Poet Ken Sehested: Hope & Healing
The Deuteronomist
History says: Don’t hope on this side of the grave. It is too much to ask for mere mortals such as us.
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| Moses Views the Promised Land, a 19th Century engraving |
Yet we say, Noli timere.
Do not be afraid.
Hope is not beyond your reach. It is not in the highest region of heaven, or out beyond the farthest sea. Hope need not be the exclusive province of heroic figures.
Noli timere.
Do not be afraid.
Hope is in your mouth, ready to be savored; it is in your heart, awaiting love’s harness.
Noli timere. Noli timidus.
Do not be afraid, brothers. Do not be timid, sisters.
The time will come when the longed-for tidal wave of justice will rise up, when hope and history shall rhyme.
Noli timere.
Do not be afraid.
So then, live toward that great sea-change on the far side of revenge. Believe that a further shore is reachable from here.
Noli timere. Noli timidus.
Do not be afraid, fathers. Do not be timid, mothers.
Believe in miracles and cures and healing wells.
Noli timere!
Behold, the Beloved summons heaven and earth to witness our resolve: blessings and life in the face of curses and death.
Choose life, and rejoice evermore.
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