Be holy. Resist evil. Seek shalom. Love and labor locally. Pray. Reject false prophets and their idols. Show respect to everyone. Love God, the family of believers, our neighbors, especially those in need, and stay close.
“Brothers and sisters… carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
I sent an email out to a few people in the early hours of Wednesday morning. I want to re-emphasize some of that here. I’ve been texting or sitting with people almost non-stop ever since. A few have asked how I’m feeling about all this. RIght now I’m feeling “resolute”. 2016 left me feeling confused and anxious, then like I was holding my breath for 4 years. Not this time.
To all of us I want to say, hold on. Yes, there is very real cause for very real concern, but this is not the end. Hold on to the faith that even this cannot overcome the love of God that is shown to us in Christ Jesus.
To be absolutely clear, I’m not saying don’t grieve, feel rage, devastation or exhaustion. These are natural and right responses to such deep experiences of loss and betrayal. Just don’t give up the faith, instead let it fuel and inform your faith. I say this not only for our own sake, but for the sake of all those around us.
In the days, weeks and months to come, this world is going to need more than ever an alternative way to experience and understand God than that of the false prophets and grifting pretenders. They’ll also need an alternative community to that of the compromised, complacent and co-opted. And we all deeply need each other.
Y’all, I firmly believe that those who have stolen the symbols and signs, who malignantly misuse sacred Words and stories and parade in arrogance and hatred will not ultimately win. This doesn’t deny the incredible harm they are inflicting. I know hope may seem in very short supply right now, even a mocking illusion, but we must not give up our hope or our witness.
The Church is never more real, more authentic, and more necessary than when it is the minority, when it is mocked and marginalized. The great paradox that God is with the weak and foolish, that God is most readily found with the grieving and oppressed, becomes a lived experience in times like these, however much we may dread them.
The crazy thing about our crosses is we don’t get to pick and choose them, the only choice we have is whether or not we will carry them.
In many ways, this just clarifies the mission we have had all along. America is Babylon. We’re exiles in a strange land, a community of life in a desert of death. Be holy. Resist evil. Seek shalom. Love and labor locally. Pray. Reject false prophets and their idols. Show respect to everyone. Love God, the family of believers, our neighbors, especially those in need, and stay close.
Also, now is the time to lean even more into the habits and practices that facilitate flourishing.
- Do your best to sleep and rest
- Severely restrict doom scrolling
- Exercise, swim, go for a ride or a walk
- Eat foods that are good for your body
- Journal or create or play music
- Pray
- Text and call friends rather than retreating into isolation
- Listen to music, listen to the birds, listen to running water
- Avoid overeating or drinking to excess to dodge your feelings
- Do your best to stick to a routine. Lean on habits and systems rather than throwing your life into even more chaos.
- Resist making any major life decisions if at all possible
- Make sure your family knows you love them and am present for them as is healthy
I’ll end with a couple song suggestions. My “Not Hillsong” playlist has been on constant repeat.
Remember, the Kingdom is ours and Music to help you hold on
Grace and peace y’all,
John
