The news can feel overwhelming at times, and during this season of Lent, that feeling can be both a burden and a strange kind of calling.

Maybe as a pastor I’m not supposed to say that out loud, but honestly, the news lately is VERY dreadful. We are only partway into March and already the world feels heavy. There are tensions brewing across the globe, a military operation in Cuba? Another potential quagmire emerging in the Middle East? Sometimes it feels like too much.

It reminds me of driving on the highway and seeing a terrible accident on the side of the road. You try not to look—but it’s hard not to. And for those of us just passing by, it can be easy to think: That’s not my problem. The best thing to do is keep moving so we don’t get in the way of the emergency personnel. Maybe we whisper a quick prayer for them, and then continue down the road.

I understand that impulse. I have felt it myself.

But the systems that respond to crises, the ambulances, the trained medical professionals, the safety standards in our cars, the people who clear the roadway and keep traffic moving, those things don’t just happen. They exist because of public policy. They exist because people made decisions about how society should function and care for one another.

Public policy decisions don’t fall from the sky. Someone makes them happen. And voters choose the people who make those decisions.

For those who claim voting doesn’t matter, they are either kidding themselves or slipping into a kind of nihilism that absolves them of responsibility in a democratic republic.

This past Sunday many of us heard the story from the Gospel of John about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well.

I’ve heard many sermons, often preached by men, about how scandalous this woman must have been because she had been married five times. But when we reread the story carefully, we realize those judgments are projections. The text doesn’t say that.

What we actually know is this: she meets Jesus at Jacob’s Well in the middle of the day, under the scorching sun.

Unlike Nicodemus, the Judean religious leader who came to Jesus under the cover of night, this Samaritan woman encounters the Messiah in broad daylight. She speaks with him openly. She listens. And she is so moved by what she hears that she leaves her water jar behind and runs back to her community to share the good news.

Jesus was right in front of her.
Engaging her.
Seeing her.

And she responded.

So I wonder: how are we paying attention?

What is our role in this moment?

Is it simply to glance at the wreckage of the world and drive past it? Or are we called to something more, to engage our communities, to participate in civic life, and to prepare for what comes next?

The midterm elections are still months away, but the primary elections are quickly approaching.

What issues matter to you?
Who do you see on your way to church, to work, to school?
What are the needs in your community?

Faith calls us not to turn away, but to pay attention. To learn. To engage.

Educate yourself on the issues that matter. Read the ELCA social statements and social messages. Talk with your neighbors. And most importantly, make a plan to vote.

The power is still in your hands.

We’ll see you out there.

With you on the Journey,

Pastor Paul Larson