result of their fellow fishermen who were
also drowning trying to climb to safety on one another. In the context of
the novel, the story generates a lot of confusion, as the residents of Dune
have no paradigm for understanding “drowning”. In my mind, it has always
been a story about just what sort of lengths we will go to when trying to
get what we believe we need – in this case, air to stay alive. If we are
desperate enough for oxygen, we will use other humans as ladders, even if
it costs them their lives.

Just what sort of lengths will we go to in our search for hope? What is
hope anyway? Is it anything like oxygen – life giving, sustaining,
essential?  Or is it a nice optional add on – sort of the “high end trim
package” on the ride of life?

This Sunday morning, my hope is that we will all take a deep breath and
plunge into consideration of the realm of hope (and it’s dark alter ego,
despair). It is also my hope that we will find in that process not only
some useful insight into hope, but the thing that is hope itself.

See you on Sunday morning!

Peace

Tim Plett