They exchanged their glorious God for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
Psalm 106:19
After the miracles God did to secure the Jewish people’s release from Egypt, “they forgot the God who saved them,” and worshipped the image of a bull. If you read through Exodus you see that they started to ask the question, “God, what have you done for me lately?” and ended up heading down the path of worshipping a hand-crafted idol. Sin is stupid like that. But it can be hard to see in ourselves. When your heart starts to wonder what God has done for you lately, remind yourself of the cross. Jesus took the wrath upon himself so that if we believe in him, there is no wrath remaining for us to take (Heb. 9:5, Romans 8:1). Remember Christ’s death. Even if he never does another thing for us, He has done that!
The Joker: Hollywood has a thing for evil. At least they say they do. I stopped going to movies designed to keep me up at night after a movie kept me up one night. So I have not yet seen The Joker. And in spite of its record opening, I do not know if I will. But I am curious about what I read regarding Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of the Joker as evil. Perhaps evil shows up in that way however, many horror movies mislabel what they offer. They feature frightening (i.e., they surprise and shock us), scary (spiders, snakes, cemeteries and zombies), cruel e.g., torture and abuse), naughty (either high school pranks or a dark spin on sex) or introspective / painful / antisocial / complex. Evil is something different. It has aspects of some of these, but it’s important to remember, in the end, a key mark of evil is boring. As Simone Weil said so astutely: “Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating.”
A Week of Contrasts: Last week, Sheri and I attended a joyous wedding, doing so shortly after learning about the tragic deaths of friends whose lives were ended by a drunk driver. Attending a wedding when you are grieving seems odd, but as others have noted, there is no inherent conflict between the celebration and the grief; both are from love. “Choosing to avoid the wedding would only have been a reflection of our limits to hold onto both emotions at the same time.”
Three Things Money Cannot Buy: I do not know Italian designer (and billionaire) Brunello Cucinelli, but he recently noted that there are three things money cannot buy: 1) Fitness (you have to keep fit whether you’re rich or not); 2) Diet (you cannot pay someone to be on a diet for you); and 3) looking after your soul. I think he is right. And while we are here it’s worth noting, Jesus strongly suggests that having a lot of money makes caring for our soul difficult.
Quotes Worth Requoting:
- A new study finds that cats actually bond with people like dogs do, but they’re too aloof to show it. Which is why I named my cat ‘Dad.’ Saturday Night Live Host.
- We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it. Madeleine L’Engle.
- I am dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly in need of mending. Ishmael (Moby Dick)
SCOTUS: There are big issues to be decided this term, so please join me in asking the Lord to provide wisdom for the nine members of the bench. As an aside, for the second time this year, an Iowa federal judge has ruled that the University of Iowa violated students’ First Amendment rights when various religious student groups lost their official status. And this time university administrators will be held financially liable for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s fight to stay on campus.
Church Attendance: Is US church attendance declining? Christian Smith, a Notre Dame sociologist, says yes. He cites the rise of the religiously unaffiliated (the so-called “nones”) from 8% in 1990 to 23% today, and argues that: 1) younger Americans are turned off by conservative Christians who are associated with the Republican party; 2) the end of the Cold War made it possible to embrace atheism without appearing to support the Soviet Union; and 3) the post 9/11 spike in the belief that all religions are inherently destructive. In Glenn Stanton’s new book, The Myth of the Dying Church, he claims things are more complicated. For starters, Stanton notes that the percentage of young adults regularly attending evangelical and nondenominational churches has roughly doubled between 1972 and today, and claims that declining churches are almost all in the mainline, more liberal denominations.
The Psalms CD: During the late Spring and early summer, I preached a number of sermons on the Psalms, and Christ Church musicians wrote originals songs for each of the sermons. Those songs have been collected on a CD, that is available for $10. You can order the CD – or listen to a few of the songs to see if you would like to – by clicking here.
Closing Prayer: Adorable Spirit, may the rushing wind of your mercy blow away all trace of sin within us, and may your unquenchable fire purify our souls. We believe that you comfort those who mourn, uplift those who are depressed, calm those who are angry, guide those who are confused, console those who are lonely, reconcile those who are estranged, and bring joy to all who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. We pray that you will live in our simple and humble hearts, and so make us truly temples of your glorious love. Amen. Erasmus 1469 – 1536