The Sunday Scaries—the creeping dread that arrives as the weekend slips away and the responsibilities of the new week inch closer—aren’t just cultural noise. They reflect something deeper: our desire to be in control of our lives, to meet expectations, and to stay ahead of what’s next. But into this anxious reality, the Gospel speaks a quiet and disruptive word of grace.

Through years of theological discernment, prayer, and faithful conversation, the ELCA has affirmed that same-gender couples are fully capable of embodying the love, commitment, and covenant that Christian marriage represents. We marry same-gender couples not in defiance of our beliefs, but in fidelity to them.

The prophets offer us a glimpse of what could be, but visions are not guarantees. They demand something of us.

How can we stand “close enough” to Presiding Bishop-Elect Curry and Secretary-Elect Mills? What is our call as ELCA Lutheran Christians to love, support, and protect our newly called leaders?

A man disconnected from others is more vulnerable than strong—and more dangerous than heroic. His high walls may look like strength but in truth they are purpose-built for hiding, not protection. In his isolation, he becomes a threat to himself.

Maybe that’s the point. Maybe the story was never about the whale, but about a God who dares to ask us things we don’t yet know how to answer.

You are not alone in your struggle. Your spiritual despair makes sense, and God is reaching out. Your feelings are real, your overwhelm is real, and God has something to offer.

How might such silly exercises embed the deeply sacred value that everyone’s voice is needed and worthy in your community?

This is our past year in America, and now that we’ve reviewed it — can we finally consign the political past of 2024 to the dustbin of history?