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Dear Friends in Christ,
Some days I wish that life could be more like a movie. It’s not that I wish life was scripted. Neither do I crave always having a happy fairy-tale ending. Rather, I appreciate the way that movies allow consistency in tone between the environment and the mood. When the mood is sad, a director can garnish it with solemn music and rain clouds. When the mood is happy, a director can fill a scene with vibrant colors and birds chirping in the background.
But since life is not a movie, we often are forced to deal with the contradictory nature of our narratives and environments. It feels weird to deal with the heaviness of loss while the weather here in Wisconsin will be the nicest it’ll be all year. It feels weird when the event calendar is dominated by parades and festivals when you just want to go hide under a blanket. It feels weird gathering together at church to praise God in the middle of heartache.
And yet, the invitation remains for us to lean into the contradictions together. On Sunday we’ll live fully into the weirdness trying to find good news in the middle of the sad story about John the Baptist being executed by Herod. And whether you’re struggling or thriving, I can promise that you’ll be surrounded by good people as Ericka Jones and Lisa Myers assist in worship, Hope Johnson graces us with a cello piece, and Rev. Matt Short from the synod joins us to preside over communion.
Hope to see you soon,
Pastor Mike
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