Happy Friday,
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven.
Psalm 32:1
Guilt is tricky. Some feel it when they shouldn’t. Others do not feel it when they should. As Jeremiah says, “The heart is deceitful above all things.” In light of this, we must prayerfully submit ourselves to the Word of God, asking the Spirit to alert us to our true state. All of that aside, what many do not appreciate is that confession leads to true joy. There is nothing like rehearsing your worst thoughts, deeds and inactions to a friend and having them declare that the grace of God is more than adequate to cover even that. “You are forgiven.”
Updated: Last week I noted that Jesus said, “The meek will inherit the earth.” FWIW, J. Paul Getty – the oil baron whose net worth eclipsed that of Bezos and Gates – quipped, “They might inherit the earth, but not the mineral rights.” Apparently, Getty was claiming those for himself. Given that he’s been dead for 46 years, we can assume he now knows better.
Who is Famous in Your World? Public intellectuals have been in the news lately. Alas, the stories about them come in articles titled, “The Decline of…” or “Whatever Happened to…”. Some say there are fewer public intellectuals today because knowledge is too specialized to allow anyone to be comprehensively informed. I doubt that’s true. And besides, not being informed has never stopped people from sharing their opinions on TV. Public-Intellectual-Wannabees abound. Their problem at the moment is they cannot compete with celebrities, social media influencers and radio talk show hosts.
Without Comment: 1) In Great Britain, an 80-year-old is eight times more likely to be in church than an 18–year-old; 2) Historians note that we’ve been at war for 3,183 of the last 3,500 years, leading to the deaths of 62M civilians and 40M soldiers.
Quotes Worth Requoting: 1) Christians no longer get their primary identity from either Jesus or the church. Last year, their primary identity was through politics. Rick Warren; 2) Many people struggle to learn how to pray because they are focusing on praying not on God. Paul Miller.
While I’m citing Rick Warren: I’ve noted before that the best thing to do when a friend is suffering is show up and say little. Warren reduces his advice to two memorable rules: 1) “show up and shut up;” and 2) “the deeper the pain the less you say.”
Lessons from 2020: One of the things the last eighteen months has made painfully clear is that it is easier to believe a false narrative that fits our outlook than a true one that challenges it. BTW, if you read this and think, “Yes, this is a problem for THEM. THEY are wrong and clueless. I wish THEY could see how wrong THEY are!”, without at least briefly wondering how your thinking might be askance, you can see what a vexing problem this is.
What Will Covid Bring? I’ve already noted that a year of quarantine led to fewer babies (down 4% from 2019) – but more puppies – than expected. I’ve also noted the widespread concern that addictions and domestic violence are spiking behind quarantined doors. This week’s news feeds focus on grief. Some think a “tsunami of grief” is coming. Perhaps.
Social Security: Back in the 90s, more thirty-somethings believed UFOs were real than believed they would receive anything from the Social Security kitty when they turned 62. FWIW, I didn’t believe in UFOs, but I also didn’t believe Social Security would still be solvent. And it is.
Question of the Week: Given that I’ve never felt the need to wave good-bye at the end of a business meeting, why do I feel the need to do so at the end of a Zoom call?
Coming Your Way Soon: After decades of demonization, psychedelic drugs appear to be on the cusp of entering mainstream psychiatry. A friend – who is also a psychiatrist – is skeptical that they will live up to the hype. She not only worries that the clinical trials are too short, but she also suspects that many conducting them view humans more as complex chemical reactions than, well, as humans. I share her concern. It’s not just that magic mushrooms make me think of Timothy Leary endorsing LSD, it’s that efforts to fix what ails us with a pill seem naively utopian and reductionistic. All of that aside, I am cheering the researchers on. As a pastor I seldom feel more impotent than I do in the face of mental illness. Join me in praying that we find new ways to address depression, addictions, PTSD, etc.
Old Books: If you have not read CS Lewis’s five-page essay on the importance of reading old books, you are missing out. It’s here.
BTW: In case you haven’t heard, gas is the new toilet paper.
Closing Prayer: Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he will come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (From The Book of Common Prayer)