Happy Friday,
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.
Jesus, Matthew 5
I have an offer for you. If you follow me, I will fill your days with poverty, hunger, tears, and loneliness. Interested? No? Why not? I mean, how is my offer any different from what Jesus is offering? Have you read the Beatitudes lately? Have you asked yourself, “Blessed how, exactly?” The answer, of course, is that Christ’s call is framed by the promises of His Kingdom— of Heaven. Eternity and Forever. Against a culture that is all about Now! Today! This life! And, This minute! We need to live today in light of forever. Are you shining your headlights beyond the grave? Are you moving through the challenges of the day in light of the assurance of God’s victory? His Kingdom will come. His ultimate rule and reign are certain. We have no reason to fear. Eternity changes everything.
Without Comment: 1) Warner Bros. plans to release a new, Peter Jackson directed Lord of the Rings movie — The Hunt for Gollum — in 2026; 2) OpenAI is considering allowing users to create AI-generated pornography; 3) Aaccording to this Harvard report, between 1975 and 2010, the number of physicians in the U.S. grew by 150% and the number of healthcare administrators grew by 3,200%; 4) According to this report, Americans have spent much of their COVID-related savings and now hold a record $17.3T in debt; 5) The word noise and the word nausea are derived from the same Latin root; 6) Per this CDC report, 9% of US women (11.7M) struggle with alcoholism; 7) The Chosen is now the world’s most translated TV Show, with 50 versions dubbed and plans to do 550 more; 8) Per this NYT article, 80% of the grades given at Yale and Harvard are “A”s; 9) Per this AEI post, $400B was lost during the pandemic due to “improper unemployment benefits payment or outright fraud;” and 10) Per this WSJ article, YouTube accounted for 9.6% of US TV-viewing last month, second only to Disney’s 11.5%.
Matthew Homes: Here is a four-minute clip from a Chicago News station on the work being done by Renew Communities, the 501c3 started by Christ Church ten years ago. Last year, over 1,700 people volunteered for the construction of a home.
WOTW: Nominations include checkiness, which was used in this WSJ article. It describes “mindlessly, reflexively picking up a phone to peek at Instagram or to check emails when there is no real reason to;” chronologically superior, which I was called by someone who thought I was too chronologically superior to understand a diss when I heard it; and poly-pharmacy, a term those of us who are, uh, chronologically superior end up thinking about. (Poly-pharmacy asks the question, “How do meds A, B, and C interact with meds D, E, and F?”) I am giving full honors to Thick Community. We need it. In a society where commitment is whisper thin, I’m praying that thick community joins Caitlin Clark, light roast coffee, red state population growth, and jobs in cyber security on the things-that-are-trending list.
Yes! Count me among those applauding Ben Sasse/U of FL’s response to student protests. After noting that college is not daycare, the school said: 1) unpleasant speech is lawful and protected; unlawful action is not and will be stopped; 2) university leadership will say what it means and do what it says – e.g., cross the line on prohibited activities, and you will receive a 3-year suspension; and 3) our focus will remain on education, which includes helping you learn argument and persuasion not protests and violence.
We Are Not as Clever as the Algorithms: It’s not just other people who’ve fallen into an echo chamber. Unless you’re living further below the grid than Jack Reacher, the digital news you see is being curated by a complicated math equation designed to show you what all your previous news clicks have told it you want to see.
Resources: Last weekend’s Mother’s Day sermon wasn’t just for Moms. I was a bit more vulnerable than normal in explaining how the best thing we can do for others is to prioritize our spiritual growth. You can listen here.
Quote Worth Requoting: “If you want to keep your heart intact, you must give it to no one — not even an animal. Wrap your heart carefully ’round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change: Your heart will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” C.S. Lewis
Worth Noting: There are three stabilizing institutions in society: the family, the church, and the state. As the first two have struggled, the third has grown.
Closing Prayer: Lord, I pray that you may be a lamp for me in the darkness. Touch my soul and kindle a fire within it, that it may burn brightly and give light to my life. Thus my body may truly become your temple, lit by your perpetual flame burning on the altar of my heart. And may the light within me shine on my brethren that it may drive away the darkness of ignorance and sin from them also. Thus together let us be to the world, manifesting the bright beauty of your gospel to all around us. Amen. (Columbanus 543-615)