Holy Wednesday, Are you troubled in Spirit?

Holy Wednesday – Are you troubled in spirit?  

Yes, who isn’t troubled during these days of increasing death?  Peace of mind comes when Ron and I are hiking and not sitting.  When I am focused on the trail and watching my steps, I don’t do much thinking.  Because the forest service closed the trailheads, the hiking trails are empty and eerily silent.  We were almost at the end of an eight-mile hike when a bicycle approached, and the rider looked official and mighty important.  Were we going to be chastised for hiking when the trailhead was closed?  The fine is $5000 for violators, so, yes, I was troubled in spirit.  He said his name was Marty, and he is the president of the Mountain Bicycle Patrol.  I said I liked the white cross on his shirt.  He laughed and said he tells his wife it attracts chicks.  My mood lightened.  He noticed Ron’s MIT cap and said his son-in-law got his MBA from MIT.  Marty got his Ph.D. from Cornell.  Good.  We are talking like friends and exchanging niceties.  Suddenly he remembered the time and said he had to get home for an online Seder with family.  Aha!  He is Jewish.  I told him of my experience as a Lutheran Pastor holding a Seder meal on Maundy Thursday and feeling tipsy after the mandatory four cups of wine.  We laughed.  I raised my hands in blessing on his Seder, and he responded with a beautiful, warm smile.  After this encounter, my spirit was no longer troubled, and God had given me peace despite the hardships that had previously troubled me so greatly.  God comes to us in surprising ways and often at unexpected times.  Thanks be to God.