THE TROUBLING events of Jan. 6 helped many realize that we can never take for granted the staples of democracy, including the peaceful transfer of power. The violent uprising, spurred by the outgoing president, offered sobering reminders that our society’s most deep-seated pathologies are very much with us. The new administration promises not only relief from the traumatic outrages of the last four years, but also the prospect of seriously engaging urgent issues, from the pandemic and racialized policing to climate change and the crisis of poverty.
But such prospects, encouraging as they are, are not where hope lies—hope is not based on a belief that everything is about to get better. As Danté Stewart reminds us in this issue, hope isn’t about simply escaping the fiery ravages of violent empire or wishing the flames would go away. Rather, hope lies in recognizing that God is with us in the struggle and that, ultimately, “The Lord is a healer” and “will keep us through the fiery furnace.” That’s the mystery, and the power, of incarnational faith.
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