I wonder if you, like me, get a little cross when someone uses this expression (and even action) when they hope for something to happen: ‘I’ve got my fingers crossed‘? Someone else might say ‘touch wood‘ when they, too, want something to take place or to try and gain good luck.

Superstitious expressions

Both of these expressions have their origins in pre-Christian and also in early Christian times. To cross one’s fingers was used to invoke God’s blessing and even to ward off evil, including when a person coughed or sneezed. ‘Touch wood‘ might also refer to touching the wooden cross of Christ but its origins seem to be much earlier as an expression: it derives from pantheistic religions where trees were supposedly inhabited by deities. If you expressed a hope for the future you should touch or knock on wood to prevent malevolent spirits hearing and so prevent your hopes coming true.

Present Hope

I have, however, been forced to reconsider the expressions which I have been using and which also might quite reasonably be annoying others. In particular I have been writing (and saying), ‘I hope you are safe and well‘ as I have communicated with people in these virus-afflicted times. What exactly do I mean by ‘hope’?  In itself ‘hope’ is at best an expression of concern but in English etymology it contains no guarantees: ‘I hope you are doing OK‘, ‘I hope you will get better‘, etc.  As a Christian, my ‘hope’ should be much stronger!

In Spanish the verb for ‘to hope’, ‘esperar’, is also the same as ‘to wait for’ and ‘to expect’. When a woman is pregnant she ‘esperando un bebe’. This is similar to the Biblical meanings in Hebrew and Greek of ‘hope’ but in both the Old and New Testaments we also find the word ‘hope’ tied in with a ‘trust’ in God. What are we hoping for, expecting or trusting in God in our prayers for ourselves and others? What is the ultimate purpose in our prayers during this time of crisis and in many cases, suffering?

Future Hope

Romans 8 v 22-25 (in the New Testament) speaks of the parallel of childbirth and the expectation of hope, “…as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved…“.  It is hope in the future glory we have as an end destination of our trust in God.

As we pray for the day-to-day needs and things that will pass on earth, we are mindful that ultimately our desire is that in all things God’s will is done and that people will place their certain hope in Jesus.

I hope (and trust) that in treading this you, like me, will have been challenged to examine what we say ‘off hand’. I won’t be crossing my fingers or even touching wood as I write this – but, simply, praying that in a time of crisis my hope will be that of expectancy – an expectancy that God will bring light into our dark times, meaning in distress, and joy in unexpected places.

(With thanks to ‘Christian Values in Education’,  CVE, Scotland for inspiration)