Happy Friday,
Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return.
Genesis 3:19
Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent – a forty-day journey towards the cross. This is not the time to reflect on how Jesus died for the sins of the world. This is a time we personalize things. It is to be a season in which we meditate upon the fact that our pride, greed, lust, anger and smallness nailed the Lamb of God to a bloody cross. It is also a time in which we stare our own death in the face. Easter Sunday is coming, but we should not move there now. Lent is set up for us to grapple with the magnitude of our rebellion.
Laughter: In Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West, I learned that 19th century Navajos did not name their children until the child laughs. If that is true, I can think of some 50 year-olds who should forfeit their name. After all, they haven’t cracked a smile in years. FWIW, I understand that humor is risky, that its potential to offend has never been greater and that if you laugh at the wrong thing you might get cancelled. But it’s still safe to laugh at yourself. And BTW, do you want to live in a world in which cancel culture cancels laughter? I don’t want to get too spiritual here, but Christ’s followers should be people of joy and hope – I think that suggests a few smiles as well. When is the last time you had a good, hard laugh?
Carson City, NV: Some wrote to question my claim that there are six state capitals west of Los Angeles. Those who did all missed Carson City. They had Honolulu, HI, Juneau, AK, Olympia, WA, Sacramento, CA, and Salem, OR. What they missed was Carson City, NV. If you don’t believe it’s West of LA, click here.
Without Comment: 1) The number of parents living with their own children dropped to 40% in 2021, down from 44% in 2011 and 48% in 2000; 2) U.S. home prices grew at a record 18.8% in 2021; 3) Joe Rogan – who recently signed a $200M, three-year contract with Spotify – reportedly has five times the viewers as Fox’s primetime average and eleven times the listeners as CNN’s primetime average; 4) During the pandemic’s first year, the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention saw decisions for Christ increase by 62% and baptisms climb by 81%; 5) The number of people who say they have no close friends has quadrupled in a generation, the number of people who died by suicide has risen by a third since 2000; and the number of people suffering from depression has gone up 57%; 6) Less than half of the American public is optimistic about the country’s future, with white Americans expressing far more pessimism about the country’s direction than members of other racial groups.
Wordle & Laughter: Since I’m now on record encouraging both laughter and Wordle, let me pass along this 60 second endorsement of Lordle. It’s the work of a pastor friend. BTW, you can always tell which Senior Pastors started out in youth ministry.
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Commitment: There is more evidence that choosing one’s future – which requires rejecting other options – is overwhelming many Gen Zers. There is also growing evidence that those who commit to a spouse early fair better than many who do not.
Quotes Worth Requoting: 1) “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” Anne Lamott; 2) “We generally think that having more experience is better…. but what we find for relationships is just the opposite. Having more experience is related to having a less happy marriage later on.” University of Denver psychologist Galena Rhoades.
The Democracy of the Dead: Though tradition is currently dismissed by many, it’s worth noting the great value often found in the paths laid down by our predecessors. Well-worn jungle trails became well-worn because they led somewhere good. This is not to say that bivouacking is always bad. It is just to note we tend to trust the novel, but while many new paths will be tried, few will become well-worn. It’s worth pondering Chesterton’s endorsement of looking backwards. He is the one who wrote, “Tradition is the democracy of the dead. It means giving a vote to the most obscure of all classes: our ancestors.”
Word of the Week: Among the unsolicited nominations I received for this week’s WotW were: invasion, endemic and class warfare. I was all set to go with Calvinball instead. After all, it fit with both the theme of laughter and the chaos of the moment. If you are not familiar with Bill Watterson’s wonderful – and somewhat sophisticated – strip about Calvin (a mischievous boy) and Hobbs (his sometimes animated stuffed tiger) you’ve been missing out. Order any of his collections, you can thank me later. For now, all you need to know is that Calvinball is a game without rules. Alas, events intervened and opting for Calvinball seems irresponsible. This week’s WotW is Cold War.
Closing Prayer: O, crucified Jesus! in whom I live, and without whom I die; mortify in me all sensual desires; inflame my heart with your holy love, that I may no longer esteem the vanities of this world, but place my affections entirely in you. Let my last breath, when my soul shall leave my body, breathe forth love to you, my God; I entered into life without acknowledging you, let me therefore finish it in loving you; O let the last act of life be love, remembering that God is love. Amen. (Richard Allen – 1760 – 1831)