It is a confusing world. Too many times, it is an unfair world. Too many times, it is violent, damaging, and hateful. Too many times, it just doesn’t make sense. The recent shootings and deaths at the high school in Parkland, Florida make no sense. While analysts and statisticians argue over how many school shootings have occurred in 2018 so far—my heart does not cry out for data analysis, but screams out “how many more times?” While our elected officials offer the same, repetitious responses about keeping guns out of the hands of mentally unstable people, my soul breaks and screams “how many more times?”

The news of heinous events won’t stop. The shootings won’t stop. Easy access to AR-15’s won’t stop. The hollow rhetoric that disables us from taking action won’t stop. The complexity of the wicked problem of gun violence overwhelms us, and we can’t even start a dialogue. Can any event be horrific enough to trigger a public and government response? The appeal of numbness tempts us like an addictive drug—and it becomes easy to just turn off the news and stop caring. This makes no sense.

We have choices. Rather than numbness, rather than outrage, rather than sarcasm, rather than anger, rather than becoming past caring, we can choose to make meaning in our life—even if things don’t make sense. When faced with overwhelming uncertainty and an inability to make sense of what is happening around us—we can be together in religious pursuit of making meaning.

While in seminary, I read the book “Global Religions” in which Martin Riesbrodt wrote “The universality of religious beliefs, practices, and institutions suggests that humans have a limited ability to cope with extreme uncertainty.” Yes, we do. We want things to make sense. We turn to religious institutions to help us make meaning. We need a perspective to comfort us. We need a lens to view the senseless that can keep us from giving up. We need each other in pursuit of making meaning in this complex world. And that means we need to be together in worship, in safe company, and in pursuit of a way to live with extreme uncertainty. I recently heard a congregant say that what he expects of a Sunday morning service is to laugh, to cry, and to think. I consider that a call to make meaning when things don’t make sense.

What makes meaning when we worship together? When we remember that life is both bitter and sweet. That time changes everything. That you are a precious creation, but not the center of the universe. That working together we can do deeds unachievable alone. That love is the strongest force. That love conquers fear. That every person matters. That all is love, and love is all you need.

We need each other—as we have always needed each other. I pray that we act on this knowledge by being together in religious and spiritual pursuit of making meaning together, because I know I can’t do it alone…………………….in shared ministry………Russ