hope: “Here Comes The Sun” – “Sunny Days”

Posted by occwebsite
10th Mar 2021

Yesterday I heard two songs on the radio (actually more than two but two that struck me): “Sunny Days” by Lighthouse and “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles.

Both songs are songs that express a desire and a hope for better days.

here comes the sun

sunny days

Winter is often a symbol of discontent and we have been through quite the winter. Summer is where we would rather be. We need songs of hope. We all need hope. Many have been discouraged and disappointed with being in Ontario’s Red zone and then back to Grey and then to Red again. Many have been feeling the blues because of all this.

Here Comes The Sun” – “Sunny Days” this March resonates more than ever.

  • There is hope in the air that is more than about flowers in spring.
  • We are looking at our world opening up again.
  • The COVID-19 numbers are slowly dropping.
  • The pressure on our hospitals is easing.
  • People are starting to get vaccinated.
  • Hope is springing forth indeed.

Hope is a major word in the Christian faith. There is hope from the early chapters of Genesis when everything seemed to have been broken and was seemingly irredeemable. And yet there was a hint of better days down the road.

The Old Testament is the long story of a hoped-for Messiah who would bring hope to the whole world. And then Jesus connects us to that hope and links us into being part of God’s story full of liberation, redemption and purpose. Faith in Jesus is not just some “pie in the sky when we die” hope, but a belief in God’s presence that brings strength, grace and wisdom to change what is into what could be.

We all need the “Here Comes The Sun” – “Sunny Days”  moments. We all need hope. Perhaps one of the things we have learned in this year of COVID-19 has been that we have been stripped of our arrogance and had to learn to lean back on God. In our western world, we can easily put our confidence in our wealth, our comforts, our medical knowledge, and human intelligence.

COVID threw us off our feet, many were left struggling to find an anchor, a hope, a new orientation in this uncomfortable time.

The word that resonates at Christmas is Emmanuel – “God with us”. That became our hope.

  • As we enter this hopeful moment of sun and spring.
  • As we begin to move out of isolation and stay at home orders and back to a more open COVID-19 free life maybe we need to commit to actually learn what we have learned and not just leave the lesson behind.

This most recent season of restrictions started as we approached Christmas. It is ending as we approach Easter.

  • As we approach Easter, we remember that Jesus came – Emmanuel – “God with us“.
  • Jesus came and died on the cross for us, was raised from the dead.
  • The vaccine is not the saviour of the world. Jesus is.
  • Scientific research is not our best hope. Jesus is our hope.