It is believing without blotting out the sight of tragedy. For nothing emasculates the strength of faith in our lives so much as the all too human tendency to make faith seem strong by a willful blindness to everything which denies it. That kind of faith which rises when we turn our backs on all the darkness, is simply a psychological trick. Years ago I came across in some magazine or book, another quotation that has remained firmly fixed in my mind. I am not optimistic but I am hopeful.
Realism demands pessimism.
We hold a dim view of the present because we hold a bright view of the future. And such hope arouses, as nothing else can arouse, a passion for the possible'. A passion for the possible. That's the note which Advent seeks to evoke. The game of chess is not one that I play, nor do I understand it.