Often to quiet and focus my anxious mind in the morning, I put my trusty earbuds in and listen to sermons from some of my favorite pastors. This morning, I was blown away by the wisdom from Father Dan from the Anglican Church of the Redeemer in Franklin, MA. I have yet to attend mass in person, but I am already a huge fan of Father Dan and his wise, gentle and loving presence. So, in this sermon which is over a year old, he spoke of the story of Pandora’s box. A story we have all heard of and maybe even used the expression but Father Dan broadened my awareness of this ancient tale.

The story goes that Pandora is the first woman on Earth created by the Gods. Zeus was angry with her and Prometheus who stole fire from heaven, so he presented Pandora with a ‘special’ gift, a beautiful box that she was forbidden to open. Like Eve who could not resist taking forbidden fruit form the tree of knowledge, Pandora could not resist. Also, like Eve, she had no idea that her action would impact all of humanity. When she opened the box, all sorts of evil was released into the world, she was aghast and quickly shut the box, leaving just one thing in the box -hope. This was the part of the story that Father Dan touched on that I hadn’t recalled. I appreciate this so much, as hope is a quality we so need, for all times and generations but oh do we need it now!

Source- Sorioti Jewelry

I think we open pandora’s box when we rely to much on social media and the constant stream of news feeds and information we have at our fingertips. I know I personally fell victim to this during the election, checking in and finding news feeds that supported my views. In reality isn’t much of the news or information/validation that we seek simply a well crafted opinion? I am human and so are you, so we give ourselves grace but also try to stay alert to the ‘information’ that might be zapping our sense of self and or hope in things that are just formations of our own desires. Seriously consider your daily screen time and how it makes you feel. Does it make your feel whole, holy or hopeful? If not, we reassess and consider shutting the lid a little bit.

Another way we can’t seem to help ourselves, me included, is judgement and gossip. I can see these things flying out of pandora’s box in lovely colors floating far and wide. Our minds are so busy and rooted in the world and all the details of our lives and others lives that we cannot help but like opening the box, we open our mouth and spew out words that are often not tainted with hope but tainted with the evils of gossip and unwise speech. I tend to write about what I need, like confessing my sins, I constantly set a goal for myself for wiser speech. We might then consider the wisdom of Socrates when he muses, “Is it true, is it kind or is it necessary?” We will falter, the box has been opened! But when we choose to become more aware we can reshape our hearts, minds and speech. This can be for us a daily humbling practice about how we choose to live and gently close the lid of the box.

Source English Plus Podcast

Let us turn our attention to the bottom of the box, the quality that remained, hope. Some have suggested that this is just another evil quality, and it can be when hope is just another manifestation of the ego and surface level. Examples of this might be I hope I get the job; I hope they like me; I hope it doesn’t rain today; I have plans. All of these examples are centered around the self and have nothing to do with spiritual hope which is entirely differenct, pure and everlasting.

I offer you this eye and heart opening quote from Ephesians 1:17-19;

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

The words that stand out to me in this passage is the eyes of your heart my be enlightened in order that you may know hope. The eyes of our hearts! Yes, this is what we need to open our hearts wider, to clear the dust out so that we may find hope that is rooted in faith rather than of our own doing and of this world. I love this as a simple practice of getting quiet, maybe spending time in nature or moving the body and truly breathing into this sacred space within us. You may call it the holy spirit living within, the eternal space or as I alluded to in my last blog the place where God set eternity in our hearts.

One more quote comes to mind this time from Hebrews 11:1; Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. We are bestowed with a blessed assurance when we choose to have hope in these things not seen but often felt in the quietude of the soul and in so many other beautiful manifestations of acknowledging and receiving God’s grace. Alas, this was not meant to be a political rant or yet another judgement of character and personal choices, this was simply the musing of another curious woman who thankfully knows when to shut the box, turn inward rather than outward and keep hope alive.