Article December 15, 2003 Issue

When there seems no reason to hope

By Bill Moody

Imagine, if you will , a man who has been ill for so long that he can almost not remember what it is like to be well. It has, in fact, been nearly 40 years since he was last able to get up from his bed. His case could easily be classified as hopeless. He can't walk. He has no one to help him.

Each day seems to run into the next—moments of despair marking the hours, the weeks and months, the years. And on this particular day, nothing at all about it seems any different from any other day—for the last 38 years.

Yet, it is different. Even as the man awakes to another morning of hopelessness, he hasn't counted on this one amazing thing: The Christ is coming today. And even if he had somehow been given this startling news in advance, it's likely that he wouldn't have yet known what this could possibly mean to him.