Monday, May 2, 2011

May 2, 2011

Do you periodically wonder how you ended up here?

If someone had told me at age eleven that I would be happily living in Edmonton, I would have been very surprised. Alberta seemed far away to a girl in the Saint John River Valley.

Our lives set us in directions we hadn’t dreamed of. Often that’s a pleasure; sometimes it comes out of grief or loneliness or pain or hurt. The turn in the road onto an alternative journey may come through suffering.

Do you wonder about the suffering in your life? In the lives of your friends, of the world?

Here’s a great truth: Jesus lived a real life. He knew suffering: betrayal, denial, pain, even death. He became one of us and knows what it’s like. God knows what our lives are like.

And what a turn in the road! Resurrection, hope, trust, companionship, fullness of life: he’s been there. Jesus’ alternative journey gives us reason to be joyful rather than bitter, hopeful rather than despairing, compassionate rather than cynical, generous rather than stingy, seeking rather than hiding.

In your church we live into this joy, hope, compassion and generosity. We seek to discover and proclaim Jesus’ leadership on the alternative journey. Whether it’s along the Saskatchewan River or the Saint John, we know God is with us on the road.

How did you end up here?
    
Blessings,



The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

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