Happy Friday,
Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
Psalm 118:19
Lent seems an especially appropriate time to marvel at the access to the Father secured for us by the Son. We are able to walk through “the gates of the righteous” because Christ paid our debt and shared His credit. There are times when I think Tertullian got it exactly right. Credo quia absurdum. “We believe because it is absurd.”
Nominations Are Being Accepted: In the last few months, “pivot” and “unprecedented” have been beaten to death, but don’t feel sorry for them. Words can suffer worse fates. Take “tolerance.” It used to mean, “I disagree with your position but will live with it.” Now tolerance demands complete buy in. In fact, to suggest you can tolerate someone’s view without completely affirming it is a view of tolerance no longer tolerated. It can all be a little confusing, so I’m updating the dictionary. Send me your entries. It will be published by Orwell Press.
Dangerous: Years ago I heard Dr. Will Willimon – then the Dean of the Chapel at Duke University – argue against “Academic Freedom.” He claimed: 1) because his decision to follow Christ meant he was a slave to Jesus, he was in no mood to let other faculty enjoy freedoms not open to him; and 2) he had yet to meet a Duke professor who held an idea original, dangerous or disruptive enough to warrant protecting. It was typical Willimon banter – witty, acerbic and on point. I laughed at the time. Alas, I suspect the joke is now on me. A friend recently told me that “Christians with grey hair have no excuse for not being dangerous.” I am not sure what that means, but I know that no one’s called me dangerous in a long time.
Without Comment: 1) The number of Amazon employees is now 2x the population of Wyoming. (FYI, Amazon has 10,000 Software Engineers working on Alexa alone.); 2) Technology changes our circumstances but not our character; 3) According to this recent WaPo piece, 1 in 6 Gen Z are LGBT, and this number is expected to grow; 4) A supermarket chain in Britain released a press release to promote the chocolate eggs it was selling for Easter. The statement read: Brits will on average be enjoying 3.5 eggs each over the Easter weekend alone. But over a quarter don’t know why handing them out symbolizes the birth of Jesus.
Another COVID Surprise: This WSJ article – which made a splash last Friday – suggests we’re closer to herd immunity than we thought. My science-literate friends say the article may be a bit optimistic but has merit. It appears we are in the fourth quarter. Soon and very soon!
Be Encouraged: Recent months have provided reasons to wonder if any Christian leader is as advertised. Take heart, this video – from one of the doctors treating Luis Palau – says “some are!” BTW, I think what Roger Olsen says in this piece is correct – i.e., just because the leader has fallen does not mean the message is wrong. Truth is truth.
Happiness Studies: After controlling over 300 variables, researchers have determined that happiness pivots around only four of them. You are likely to be happy if: 1) you have a few good friends; 2) your family relationships are healthy; 3) you find your work meaningful; and 4) you embrace a worldview that helps you understand death and suffering. BTW, happiness studies also show that if you are happy, you likely know the names of the people who live two doors down from you. This doesn’t mean you will be happy if you learn their names, but that might be a start.
Shocking: One of the ways I know people have started to read the Bible is their need to tell me that the Psalms and Jesus are so much less tame than they expected.
Quotes Worth Requoting: Judgment is necessary – unless we were to conclude, absurdly, that nothing much is wrong, or blasphemously, that God doesn’t mind very much. In the justly famous phrase of Miroslav Volf, there must be ‘exclusion’ before there can be ’embrace’: evil must be identified, named and dealt with before there can be reconciliation. N.T. Wright.
FWIW: After months of delay, denial and avoidance, this week I started a file labeled Censorship.
Closing Prayer: O Lord of Grace, The world is before me this day, and I am weak and fearful, but I look to You for strength; If I venture out alone I stumble and fall, but on the Beloved’s arms I am firm as the eternal hills. Be my arm to support, my strength to stand, my light to see, my feet to run, my shield to protect, my sword to repel, my sun to warm. Amen. A Puritan