The promise of order in the midst of chaos
Dear First Pres SLO Family,
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus the Messiah, the one who draws us in, sends us out, and promises order in the midst of chaos. We claim that promise today!
It’s been a week of intense emotions. I’ve been in Pennsylvania for my son’s graduation from college—it’s such a huge milestone for him. He was surrounded by family and probably smothered by all the attention. I helped him move off campus for the final time, which brought back a flood of memories of the other move-ins and move-outs, especially the ones disrupted by the impact of COVID. (His graduating class was the last one that had a full year of college before the pandemic.) There were tears and laughter all at once.
As we were celebrating his graduation I started getting alerts that something awful had happened in Buffalo. You know the details. Yet another mass shooting—yet another individual whose fear and hatred was expressed in bullets—yet another set of images of loss and grief and anger.
I struggled to hold both of those events in my heart at once. The happiness and pride I felt for my son’s hard work and recognition, alongside the sick grief and frustration and sadness for those precious lives lost…for nothing. I’m reminded that real life often means having to hold the good and the bad together, in tension sometimes, and that it’s OK.
On Sunday we were at the University of Pennsylvania where my son’s girlfriend was finishing her own college career. It was another inspiring service recognizing the achievements and aspirations of the graduates, and I was moved again by a sense of hope. It was at Penn’s Commencement that I started getting alerts about the shooting at the Presbyterian Church in Orange County. The whole cycle flowed again, of inspiration and sadness, of hope weighed down by feelings of futility.
To be honest, right about then I’d had enough of real life.
But this is a critical place where faith is meant to provide support and comfort and buoyancy in the face of all the things that want to pull us under the water. I said during this past week that evil won a few battles, but that faith reminds us that the darkness doesn’t win in the end. I needed that reminder. I needed to filter my own despair through the promises of Jesus.
As I look back it occurs to me that it was the graduation ceremonies that gave me the most hope. Hearing stories of students who had spent their summers helping inner-city kids find healthcare, or worked to create projects that helped save our natural resources, or who developed economic models that promoted a fairer and more just society. I mean, these young people were amazing. They took their privilege and elite educations, and devoted them to helping other people and creation with energy and creativity. Maybe you need to hear this: Young people are wonderful!
Evil may have won a few battles this week, but my money’s on this next generation of graduates to make sure it doesn’t win in the end. We can all be thankful for that.
See what I mean? It was an intense week of feelings—grief, frustration, and even anger, alongside pride, satisfaction, and an extra-large portion of hope. Real life means holding all of those, allowing God to help us address the problems and celebrate the joys.
That’s what I learned on my week away. How about you?
Blessings to you,
Pastor John