Throughout the Bible, hope takes the form of a child. “Unto us a child is born” echoes and re-echoes through the canon. Adam and Eve hope for the Seed; Abraham and Sarah for Isaac; Isaac and Rebekah for Esau and Jacob; Jacob for his lost son, Joseph; the people of Judah for the hidden Davidic scion, Joash.

Hope is filial and, for that reason, also maternal. Pregnancy signifies the experience of hope as the present reality of future good. To his mother, an unborn child is inescapable. She feels his kicks and stretches and pirouettes rippling across her abdomen. Inside the warm bath of the womb, he hears her sing, learns her voice, responds to her love. Pregnancy is the real presence of joy not yet seen. …

Continue reading >>>