DanAid Jubilee Song: You Ask Me What Hope IS

1. You ask me uncertain what hope is, 
a longing, a spirit, a storm?
a light-shaft transfusing the ocean?
a shadow pursuing a form?
But just as you think this is all empty air, 
you find hope
is present,
you find it is there.

2. You find it on altars in churches;
it burns with a flickering glow
on tables around which we gather
to share daily bread as we grow.
And just as you think this is all empty air, 
you find hope
is shining,
and shining right there.

3. It shines in the dark, you can grasp it; 
it turns into help that arrives
in places where people are hoping
that others will hope for their lives
And just as you think this is all empty air, 
you find hope
is growing,
and growing right there.

4. The hungry are fed, and new bridges 
are built as the land comes alive,
the stone-field reveals a green shimmer, 
and forests are starting to thrive.
And just as you think this is all empty air, 
you find hope
is living,
and living right there.

5. You ask me what hope is – I wonder. 
God gave it to help us along:
a yearning in hearts that are darkened 
to action, to speech, and to song.
And just as you think it will never appear, 
you find hope
is singing,
is singing right here.

Lyrics: Lisbeth Smedegaard Andersen, 2021 
Trans.: Edward Broadbridge, 2022