"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Romans 12:12 (NIV)

One of the abiding themes that flow in all the Resurrection narratives is hope.  

To the followers of Jesus, confused and perplexed by all that had happened, the revelation of the Living Christ became the foundation of their hope. The change in them was remarkable – they moved from a community living in fear to one that shared the good news and experience that Jesus lives! 

Hope is essential for human well-being and can frame the way we look forward and anticipate what may come. Hope is strong and at times fragile. When faced with questioning and negativity we may experience bouts of uncertainty and doubt. 

Maintaining a hope-filled perspective can assist us in difficulty.  J.R.R Tolkein in The Hobbit writes, ‘Where there's life there's hope.’ Poet Alexander Pope wrote, ‘Hope springs eternal in the human breast.’ 

Many things can shake our sense of hope. The current media focus on polarising the consideration of the inclusion of an Indigenous Voice in the Constitution of Australia, is not a hopeful perspective.  

The debate being conducted by politicians and the media ignores the relational invitation captured in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.  There is a hope filled expectation in the words of the Statement about a different future for the relationships between Australia’s First Peoples and the rest of the Australian population.  

Our faithfulness in prayer is needed for the success of the Referendum.  Our patience in the polarising debates is all made possible by the shared joyful hope we have for a new reconciled future for the peoples of Australia.  

We, in the concluding words of the Statement from the Heart, are all invited to:

‘walk … in a movement of the Australian people for a better future’.

This is our invitation to hope and act, and it must not be lost.

Rev John Gilmore

NCCA President