Happy Friday:
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Joseph to his brothers
Genesis 50:20f
There are four domestic dustups in Genesis: Cain v. Abel, Isaac v. Ishmael, Jacob v. Esau and Joseph v. the other eleven. Only one ends well. It’s worth noting that their troubles confirm what we know from experience: Life is hard and good families take work. But there is something more for us to see: The one relationship that ends intact does so because Joseph – who was grievously wronged by his brothers – forgives them. His gracious act – which is the first recorded instance of forgiveness in literature – is the only way they could stay together. Have you forgiven anyone lately?
FWIW: 1) As I navigated TSA agents this week, I was reminded how glad I am that although their machines can see what’s in my luggage, they can’t see what’s in my heart; 2) It’s been a while since I heard someone complain that Christians are “too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good;” 3) In his book Agency, WSJ columnist Ian Rowe argues that the “four pillars” that lift children out of poverty are: Family, Religion, Education and Entrepreneurship; 4) We need to stop valuing cynics and pessimists over advocates and optimists. We also need to stop thinking the former is smarter than the latter.
Diversity Can Work: At the Economic Club of Chicago this week, Eboo Patel noted that hospitals prove that religiously diverse workplaces can work. Patel – the founder of Interfaith America and the author of several books – observes that if you go under the knife in Chicago, you’ll not only likely have a Hindu surgeon supported by a Muslim anesthesiologist and an Evangelical nurse; you’ll be at a surgical center started by a Catholic charity, cleaned by a Jehovah’s Witness and run by a Secular humanist.
Without Comment: 1) Russia claims that only one percent of the fake social media profiles they post are caught; 2) The NYT claims that one-third of last year’s shoplifting arrests in NYC involved 327 people who were collectively arrested more than 6,000 times; 3) There have been 13M abortions in the U.S. this year, which is equivalent to the populations of West Virginia, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming – combined; 4) The median age of white Christians in the U.S. is 57; the median age of Hindus and Muslims in the U.S. is 36; and 5) Americans check their phones an average of 344 times per day – i.e., once every three minutes we are awake.
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Reader Comments: 1) A reader said that in the 80s he wrote his local school board frustrated over “a 10th grade curriculum that covered dating, sex, booze and the miracle of birth, but said not one word about marriage.” He then noted that the same topics are now covered much earlier than 10th grade, “but there is still nothing said about marriage;” 2) In response to GMAC’s question for each decade, one reader noted that we should start asking the question listed for those in their 80s – “Am I ready to die?” – in our 20s, because we are not promised tomorrow; 3) In response to my comments about Charlie Duke – the 87-year-old former astronaut who now spends time defending NASA’s claim to have landed on the moon – one reader responded, “This isn’t so much ignorance as it is rejection of government.”
Quote Worth Requoting: 1) The pupil dilates in darkness and in the end finds light, just as the soul dilates in misfortune and in the end finds God. Victor Hugo; 2) Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. George Orwell
April 26: If you live in Chicago – where we celebrated all 4 seasons in about 36 hours last week – and you’re in need of a feel-good moment, come to 815 Broadway in North Chicago at 4:30 p.m. on April 26 to celebrate a new home opening of the ReNew Communities/Matthew Home initiative. The ceremony will take 30 minutes and leave you with a smile. BTW, if you live in the area and want to join the Christ Church running group on one of our Friday night runs – which are followed by pizza – click here. (Note, the course is out and back, which means everyone runs (or walks) at their own pace.)
Resources: Here is last week’s sermon from John 21. In it we explore the masterful way Jesus restores Peter. It is full of implications for how we understand ourselves and interact with others. And here is my interview with Dave Moore, in which we discuss the most important books and theologians of the 20th century.
Two Not So Funny Attempts at Humor: 1) My Mom is a big Snoopy fan. Me not so much, but I do think Schulz occasionally made good points. Click here to see if you agree; 2) Here is a joke I thought was funny. I hope it doesn’t get me cancelled.
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Yes!: National Review recently ran an article entitled, What a Democracy Can Lose without Christianity. I appreciated the article, but was especially taken by the comments by “Girl Mom”, who wrote: “People forget how extraordinarily brutal pre-Christian societies were. Rome, Carthage, Babylon, Aztecs, Pagan Europe, etc., were nothing but Strong-Devouring-the-Weak. And the atheistic regimes of the 20th Century – USSR and Communist countries everywhere, Nazi Germany – have demonstrated in blood what happens when you eliminate or severely undermine Christianity from your civilized polity. Women were pure chattel in most pre-Christian societies – usually in polygamous arrangements from which women could be easily dispatched, used for the purpose of breeding and pleasure for whatever strong men could collect them. Children were regularly and casually murdered, either through exposure, abandonment, or ritual sacrifice. Slavery was endemic around the world.” You can read her full comments here.
WOTW: Honorable mention goes to managed decline and Akiya (the Japanese term for the growing number of abandoned homes caused principally by the country’s declining birth rate). WOTW honors go to rapid unplanned disassembly in honor of the Space-X mishap. Note: I feel for Elon. More than a few of my sermons have suffered from rapid unplanned disassembly.
Closing Prayer: Good God, May we confess your name to the end. May we emerge unsullied and glorious from the traps and dark powers of this world. As you have bound us together in love and peace, and as, together, we have persevered through times of hardship, may we also rejoice together in your heavenly kingdom. Amen. (Cyprian of Carthage 200-258)