"Hope" is one of the most beautiful words in the English language. It evokes thoughts of sunrises that push back all kinds of darkness. It suggests birth and healing and promise and possibility. Hope makes us able to keep on going, or if we have fallen to get up and try again. Hope is a gift that our faith can give to us that will indeed meet the need of our hungry hearts. Hope is the essence of the Christian faith. The good news is that hope is there for us. But most of us have yet to learn to discover it and take hold of it. It may be that our scripture lesson for today can help us in that regard.

Our gospel reading for today tells the first part of the story of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a popular preacher in his day. The text says people flocked to hear him and to be bapti…