From the Rector…
My eyeballs did not catch fire and explode from their sockets yesterday and I am hoping neither did yours. The eclipse was pretty cool. The staff took extra precautions in preparing to view it by making tinfoil hats and saying our prayers—we figured double protection was good cosmic insurance. We put on our glasses and were completely blind until we looked at the sun. It was a neat experience and by Facebook standards, a whole lot of people stepped outside to watch the skies grow dark.
In ancient times, an eclipse produced fear and speculation with apocalyptic undertones. Though astronomers may have predicted dramatic changes in the sky, most people would have no idea that something so incredible was about to happen and saw it as a sign pointing to something even more incredible—like the end of the world. I wonder how many of their eyeballs burst into flames when they searched the skies.
Fearmongering in Biblical times wasn’t the worst thing. Having a healthy concern for anything new or out of the ordinary had a lot to do with who survived and who didn’t. Even today, taking the time to evaluate and use caution when engaging with that which is out of the ordinary is an appropriate response. But we have learned a lot in recent times that helps us to approach the world with more rational and reasonable expectations. We know that our eyeballs are not going to burst into flames if we look at an eclipse, but we also know that looking directly into the sun, especially during an eclipse can cause retinal damage—and may put our younger humans at an increased risk for eye damage. We take precautions but we don’t jump to the conclusion that the end of the world is imminent. Maybe it is, but I highly doubt it.
Fearmongering in this day and age is less about true survival—living or dying—and much more about our own laziness and attempt to generate a dopamine release that gives us some sort of rush. It reflects our lack of conscious awareness and intentional life, and it is irresponsible as it contributes to a brooding dis-ease that is sweeping our country and the world. The more fearmongering we are willing to expose ourselves too as well as participate in and share on social media, the more we distance ourselves from God and the work of kingdom living and building. When we engage in fearmongering—actively or passively—we are not engaged in living, spreading, or being the Good News.
Jesus’s whole life is about spreading hope, not fear. He teaches us to forgive, to see the world from a place of joy and allowance instead of judgment and resistance. He shows us how to love in an expansive way that knows no boundaries—not even death. Jesus is not about fearmongering; he is about hope and love and kindness and compassion. As followers of Jesus, our job is not to come to church on Sunday and worship him like googly-eyed Jesus’ groupies. Our job is to follow the way that his life has offered us. It is the difference between understanding Jesus as an object to be deified versus a subject to be drenched in. Fearmongering keeps Jesus as an object, a talisman to protect us from the big bad that is always lurking out there. Hope allows Jesus to become a subject in which suffering exists but doesn’t get to define our experience, our life, or our faith.
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back—especially when the sky turns black. But Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. His resurrection is the ultimate response to fearmongering at any time in history. Do not doubt, believe. Do not fear, hope. Do not be indifferent, love.
Light and Life,
Candice+