Dirty-Feathered Hope
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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"Hope" is the thing with feathers
14 min read
The article directly quotes and reflects on Emily Dickinson's famous poem, using it as a central metaphor. Readers would benefit from understanding the full poem's context, Dickinson's life, and the literary significance of this work.
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Lazarus of Bethany
15 min read
The article references Martha's conversation with Jesus about raising Lazarus as a pivotal example of immediate versus deferred hope. Understanding the full biblical narrative and its theological interpretations enriches the article's argument about miraculous hope.
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Massacre of the Innocents
15 min read
The article mentions 'families whose babies were killed in Herod's decree' as an example of hope feeling distant. This historical/biblical event provides important context for understanding the darkness surrounding the Nativity narrative.
This summer, I kept noticing dead birds of prey on the side of the highway. I live in a semi-rural area, but many of what once were cornfields are now being bulldozed into quick-build subdivisions. I still see owls swooping across the road if I drive home in the dark, and on the way to school, my children love to point out a red-tailed hawk diving into the pumpkin patch across the street to strike, emerging from the brush moments later with a vole in its talons. I don’t know what has been killing them—pesticides, collisions, habitat loss, or poisoned prey—but my heart feels crushed at the sight of one of my fearsome, wild neighbors in the ditch, just as it is inspired when I see them soaring above my home.
Emily Dickinson wrote, “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers - / that perches in the soul.” The lyric is so ubiquitous, my brain chants it like a word-association exercise anytime I think of the word hope for more than a second or two. I’m accustomed to thinking of hope as a white-feathered, celestial thing soaring above the tribulations of life, but more often, that feathered thing is lying bloodied on the side of the highway. When you lay a loved one to rest, the promise of resurrection can feel like a far-off whisper. When you watch money drain from your account despite working hard and paying tithing, when you spend hours on the phone with an insurance company only to have your claims denied, when you start growing a dream only to see it fail—hope can feel like toxic positivity, an insult to your experiences.
While Jesus was probably not actually born near the winter solstice, there is beautiful symbolism in celebrating His advent during the darkest part of the year. Jesus was born during a time of oppression for the children of Israel. His own life was one of poverty. He was executed after an unjust trial. His resurrection was quiet; the people who opposed Him explained His empty tomb away as a deception.
Sometimes we explain away our hope too. Sometimes I don’t pray for what I really hope for because I believe God wants to teach me a lesson more than He wants to bless me. Being denied so I can grow and develop feels like a punishment that I can’t handle, so I shy
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