A Word from Pastor Nathan

Dear Friends:

Whenever I’m feeling disoriented, I go back to familiar stories, songs, and prayers. For example, remember what happens to Jesus right after his baptism? No sooner is he out of the water, his hair still dripping wet, than the Spirit of God immediately hurls Jesus into the wilderness for forty days and nights. Imagining Jesus in the wilderness brings comfort as we, too, are in the thick of the wilderness.

Earlier today, I YouTubed the song Mercy Now from singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier (pictured above). She sings, “Every living thing could use a little mercy now / Only the hand of grace can end the race towards another mushroom cloud / People in power, they’ll do anything to keep their crown / I love life and life itself could use some mercy now.” Hear the full song here:

We need a little mercy now, don’t we? Mercy to stay at home, mercy to practice social distancing, mercy to keep the faith in spite of the evidence to the contrary.

Finally, Thomas Merton, a Trappist Monk who lived at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, wrote this prayer, which speaks for me when my own words fail. “My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end, nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

Familiar stories, songs, and prayers re-orient me when I feel lost. My prayer for you is that the stories, songs, and prayers of our faith increase your strength and resolve as we journey together with Jesus through the wilderness.

Lenten blessings,