Food for the Journey
June 3, 2021
Ann Beck, Pastoral Associate
"God’s Big Beautiful World"
This sunny and warm week is full of busy anticipation, preparing for our God’s Big Beautiful World summer kick-off on Saturday – planting annual flowers on the church grounds and activities for kids; for our first in-person worship service on Sunday; and for me, a Boundary Waters canoe trip next week. As school age kids have their final days of class, life holds out the bountiful promises of summer. There is joy and celebration in the air!
And, life being what it is, there is also the shadow of sorrow and worry. We remember the people that will be missing on Sunday, whose deaths we are still waiting to mark together. Those who are ill and nearing the end of life, or who have become homebound this year. We mourn the horror of mass shootings that has shaken the country, and most significantly this week, the remembrance of racial violence on the anniversaries of the Tulsa Race Massacre, and the Duluth lynching of Clayton, Jackson and McGhie.
Have you noticed that is on the sunniest of days that the shadows are most sharp and distinct? When all seems glorious around us, we don’t want to be reminded of the harsh edges of reality – but, well, there they are. And that’s ok. Especially when it brings to awareness the needs of others, and the reminder that it all belongs to God, and we can respond with repentant and thankful hearts. Remember, too, that the opposite is also true: when shadows are deep, sunlight is nearby. Thanks be to God, the source of our Light.
God, whatever each day brings, help us live in your big, beautiful world with gratitude and in love. In Jesus’ name, Amen