Rebellious Hope

Written by Hannah Land.

A friend coined the term rebellious hope & that’s been on my mind since I heard it. Especially with this Lenten series from Broken church.

Hope is an action and it’s feisty. I’ve witnessed this time & time again.

A few examples…

The family rebelliously hoping for more time with their relative as they watch a rare cancer destroy their body. That same individual defying the odds to live another day.

Jenny Rowbory – living precariously, stuck for 24 hours a day laid on her back. Barely able to move her spine. Trying to raise funds for specialist corrective surgery in the USA and medically supported transport (https://gofund.me/8e8aab69)

The millions of people protesting against fascist governments this past weekend.

The work of organisations in Israel and Palestine like Standing Together (https://www.standing-together.org/en) and Hand in Hand (https://www.handinhandk12.org).

In Jesus, we see it on the cross, with the words – “Father into your hands I commend my spirit.” and “Tis finished.” In the cross and the resurrection we see the biggest rebellious hope of all time.

The song Martin, 452 in the sacred harp (https://youtu.be/y2lAPQlA_QM?si=ny0tDjueLugmN7PC) came to my mind when thinking about this.

Wesley includes the phrase “hoping against hope I stand, dying and behold I live.”

Martin, 452 in the Sacred Harp

Rebellious hope.

Where do you see it?

✏️ Hannah Land is an NHS Occupational Therapist and local Councillor in Nottingham, UK. She’s an active Shape Note Singer, Anglican Church member and supports various online liberal Christian communities. Occasionally she shares her thoughts and experiences on Substack.

💬 All views are those of the author, and copyright belongs to them. This has been presented as provided to thebrokenchurch.

📧 If you’re interested in sharing a little hope between 5th March and 17th April 2025, get in touch (abrokenpastor@gmail.com) with your contribution. It can be an article, blog post, artwork, poem, song, photo… there are no rules others than it be your original work and offers a little bit of hope.