3 May

Dear friends, 

In his beautiful book Dare We Speak About Hope, theologian and politician Allan Boesak speaks about the nature of Christian hope as “hope against hope” (Rom. 4:18). To make his point, he draws on the Khoikhoi conception of God as Tsui//Goab – the god who fought against evil and emerged limping. For Boesak, this image powerfully aligns with biblical depictions of God as one who suffers in solidarity. God is not, first and foremost, omnipotent and detached, but “limping beside [God’s] wounded children,” sharing in their pain. Hope, in this image, is not about denial of pain, but about divine solidarity. Our God, says Boesak, is the “God with the wounded knee.” We can relate this to the story of Jacob wrestling with God at the Jabbok (Gen. 32). This same God later shows Thomas his wounds and prepares breakfast for the disciples on the beach after the resurrection.

Hope emerges from places of woundedness. In fact, this is Boesak's central message: hope arises from unexpected places, particularly from experiences of suffering. He states, "Those who find hope will find her through suffering and endurance. Those who seek a shortcut, avoiding the long, uphill battle of endurance, will only conjure up a mirage—a hope that disappoints."

Marius Louw