Happy Third Friday in Advent,
Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Joseph had in mind to divorce her quietly, but after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit…. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him.
Matthew 1:18f
Comfort is a good thing—e.g., the Holy Spirit is called “the Comforter”—but we should not be surprised when following God does not make life immediately easier. Godliness generally follows striving, pain, and suffering. Joseph’s life did not get easier when God asked him to step up.
J.I.P.: On the topic of comfort, here’s a J. I. Packer quote, “Maintaining a certain level of comfort is the agenda of an enormous amount of American evangelicalism, but it needs to be said that in the kingdom of God ‘there ain’t no comfort zone and never will be.’ Being in his kingdom has to do with self-denial, cross-bearing, and living a life in which instability and problems are par for the course. If you read the New Testament, that’s actually what you’ve got—not comfort-zone stuff but the negation of comfort-zone stuff.” (Lightly edited.)
Without Comment: 1) Nearly 40% of US divorces now occur among those 50 and older; 2) CNN’s market share has dipped below The Food Network, HGTV, Hallmark Mystery, and others; 3) Utah has both the highest % of two-parent families and the highest social mobility index; 4) Medical Assistance in Dying (AKA M.A.I.D. and euthanasia) is now the 5th leading cause of death in Canada; 5) 41% of American voters under 30 believe the killing of United Healthcare’s CEO was acceptable; 6) AI is increasing the pace and decreasing the cost of Bible translation; 7) The WHO now claims 900M people are infected with the Herpes Simplus Virus, a yet incurable STD; and 8) Disney has dropped the transgender storyline from Pixar’s “Win or Lose” series.
FWIW: 1) I’m hearing a lot of, “You need to take XYZ seriously but not literally,” but I’m not sure if I’m supposed to take that line seriously or literally; 2) Christmas letters that quietly suggest, “My family is perfect. How about yours?” are to adults what social media is to teens; 3) My “Decline of the West” file has grown so thick I’m subdividing it into a) marriage & population decline, b) rising anxiety/loneliness/mental illness, c) geopolitical tensions/war, d) cultural division and decline, and e) debt; and 4) Wicked is well done, clever, and worth watching. But it sympathizes with evil and suggests we should dance our way through an unexamined life. Both run counter to, well, most of the Bible.
WOTW: Honorable mention goes to de-banked (a term used for people and businesses financially “cancelled” for fiscal or cultural missteps), preference cascade (economist Timur Kuran’s term for the action of the crowd following a tipping-point moment), auto-tainment (the electronic bling that will trick out self-driving cars), and bed rotting (the practice of spending hours in bed during the day, often with snacks or an electronic device). Full honors go to drone-a-palooza (a party being held in the skies over New Jersey).
Overheard: 1) The Christian faith requires constant maintenance; 2) Many now view Christianity not just as “yesterday’s news” but as a source of today’s problems; 3) By shifting your morning routine from coffee to tea, you can eliminate the last 45% of joy from your life; and 4) As you get older, it’s amazing how fast bird watching creeps up on you. You spend your whole life never noticing birds, and then one day, you’re like, “Wow! is that an American Goldfinch?”
The Most Popular Verse in ‘24: Philippians 4:6 was the most referenced verse in 2024 according to YouVersion—the Bible app used by 500M people. It reads: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Clean Up: A few months back, I suggested that God’s love is reckless. I now believe my use of reckless was reckless. What I was going for was the idea that God’s love is not only well-ordered, it is extravagant, scandalous, and incomprehensible.
Resources: Click here to hear my Luke 1 sermon on Mary, the first disciple and a model of obedience. May we find the courage to follow her lead.
Prayer Request: Christmas Eve remains one of the few Christian—or at least Christian-adjacent—moments in play these days. Pray that those who show up at Christmas Eve services out of tradition meet the God of the universe.
Next Week: There will be no Friday Update next week. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Closing Prayer: Let the just rejoice, for their Justifier is born. Let the sick and infirm rejoice, for their Savior is born. Let the captives rejoice, for their Redeemer is born. Let slaves rejoice, for their Master is born. Let free people rejoice, for their Liberator is born. Let all Christians rejoice, for Jesus Christ is born. Amen. (Augustine of Hippo, 354-430).