Dear Ones:
It is my sincere hope that by the time you read these words we are no longer pining away for spring, but that it has actually arrived. It is my sincere hope that by now you have felt the first true warmth of spring—warm sun, warm breezes, warm rain. It is my sincere hope that the beauty of spring has begun to settle around you—that you have felt it, smelled it, seen it, heard it, tasted it. It is my sincere hope that any winter-induced depression that may have set in through February and March is now fading into the returning green. It is my sincere hope that Nature’s steady rebirth inspires your own steady rebirth in these early days of spring.
Our ministry theme for April is reconciliation. I am, at least as I write these words, wondering about the role of reconciliation in our lives. I’m toying with the general idea that reconciliation is a path to personal peace and contentment, whereas a lack of reconciliation can lead to inner struggle, dissonance, turmoil. On one level this is obvious. We ought to seek reconciliation whenever and wherever we can. We ought to seek reconciliation with those we’ve harmed and with those who’ve harmed us. We ought to seek reconciliation in the midst of conflict between those at war. We ought to seek reconciliation with the human condition, with the reality of death. We ought to seek reconciliation with the earth. We ought to seek reconciliation with whatever it is we hold sacred.
And yet we know sometimes reconciliation is not possible. Perhaps the person who harmed us has died. Perhaps the warring parties are beyond anyone’s reach. Perhaps the earth has already suffered too much damage. Perhaps the sacred is too veiled in mystery. What happens when reconciliation is not possible? Is it not true that a state of being unreconciled may be the genesis of remarkable creative energy? Is it not true that a state of being unreconciled – as painful as it may be – may inspire us to achieve in some way, serve in some way, love in some way?
With love, Rev. Josh
