The Christian understanding of hope illustrates how trivial our everyday use of the word can be.  We hope that it will not rain for the picnic, or that the car will start or that the plumber will come tomorrow.

At a deeper level, hope is a universal human phenomenon.  People hope for peace in time of war; food in time of famine; justice in time of oppression.  Where hope is lost there is despair and disintegration.  Hope generates energy and sustains people through difficult times.  For some people, hope is so strong that it inspires self-sacrifice to turn hope into reality.

True hope is much more than a general idea that things will get better.  It is more than a belief in progress, which sees the world and people as getting better all the time, growing away from violence, ignorance and confusion.  There has, of course, been genuine progress: in technology, in communications, in medical care and in the protection of people’s rights through the law.  Nevertheless, terror and oppression, death and disease, greed and self-serving still govern the lives of millions.  In the light of all this, belief in human progress looks facile and deluding.

Christian hope is grounded in the character of God.  Often, in the Psalms, the writer says to God:  ‘My hope is in you’.  It is a hope rooted in the love and faithfulness of God.  Hope is not wishful thinking but a firm assurance that God can be relied upon.  It does not remove the need for ‘waiting upon the Lord’ but there is underlying confidence that God is a ‘strong rock’ and one whose promises can be trusted.  The writer to the Hebrews describes the Christian hope as ‘an anchor for the soul, firm and secure’.  Even when experiencing exile, persecution, doubt or darkness, the Biblical writers trust in God’s ‘unfailing love’ and know that he will be true to his covenant promises.  That is the basis of their hope.

Hope is not always spontaneous or easy.  There is work to be done.  As well as trusting God, we have to develop qualities of steadfastness in our own character.

Paul says: ‘We know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope.’ (Romans 5:3-4)
Hope is coupled with faith and love as one of the three most enduring gifts of the Spirit  (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Christian hope for the future has its guarantee in the resurrection of Jesus.  The prophets always spoke of a time to come when the whole world would be restored to God.  For Christians, Jesus’ death and resurrection has set this in motion.

Christian hope means trusting in the loving purposes of God: trusting that the foundations of the world are good because they spring from God.  It means believing that, ultimately, we are destined to share in that goodness because of what Jesus has done.  He had to pass through the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ but the victory has been won and our share in that victory is assured.

‘Compassion’ and ‘sympathy’ have much in common and both are stronger in meaning than simply ‘feeling sorry for’ someone.   The words have their roots in the idea of ‘suffering with’ someone, putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and experiencing what they experience.  This leads to a desire to act, to do something.  It is not patronizing.  It is not about ‘doing good’ from a position of strength or ‘remembering those less fortunate than ourselves’.   Compassion requires an act of imagination and humility to share in the lives of others.  Notice the qualities that Paul links together.  He says ‘clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.’ (Colossians 3:12)

Jesus showed compassion towards the ‘harassed and helpless’ crowds (Matthew 9.36) and his works of healing were always prompted by compassion for people’s suffering.  He wept at the death of Lazarus and was moved to act.

The father in the parable of the Prodigal Son is not just forgiving.  He is described as being filled with compassion.  ‘But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.’ (Luke 15:20)  The father seems to understand everything that his son is feeling and responds by giving him everything he needs:  a whole-hearted welcome, acceptance and love.   Christians have always had to wrestle with the problem of how a loving God could allow there to be evil and suffering in the world.   There is no simple answer to this but we make the first step towards understanding when we grasp the idea that God the Father is not passively observing the suffering of the world from the outside.  God fully identified with human suffering in the life and death of Jesus and continues to work to transform the sufferings of the world through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Words relating to ‘servant’ and ‘service’ are central in Christian theology.  Some of the most important prophecies in Isaiah speak of the coming of the ‘Servant of the Lord’ and his role as a ‘suffering servant.’  That is why Jesus said that he ‘came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper.  This turned upside down the normal relationship between master and disciple, leader and follower.  In many ways, this astonishing action symbolizes the essence of the Incarnation: God stooping to share the human condition.  Jesus is very clear about the meaning of his action: ‘Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done.’

The parable of the Good Samaritan shows we should serve those in need whoever they are.  Such service is not offered to gain some advantage for ourselves.  ‘Going the extra mile’ involves sacrifice, putting ourselves out for someone else’s benefit.

Serving God means serving others.  It also means that we cannot serve other masters as well – such as money.  However, the Christian message is equally clear that service is not all about restrictions.  It is precisely in a life of service that we become most truly free.

The Hebrew term for peace, ‘shalom’, has a deep and complex meaning, encompassing much more than simply the absence of hostility or war.

Shalom includes ideas of healing and health, wholeness and well-being.  It means harmony, stability and security within a community.  It refers to relationships based on truth and righteousness, where people flourish because they are nurtured.

The Biblical picture of the age to come is one of Shalom.  ‘Swords will be beaten into ploughshares’ … ‘the wolf shall live with the lamb… no-one shall hurt or destroy…’ (Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:1-9).  Traditional enemies will live together contentedly and the people will be governed with wisdom, understanding and justice.
In Jesus’ message, peace is an almost tangible element. It is his gift to his disciples.  Paul describes God as the God of peace, the Christian message is called the ’gospel of peace’ and peace is one of the ‘fruits of the Spirit’.

It seems that humankind has to learn and re-learn the message of peace.  It does not come easily or automatically.  We constantly fall back into hostility and suspicion.  Peter, quoting the Psalms, says we must ‘seek peace and pursue it’ (1 Peter 3:11).  Jesus blesses those who are ‘peacemakers’ and calls them ‘sons of God’.

It is noteworthy how often the word peace is used in parallel with the word ‘righteousness’.  Peace cannot come by simply wishing it to be the case.  Peace is founded on righteousness and justice.

Christians are called to share in Christ’s work of restoring wholeness.  The Christian vision in this respect is far-reaching and challenging: harmony between people, harmony between people and God, and harmony between humans and the whole created order.

Humility has a central place in Christ’s teaching. It is contrasted with pride, where people ascribe to themselves the honour and glory which is God’s alone. Ultimately, pride seeks to compete with God, whereas humility acknowledges that God is God and that we should live in trusting dependence upon God.
The story of the Fall and the Tower of Babel are both about the potential of humanity to overreach itself, to want to be like God. Thousands of years of human history demonstrate the persistence and pernicious effects of this tendency.

Jesus taught his followers that if they wished to enter the Kingdom of Heaven they must be like children. This is no sentimental picture of children, who are quite capable of arrogance and the desire to see the whole world revolve round them. Jesus is challenging people to become like those who have no legal or social standing, to become like servants. Throughout his teaching, Jesus uses a series of images and examples to encourage his disciples to ‘take the lower place’, or ‘to wash each other’s feet.’

The words ‘humility’ and ‘humanity’ are directly linked, both being derived from ‘humus’ – the earth. God made us from the earth and in being humble we ‘earth’ our view of ourselves in reality. When compared to God we are nothing but that nothing is infinitely valuable to God who shared human nature.

The Christian doctrine of the Incarnation – the Son of God taking human flesh – is presented by Paul as the supreme act of humility in which Christ ‘emptied himself’ and took the form of a slave (Philippians 2:5-11).
The Christian message insists that it is through identifying with Christ’s humble service and sacrifice that we rediscover that other truth about ourselves – that we are sons and daughters of God and made in God’s image.

The Bible makes it clear that God is on the side of the humble and against the proud. As Mary sings in the Magnificat: He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble (Luke 1:52).
In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector, Jesus criticises those who are ‘confident in their own righteousness’ (Luke 18:9-14). He contrasts the self-congratulatory prayer of the one with the penitent humility of the other and concludes with the words: ‘Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’

Christians are called to a humility that challenges the values of our surrounding culture. Humility does not exclude a rightful satisfaction in the successful use of our talents or in a job well done, but it will always recognise that our gifts are from God and that, in relation to God, all human achievement is relatively small and short-lived.

When thinking about ‘justice’, some people think first about giving wrongdoers the punishment they deserve. ‘Justice’ evokes ideas of ‘just deserts’, ’the punishment fitting the crime’, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. However, that would be a one-sided picture of justice. Justice also means giving all people – particularly the poor and oppressed – what it is right and fair for them to have: life, health, freedom and dignity. It is about acting out of a concern for what is right and seeing right prevail. It is about social justice, especially for those who suffer most and are least able to protect themselves.

In Exodus, the people are instructed to deal with everyone fairly and never to show partiality to one group above another (Exodus 23:2,6).

The Bible emphasises that ‘The righteous care about justice for the poor’ (Proverbs 29:7). Isaiah says: ‘Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow’ (Isaiah 1:17). Justice is the ‘plumb line’ by which society is measured (Isaiah 29:17).

According to Amos, its presence in society should be constant and abundant: ‘Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!’ (Amos 5:24)

Throughout the Bible, it is emphasised that justice is immensely important to God. It is fundamental to God’s character. ‘For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.’ (Psalm 11:7)
Justice is not about a culture which encourages everyone to insist on their own rights at the expense of others. It is about a community that knows that everyone’s well-being is bound up with that of everyone else.

A commitment to justice leads to fierce opposition to injustice in whatever form it may be found. Justice is a pre-requisite of peace: without justice there can be no peace.

Belief in God as creator is not merely a belief about how everything began; it is the perspective from which we are to view all life including our own.

It means that we place the highest value on this earth and see life as God’s gift.

Pre-technological societies lived in close dependence on the earth.  The daily struggle for food and shelter, at the mercy of natural forces and the changing seasons, led to a profound respect for the environment.  With technological mastery has come a different attitude: one that sees the earth as there to be plundered and exploited.

Now we are reaping the whirlwind: with climate change, crises over access to water and food, destruction of habitat and the rapid extinction of species.  It is not clear whether the earth can still renew itself or whether the damage has gone too far.  It is also not clear that there is the will to stop, to restore this ‘blue planet’, our only fragile home.

In Genesis, God gives humans certain rights over his creation.  With these rights, come responsibilities. We are stewards.  A steward manages an estate on the owner’s behalf.  We have been given the earth to look after by God and to hold it in trust for future generations.  If the earth is to sustain our children and succeeding generations, this clearly places limits on how we treat the earth.

There have always been elements in the Christian tradition to remind us of our responsibilities and priorities.  The Law of Moses made provision for a year’s ‘Sabbath rest’ for the land every seven years and Francis of Assisi addressed the sun, moon, earth, wind and water as his mother, sisters and brothers.
Harvest and Rogation remind us of our dependence on the earth for our survival, and lead us to thank God as the ultimate source of all the earth’s riches.

Although Genesis chapters 1 and 2 contain the most well-known accounts of Creation, it should be remembered that there are extended presentations of the wisdom and majesty of God the Creator in Job 38-41 and in Isaiah 40-45.  Also, in the New Testament, Paul explains how Christ was central to creation (Colossians 1:15-16) and that not only humankind but all creation shares in the redemption and renewal that Christ achieved (Romans 8:19-22).  The New Testament comes to a close with a vision of a new heaven and a new earth where, in imagery that recalls the Garden of Eden, all are nourished by the spring of the water of life and all have access to the tree of life (Revelation 21).

Friendship is an undisputed value in our society, with children often spending more time with their friends than with family.  It is a key concept in the Christian framework, with Jesus being criticised for being ‘the friend of sinners’ and eating with those whom society rejected.

Sharing a meal with someone is an explicit sign of friendship and the word ‘companion’ literally means ‘one with whom you share bread.’

Jesus tells stories of the heavenly banquet to which all are invited.  The barriers between people are broken down in a loving community around God and Jesus had stern words to say to those who refused to recognise that all are included in this community of friendship.

The Bible has many sayings about friendship:
‘A friend loves at all times.’ (Proverbs 17:17)
Friends are not afraid to tell each other the truth and a friend’s loving criticism is worth more than the empty compliments of someone who does not really care for you. ‘Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.’ (Proverbs 27:6)
The writer of Ecclesiastes puts it very simply:  ‘if one falls down, a friend can lift him up’. (Ecclesiastes 4:10)
The friendship of David and Jonathan is very strongly emphasised in the Bible,  Abraham is described as the friend of God (James 2:23) and Jesus explicitly calls his disciples not servants but friends (John 15:14 – 15).

Trust, feeling comfortable in each other’s company, being able to share joys and sorrows are all features of friendship and these are things of immense value.  True friendship enables each person to grow and ensures that the unique individuality of each person is recognised.  All this echoes the value placed by God on the preciousness of each person.

Hymns like ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’ point to a relationship that is at the heart of Christian believing.  Knowing that God is our friend is to recover something of the acceptance and close companionship that people of all ages need and crave.

As Moses approached the presence of God in the burning bush, God said to him: ‘Do not come any closer.  Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’ This scene captures something of the essence of ‘reverence.’
Reverence is the proper human response to what is holy and sacred.  It is related to awe and respect.  It is this profound respect that is expressed in the Biblical phrase ‘the fear of the Lord’.  This is not fear in the sense of terror or abject grovelling but a reverent acknowledgment of God’s greatness and our complete dependence.
Such reverence is the proper response to the mystery of life and death, or to the created world in which we live.
This profound respect for God is the spring from which true worship flows.
Although only God is truly worthy of reverence and worship, the Bible also contains the related concept of ‘honouring’.  We are asked to honour one another and one of the ten commandments instructs us to honour our father and mother.

Forgiveness is fundamental to the character of God.  Throughout the Bible, God is described as slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin (Numbers 14:18).

Jesus was uncompromising in his command to forgive.  Forgive, he said, ‘seventy times seven’ (Matthew 18:21).  In other words, forgive and keep on forgiving without limit.  Forgiveness was at the heart of everything he did and is at the heart of the Lord’s Prayer.   When Jesus declared a person’s sins to be forgiven, it often aroused the anger of those who were less willing to forgive than he was and yet a prayer for the forgiveness of his persecutors was on Jesus’ lips as he died.  Christian preaching has always put forgiveness at the centre.

We forgive because we are forgiven.  Paul says:  ‘Be compassionate and kind to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’  (Ephesians 4:32)
The parable of the Unjust Steward tells of a servant who was forgiven his large debt only to be condemned because he refused to forgive a small debt owed to him.   Forgiveness cannot be given or received unless it is asked for, and the asking must be genuine and from the heart.  Too often ‘sorry’ is said very easily, implying:  ‘All I need to do is say I’m sorry and everything will be OK’.  Real repentance demands that we take what we have done wrong with the utmost seriousness and have a deep desire not to do it again.

The whole sacrificial system in the Law of Moses was based on the principle that forgiveness requires sacrifice.  Animal sacrifices are no longer offered, but the truth remains that forgiveness is costly to all involved.  Once we understand that, forgiveness can be truly liberating both for the person who is forgiven and for the person who forgives.

Thankfulness has always been at the centre of the life and worship of God’s people.  Under the Law of Moses, there were not only sacrifices for forgiveness, there were ‘thanks offerings’ as well.

‘Songs of thankfulness and praise…’ are at the heart of Christian worship.  Thankfulness is directed towards God who gives and sustains life.  Seeing the world as God’s creation underpins the way we approach everything in life, seeing it as a gift and not as a right.

Thankfulness is important.  Luke tells the story of the ten lepers who were healed and is probably challenging his readers to examine themselves when he tells of the amazement of Jesus that only one, a Samaritan, came back to thank him. (Luke 17:11-19).

Jesus gave thanks to God (Matthew 11.25) and although the word ‘thankfulness’ is not common in the Gospels, recognition of his dependence on the Father infuses the whole life of Jesus. Thankfulness is a wholehearted response.  It stems from a consciousness of God’s gifts and blessings.  It is a joyfulness that erupts into praise.  Paul frequently encourages us to ‘be thankful’ (Colossians 3:15), to ‘give thanks in all circumstances’ (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and says that our lives should ‘overflow with thankfulness’ (Colossians 2:7).

For Christians the greatest of all acts of worship is simply called ‘thanksgiving’ – eucharistia in Greek – thanksgiving for the death and resurrection of God’s Son and the way of forgiveness that is opened up.