How can I Help?

 Pastor, what are we to do?

This question has come up a lot recently as the rights of our LGBTQ+ friends, native born neighbors and those seeking asylum in our country have been eroded or out right taken away. As our neighbor's federal jobs are being taken away illegally, our own social ministry organizations (Global Refuge and Lutheran Community Services NW) are being shut down because of suspended funding, one has to wonder, what can we do?

For our Lenten series we are going to use the movie Inside Out 2 for our conversations. In this sequel we find our protagonist entering puberty and a new emotion has arrived, Anxiety. One of the first words that Anxiety says is, "What can I do to help!" On the surface it seems like a wonderful question to ask. Who doesn't want someone to come along and ask this same question. But, while Anxiety is asking this question she is already at work without waiting for an answer. She flits from here to there seemingly doing something but really is not doing anything helpful at all.

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders-5, anxiety is defined as the anticipation of future threat. Anxiety is a normal emotion. In fact it is understood as being helpful for survival. But there is a threshold between adaptive anxiety and debilitating anxiety. Our current news cycles have driven our culture into debilitating anxiety, it seems to me.

It will be good for us to spend time reflecting on good anxiety and unhealthy anxiety. Good anxiety that steers us away from dangerous paths and unhealthy anxiety that flits us from this way to that way without direction. I think Jesus has a lot to say about this. 

In Luke chapter 8 we have this wonderful sailing story. The disciples are sailing a boat while Jesus decides to take a nap. A storm arises. Some of the disciples are fishermen, don't you think they would know how to handle the situation? Instead, their anxiety overwhelms them and the crew shouts, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"

Jesus, not full of anxiety, not buying into the chaos around him, wakes up and calms the storm. Then he says, "Where is your faith?"

Indeed, where is our faith? What can we do? We do what we have always been called to do. In these trying times let us remember that Jesus calms the storms around us so that we can make our way forward with the mission we are given, to be a non-anxious presence in the world, to offer good news to the poor, and to stand up to injustice. Just like we have always done. Our work has not changed. 

How are you handling your anxiety? Where is your faith these days? Where are you seeing Jesus at work in your life and in the world? Are just a few questions for us to ponder.

Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? Luke 12:25