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 "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.  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.  We are at war. There is no denying it. Our nation has started a war against Iran, and the outcome will not be settled quickly or easily. As the warfare bleeds into other nations, reigning destruction in ever widening circles, soldiers, sailors, and civilians die and chaos reigns. There is no such thing as a “good war.” Christians since the earliest days of Christian thought have agreed on this point. The question has been is this war a just war?
 Every week members ask me if I have anything to say about the chaos and confusion of our days. I know they really aren’t asking for my personal opinions. They want to hear what God might have to say. Some want a word of clarity that will address the violence, division, misinformation of a civil order that is quite disordered. Others want to hear a word that gives them peace and comfort in the face of all that is spinning out of control. Some want to hear what scripture, and our God may have to say about ICE raids and a government seemingly out of control. Others want to hear nothing about these things. Rock, meet hard place.
 We live in a culture that doesn't know what to do when we're wrong.
We defend ourselves. We spin the narrative. We issue carefully worded apologies that don't actually admit fault. "I'm sorry if you were offended." "Mistakes were made." We perform contrition, then move on as quickly as possible.  There is an old joke about change in the church: How many Lutherans does it take to change a lightbulb? Seven. One to change the bulb and six to talk about how much better the old bulb was. Change often drives us crazy and brings out a boatload of anxiety and fear. Yet the only thing that never changes is the presence of change itself.
 My first day as the Lead Pastor of Holy Trinity was February 1, 2011, fifteen years ago, this past Sunday. My wife, and biggest supporter, bought cake for everyone to share. She made sure everyone knew so we could observe the partnership that is, and has been, pastoral ministry.
 The world feels heavy right now. There's a lot of fear about what's happening, what's coming next, fear for neighbors and families. The news cycles through crisis after crisis, and social media amplifies every reaction.
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