Isaiah's Hope

Soles sore from trudging home.
Palms worn by the tools of trade.
Eyes wet from a thousand winds.
Skin kissed by the lipstick sun.

With gaze upturned in pensive thought,
While darkness hails an Arab night,
I free the demons of the day
And pray that God revives the sun.

Shine on the gay groves of olives!
Dance upon most stolid of stones!
Glance off the dignified domes!
Embolden helpless hope again!


Walking up the hill from Beit Sahur to my home in Bethlehem at twilight after another 12-hour day, I couldn't help but look out across the valley toward Jerusalem and think of the many who had trudged this path before me.  Change comes slowly to this historically-invested land, a fact which encompasses all things personal and societal, cultural and political.  But change does indeed come!  The hope that God brings with the rising sun each morning is a daily reminder of what the prophet Isaiah said in Chapter 40:  "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth." As time passes by around the world, I am reminded that God will always be present. This, surely, is comforting in a land wracked with uncertainty. On this particular day, the biblical message of hope permeated my being down to the bone.  Exhausted from a long day in the sun, Isaiah's words yet again came to mind: "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  On the road to Bethlehem, I can always use a little extra strength. . .