Hope
I gave to Hope a watch of mine: but he
An anchor gave to me.
Then an old prayer-book I did present:
And he an optic sent.
With that I gave a vial full of tears:
But he a few green ears.
Ah Loiterer! I'll no more, no more I'll bring:
I did expect a ring.
We only know the full force of hope when we live through delay, frustration and longing. Hope is hard work, especially when all the evidence seems to make what is hoped for impossible.
Hope is a Loiterer. By definition what is hoped for is beyond our immediate control or we could, and would, make it happen. Instead of giving what we hope for right now and for the asking, Hope defers.
Three couplets describe the negotiations between the poet and Hope (Christ). The watch is a timepiece, new technology in Herbert's time; so Herbert gives all his time to Christ (Hope). In exchange he gets an anchor. The obvious link is Hebrews 6.19:"the hope set before us, an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast..." So instead of giving what is hoped for, Hope gives the strength to hold on and wait. The cruciform shape of the anchor points the reader to the cross, and to the stability and security of being anchored in the eternal love displayed there.
The Prayer Book in Herbert's time is an emblem of long term, regular and faithful devotion. So Herbert effectively casts up his years of devout loyalty to the liturgy and to the church, as a negotiating package. But instead of realised hopes he is given a telescope to be able to see what is hoped for, while at the same time being compelled to live with distance, and that frustrating not yet, that makes hope such hard work.
The vial of tears is the gift of his repentance, the proof of his love, the evidence of hope's intensity. Echoing Psalm 8.8 "put my tears into thy bottle", Herbert is asking God to take his tears as proof he has waited long enough. But not quite. Green ears of grain point to a later harvest, and it was only a few green ears. Once again hope is disappointed by wanting it all early, and the response is again a reminder of both assurance and deferment. Hope doesn't become reality on demand. But the tears haven't been bottled. They have irrigated the grains of hope and now the green ears promise eventual harvest.
Trust Herbert to find a new word for Christ - Loiterer! In Herbert's day the word was used to describe the person who delayed paying their bills! One of the levers in a negotiation between parties is the decision to walk away from the table. Impatience, hurry and compulsion inevitably find hope a frustrating process. So "I'll no more; no more I'll bring" is an ultimatum to force Hope's hand.
Truth is, he didn't need to bring anything. Hope is a promise guaranteed by Christ; his promise is as sure as an anchor, is visible through the telescope of faith looking upward, is evidenced by green ears of grain. The fact that Herbert wanted a ring. This has a double meaning. The ring of marriage points to the spiritual union of the Christian with Christ; the ring as symbol of completeness and perfection points to the full blessing of eternity. The full consummation is future; for now we live in hope.
This short poem teaches us something we now need to know about hope. We look on a world forever changed by the coronavirus pandemic. We hope so many things; for the safety of those we love, for a vaccine, for our local communities to be responsible, caring and constructive, for a return to a way of life without this fear and loss of control, for the safety and health of all those who are keeping essential services going, the NHS staff, food suppliers, emergency services, for ourselves an eventual return to human community and flourishing, but perhaps with a clearer idea of why it is important to care about our planet, our human communities, and the economy as servant not slave-master.
We hope these things, and so we pray for them. With Herbert's impatience; with what Jesus called importunity, that noisy persistence that won't shut up. And in our hoping and praying, we will hold on to the anchor, look through the optic towards a future in God's purposes, and imagine those green ears that confirm there will again be harvest.
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