We’re living in deeply uncertain times.
We’re in the throes of a global pandemic. Markets are rising and falling. Everywhere we turn, we’re confronted with political distraction and disruption. And we’re still dealing with the regular ebbs and flows of daily life.
It can all begin to feel like too much.
And in many ways, it is too much.
There’s little we can do against the forces of nature or political and cultural change. We can’t control the weather or the stock market. Our health is fragile and can be taken from us suddenly.
It’s a reminder of the reality with which we were confronted just weeks ago on Ash Wednesday: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Regardless of what we might tell ourselves, we are always living in uncertain times. Some moments in history allow us to see it more clearly than others, but we are and always have been dust returning to dust.
The good news, of course, is that there is hope. Not the fleeting kind of hope that comes from the news media or a soaring stock market or a scientific breakthrough, but the lasting hope that is only found in the cross of Jesus Christ. For, in the end, it is only here that we can find solidarity and solace in the midst of uncertainty.
During this season of Lent, as you journey toward the cross, I pray that you will discover anew this source of your ultimate hope!
Grace and peace,
Robin J. Steinke, President
Luther Seminary