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 Image Credit: Pexels We've forgotten how to experience joy.
I don't mean happiness. We pursue that constantly. We optimize for it, curate it, post about it. But joy? Real, wild, uncontained joy? We've buried that somewhere along the way. We are Easter people. Even when the ground below us is shaking, we will not grow weary. We know that Jesus is our foundation. Christ is risen, and that truth strengthens us. It gives us courage to live, to hope and to proclaim joy.
The Rev. Yehiel Curry Presiding Bishop Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
 "I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is."
Forrest Gump says it to Jenny near the end of the movie, and somehow this simple character understands something our culture has forgotten. He can't articulate complex theories about love, but he knows what it is because he's lived it. He's shown up. He's been faithful. He's served without counting the cost.  For thousands of years, humans have honored their dead through various rites and rituals.
More than 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals seem to have laid their dead to rest with flowers. Ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Norse cultures (to name but a few) all honored the dead in elaborate ways that were way beyond merely disposing of the corpse. Jews, Muslims, and Christians (the Abrahamic faiths) each honor the dead and take great pains to invoke the hope for some life with God beyond death.  March 4, 2026
Dear siblings in Christ, They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more (Isaiah 2:4). In our Lenten journey, we are reminded of our dependence on God, and we are sustained by hope in the future peace God has promised. As war involving the United States, Israel and Iran intensifies and spreads, we lament how far off that promise seems. We do not know how many people have been killed, but we know the number will continue to grow. Early reports indicate that more than 100 Iranian schoolgirls and several U.S. service members are among them. The church of Jesus Christ is called to proclaim the peace of God’s eternal reign and to work for an earthly peace here and now. The ELCA social message “Living in a Time of Terrorism” states that this earthly peace is a “precious yet fragile good.” Its existence depends on leaders who prioritize diplomacy over military engagement and deterrence over war, and on citizens who hold government accountable whenever military action is considered. With many of you, I am distressed that a robust, public discernment through congressional authorization did not occur prior to the United States’ engagement in this war. As Lutherans, we affirm that government and the order that just laws provide are gifts of God for our safety and well-being. This war does not represent the promotion of this just order but rather its failure. The costs in lives and safety of this failure will be borne by those least able to avoid it — children, families and those without the means to flee. Its deadly toll has been, and will continue to be, paid with the lives of our neighbors, including our siblings in Christ in the Middle East. This moment underscores the urgent need for robust, well-resourced diplomatic and humanitarian efforts. Our companions in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land have asked our church to pray fervently for peace and safety and to advocate for the dignity and security of all people. ELCA Witness in Society will continue to provide opportunities for this advocacy. As members of the body of Christ, join me in prayerful, hopeful solidarity with our siblings and neighbors who suffer today. Together,
The Rev. Yehiel Curry Presiding Bishop Evangelical Lutheran Church in America  We're all exhausted.
Running on fumes, barely keeping up, one more thing on the to-do list that never gets done. Culture tells us to hustle harder, optimize better, rise and grind. Rest is for the weak. Productivity is a virtue. |
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