Messenger

Pastor’s Message

Happy May Day!

I hope many of you are now smiling. Funny to be greeted with that message, yes? “May Day” for many is an urgent call for help! This signal of a life-threatening emergency is primarily used by mariners and aviators but in some cases is also used by police, firefighters and transportation organizations. It is regularly repeated 3 times to ensure the message is heard loud and clear over the chaotic situation ensuing. An immediate reaction is requested, expected and usually required.

“May Day” for some is a call for frivolity and celebrating the coming of Spring and the joy that brings with flowers blooming, weather improving, enticing people outside, removing their heavy winter clothes and coming into the sunshine to share fun with friends and family and maybe even a picnic in the park! Again, an immediate reaction is encouraged!

I think Noah must have shouted out “May Day” a couple times himself. He was surrounded by rising water during a horrific storm of epic proportions. He was surrounded by animals of every shape and size, some he had never seen before, and his family members, all huddled together in a vessel that neighbors had scoffed would never be built, much less float or survive a voyage. He was surrounded by a lot of fear, speculation, worry, wonder, and an overwhelming atmosphere filled with many unfamiliar smells and sounds! And once the rain stopped after 40
days and 40 nights, the landlubber had to get used to the rocking and rolling of the ark on the water’s surface, the creaking and groaning as the gopher wood and pitch settled into its job, the shifting of the animals and their natural calls and murmurings, and the care and feeding of all those animals for the next year or so until the ark made landfall and it was deemed safe to disembark.