Bishop Hutterer: From worry to wonder
“Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.”
Photo by Peter Winckler on Unsplash
As we move through our Lenten journey into Holy Week, I find myself thinking of the theme of our spring gatherings: From Worry to Wonder.
In the last few months, the Office of the Bishop staff met with over 250 people at gatherings throughout our synod. When we invited folks to share their worries for our church, we found the most common response, voiced in a variety of ways, was the fear that the church will die. We heard there’s not enough young people, there’s not enough pastors, there’s not enough money, there’s simply not enough.
I’m grateful for all the ways people shared their concerns. These worries have occupied church conversations even before the pandemic and have become more relevant as the church continues to evolve and adapt. We may long for a return to pre-pandemic life, but the church’s experience has changed irreversibly.
The journey of the church involves becoming something new, not returning to the past. The path forward is to move together, exploring worries and shifting from a posture of worry to a posture of wonder.
At these gatherings, we explored how worry circles often trap people, focusing their energy inward on perceived problems driven by a desire to control things and fear of what might happen if the worry spirals out of control. To move from worry to wonder, it’s essential to pause, ask questions, and gain perspective. This starts by clearly naming the worry and considering its specific impact, then reversing direction and looking out, into a circle of wonder.
Moving from worry to wonder requires asking different questions, especially considering the larger purpose and ultimate point of a situation. In the Grand Canyon Synod, the answer to our larger purpose is essentially six words: communicate Jesus, connect people, and create possibilities.
By recognizing the invitation God presents and reframing the situation, we can replace worry with inspiration, motivation, and hope. When we ask ourselves how we can connect people and communicate Jesus, our minds spin with possibilities.
I find this practice of turning worry to wonder especially clear in the context of Holy Week. For the people who followed and loved Jesus in the days before his resurrection, those days were nothing but worry and fear and loss of control. In real time, it would have been very difficult to see that God was involved in all of this.
We would do well to remember that our days, too, are filled with a mix of worry and wonder, as we confront the darkness before us and embrace the light that follows.
Maundy Thursday reminds us of Jesus’ command to love one another, as he humbly washed his disciples’ feet and shared his last meal with them. In a world filled with worry and uncertainty, we are called to emulate Jesus’ unwavering love and care for others, even in the face of adversity.
Good Friday takes us to the foot of the cross, where we bear witness to Christ’s ultimate sacrifice to show God’s unstoppable and relenting love for this world. We are reminded of the deep sorrow, anguish, and worry about the future that encompassed those who loved Jesus as he suffered and died.
On Holy Saturday, we sit in a place of silence and anticipation, as we await the Resurrection. We may feel overwhelmed by the weight of the world’s worries, but we are also called to hold on to hope, even in the darkness.
Finally, on Easter morning, we witness the wonder of the Resurrection, as Jesus triumphs over death and offers us the gift of eternal life. This wondrous event is a testament to God’s love for us and a reminder that, in Christ, we find the strength to overcome our fears and worries.
As we journey through these sacred days, may we remember the transformative power of Christ’s love and resurrection, and allow it to fill our hearts with wonder
Let us also remember the small moments of wonder we encounter in our ministries and communities every day. These moments are gifts from God, reminding us of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the world.
As bishop, I have been blessed to witness the wonder of God’s presence in the lives of the people and congregations of the Grand Canyon Synod. From the courageous conversations we engage in, to the powerful acts of service and love we demonstrate, God’s grace, love and forgiveness is indeed at work in our midst.
May your journey from worry to wonder be a source of strength and inspiration during Holy Week. May we continue to seek God’s presence and guidance, trusting that the Resurrection is not just an event in the past, but a promise for our future.
In resurrection hope and wonder,
The Rev. Deborah K. Hutterer
Bishop
Grand Canyon Synod of the ELCA
