A Word from Joel - June 11, 2025

“There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in their toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?”
Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

We had a wonderful week as a family in New Orleans! We ate, and ate, and then we ate some more. Every day started with beignets and chicory coffee. Every night we tried something new from crawfish to fine dining to Senegalese food. And because it was New Orleans, we heard live jazz everywhere! One of the most meaningful experiences we had was visiting Congo Square on Sunday afternoon. It is the park where enslaved people used to gather on the Sabbath and were free to drum and dance if only for a couple hours. It is the birthplace of jazz and every Sunday, people gather to drum and dance and honor this history and the people who have come before us. It was a deeply moving time, and the host of the event, Rev. Denise, even inviting us to join in the dance. Isn’t that just like the divine? God is always inviting us to join the dance and take our place in the circle of love. As the author of Ecclesiastes says, apart from God, who eat or find enjoyment? God is the source of all joy. I pray that you can find joy this week somehow: through food, song, dance, or a quiet evening breeze. Wherever you find joy, know that God is always the source.