Hope and Resistance

Hope and Resistance

Daniel 6:6-27 (Revisited)

 

Coming back to the story of Daniel, we see an image of resistance grounded in hope. Thrown into the lions’ den for his refusal to worship the king, Daniel embodies a trust in the Divine that transcends fear. His hope is an opposition to unjust power. He resists the demands of empire, trusting that God’s justice will be sustaining.

 

The Star Trek fan may recall, “Resistance is futile.” Yet actively challenging systems of oppression, especially when the hope for change seems slim, is an Advent way of renewing our communities. This is not only an expectation for a better future, but it is the energy that propels us to act now because it comes from knowing that God keeps God’s promises. We know our calling is to increase human flourishing and dignity.

 

Daniel’s story encourages us to see our Advent hope as a form of resistance—insisting that God’s vision for love and peace is worth living for. We can learn to embody this kind of hope, one that refuses to give in to despair, even when surrounded by “lions.” Like Daniel, we resist not because we will get what we want in the short term but because we believe that Divine justice is inevitable. Hope, in this way, is our courage to act, trusting that God is with us in every liberative cause.

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