Happy Friday,

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. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:20f

It’s common to hear that life is easier with Jesus. The New Testament suggests otherwise. Consider Joseph. After his fiancé turned up pregnant, he wanted to walk away, but God called him to something very hard – something that messed up his plans. And yet, “When Joseph awoke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife.” The Gospels and the book of Acts make it clear Joseph was hardly an outlier. Those who followed Jesus suffered and sacrificed. They had no regrets. In light of eternity, following Jesus is full of reward. Just do not expect it to be easy.

Book of the Year: If you’ve read these updates, you know I’ve advocated two Brant Hanson books: Unoffendable and The Truth About Us. Both cover important topics in a readable way. I will continue to push Hanson, but his books are a bit too breezy for Book of the Year. For those honors, I’m pointing to Alan Jacob’s, Breaking Bread with the Dead. In this work, Jacobs – a Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Baylor – argues for “personal density.” I realize that being called “dense” is seldom a compliment. But trust me, you want – and need! – this kind of density. I marked up just about every page.

Matthew Homes Video: A few weeks back, Chicago’s CBS affiliate ran a story about the Matthew Home program championed by Renew Communities. Renew – which is an NFP (Not for Profit) organization started by Christ Church – is seeing good things happen under David Weil’s leadership. The CBS report doesn’t get the story exactly right – e.g., they referred to David as a “builder” (instead of a pastor) and failed to mention we have eight more homes in development – but it’s an encouraging three-minute story. You can watch it here.

Last Chance for Word of the Year: A few additional nominations have trickled in this week: the Great Resignation, tribalism, and polarization. Nominations (and bribes) must be in by next Wednesday. BTW, the word of the week is “grey zone.” I do not remember seeing it much before last week, and suddenly it was everywhere. Journalism is trendier than fashion.

Quotes Worth Requoting:

• During a reflection on the incarnation, Henri Nouwen marveled at the “self-emptying, humble way” of the man from Nazareth. He went on to write, “So much in me seeks influence, power, success, and popularity. But the way of Jesus is the way of hiddenness, powerlessness, and littleness. It does not seem a very appealing way. Yet when I enter into true, deep communion with Jesus, I will find that it is this small way that leads to real peace and joy.”
• In The Hungering Dark, Frederick Buechner wrote, “When that child was born the whole course of history was changed. That is a fact as hard and blunt as any fact. Art, music, literature, our culture itself, our political institutions, our whole understanding of ourselves and our world—it is impossible to conceive of how differently world history would have developed if that child had not been born.”
• “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies.” Robert Murray McCheyne

Without Comment: 1) The Oxford Economic Report, claims the “misery index” is now at “recession-like” levels; 2) Though many claim otherwise, religious Americans are less likely to divorce even though they tend to marry at a younger age; 3) The average person touches their phone more than 2,500 time per day; 4) Over forty US cities will break – and some will shatter – previous homicide records; 4) Bruce Springsteen recently sold his music catalog to Sony for $500M; 6) The Dollar Store is raising its prices to $1.25; BTW, there are more Dollar Stores than Walmart, McDonalds and Starbucks combined; 7) The Washington Post is reporting that there are now more $100 bills in circulation than $1 bills.

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Without Comment – the COVID edition: 1) 19% of Americans say disagreements over COVID-19 vaccinations have caused “major conflict” in their families; 2) Vaccinated Democrats are twice as likely to be angry at those who refuse to get vaccinated than vaccinated Republicans are; 3) Meanwhile, unvaccinated Republicans are significantly more likely than unvaccinated Democrats to get angry at those who tell them to get vaccinated; 3) The number of reported COVID-19 deaths in the US surpassed 800,000 this week, with roughly 75% of them occurring in patients 65 years and older; 4) Data through early October suggest more than 90% of deaths occurred in unvaccinated patients; 5) The first 43 investigated cases of the Omicron variant identified in the US revealed one hospitalization and zero deaths.

Fellowship > Imitation: Those who think of Jesus as our model more than as our Savior sign up for a life of disappointment. The transformation and joy we are after grows out of our union with Christ, not simply our imitation.

Merry Xmas: I recently read that 6 out of 10 Christians take offense when they see the term “Xmas.” Please do not join them. For starters, it’s probably not an attack on Christians or Christmas, but even if it is, what of it? As this article notes, in the Greek, the first letter of the term Christ is the letter Chi, which is spelled with an X  (Christos or Χριστός).  In light of this, those who have studied Greek routinely use the term X for Christ. I do. There are real problems out there. Seeing Xmas is not one of them.

Support for The Friday Update: Some of you have asked me how The Friday Update is funded. The simplest answer is, it’s a ministry of Christ Church. Though most who receive it do NOT attend the church, I write it as a pastor / employee of the church. Contributions to the church – i.e., to The Friday Update – are welcome. For information about how to do that, click here.

Closing Prayer: O Lord, in whom is our hope, remove far from us, we pray, empty hopes and presumptuous confidence. Make our hearts so right with your most holy and loving heart, that hoping in you we may do good; until that day when faith and hope will be abolished by sight and possession, and love shall be all in all. Amen. (Christina Rossetti – 1830 – 1894)

Happy Friday

The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown.

Proverbs 4

Solomon’s words are those of a father pleading with his sons. He knew how easily they could be misled. Consequently, he desperately wanted them to seek wisdom and understanding, regardless of the cost.

What Will 2022 Bring? I’m not a prophet, but I expect a lot of “discussion” about abortion in the year ahead. I also suspect that the Ambient Anger Index – which remains quite high – will climb a bit higher.

True and Better: A few years ago, I ran across a “Jesus is the true and better” riff that I’d not heard before. I have yet to figure out where it came from, but I’ve shared it in sermons and Daily Devotions. Here it is in a three minute You Tube video. I like it because it is a quick and powerful way to show that Jesus not only stands at the center of the New Testament, but of the Old Testament as well.

The Sokal Hoax Redux: In 1996, Alan Sokal – a physics professor at New York University – submitted a nonsensical article to Social Text to see if the respected academic journal would publish an article “liberally salted with nonsense, provided it sounded good and flattered the editors’ ideological preconceptions.” He was not disappointed. In Social Text’s summer issue of that year they published, “Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity,” which essentially claimed gravity was a social construct. In recent months, several anonymous academics have been channeling Sokal and are now reporting more success than they expected – e.g., the editorial board of Higher Education Quarterly recently retracted an article that claimed to show that, “right-wing funding was pressuring university faculty to promote right-wing causes in hiring and academics at the expense of ‘people and ideas they regard as superior.’” The authors – who claim a dozen other fake studies that have been published – promise to reveal the full extent of their hoax later. For more on this story, click here.

Without Comment: 1) 1 in 6 Americans are not talking to a family member because of politics; 2) Industry insiders expected the recently released movie about C.S. Lewis – The Most Reluctant Convert – to sell 20,000 tickets. Close to 300,000 were sold; 3) Studies of churches during COVID report that baptisms have declined 49% but small group participation has increased; 4) 47% of adults in the U.S. spend more money than they earn each month; 5) Tel Aviv is now the world’s most expensive place to live, followed by Paris and Singapore (tied), Zurich, Hong Kong and then New York; 6) 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in September, 4.2 quit their jobs in November, and according to this study, 73% of those currently employed are thinking of quitting or changing jobs.

Word of the Week: This week’s WOTW is “Trust Recession.” I selected it after reading articles about trust (or the lack thereof) in Forbes, The Atlantic, HBR and The Guardian. Some blame our “trust recession” on the fact that more people are working from home. Others think it is caused by political polarization. Silly me, I’m surprised people are surprised. Did anyone expect trust to hold its own as we moved further into a “Post Truth” society? BTW, nominations for the 2021 Word of the Year remain open. Suggestions to date include: NFT, metaverse, surveillance capitalism, the Great Resignation, omicron and crypto.

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What Should We be “Concerned” About? Given our Lord’s sovereign control, worry is unnecessary. Given how unpleasant it is, you would think we’d work harder to grow past it. And yet… there are threats that should keep us on “alert.” What are they? Our national debt? Our declining birth rates? China’s intentions re: Taiwan? Russia’s on Ukraine? AI? Climate Change? Many problems get fixed before they arrive, but not all. A head start on problem solving always helps. I’d be curious to know what threats keep you alert?

Mission at Nuremberg: I mentioned a few weeks back that I was reading the account of the Army Chaplain assigned to provide spiritual care to the top 21 Nazis on trial for war crimes. It was not an enjoyable book, in part because it reminds you that evil is small, petty and ordinary. The Nazi leaders (Hess, Goering, Speer, et. al.) are not interesting people. What kept me reading was watching Chaplain Gerecke work through his role in extending grace and forgiveness to those responsible for the deaths of tens of millions. I also appreciated – and was challenged by – his tireless commitment to share the Gospel with them, leaving judgment to God.

Hit Pause: For some of us, Christmas will be a super spreader event. I am not talking about COVID, but an attitude, be it hope or despair. I mention this now, because unless you take steps soon you are unlikely to be the Spirit-filled, winsome, non-anxious presence your friends and family needs. Slow down. Reflect on the gift of the incarnation. God has everything under control. Hearken back to the themes of our Christmas series past: Love God, Spend Less, Give More.

The Split: I recently heard Arthur Brooks give a talk on happiness. As you may know, Brooks – who is a best-selling author and a popular professor at Harvard Business School – has been cranking out articles on happiness in The Atlantic (and elsewhere) for the last few years. He made several points that need to be shared: 1) In almost every person in the world, happiness declines between the ages of 25 – 50, at which point it climbs until age 65. Brooks says he has data from thousands of studies controlling for all of the variables: country, ethnicity, income, marital status, health and more. “The data is overwhelming. It happens to almost everyone.”; 2) As we move into our 70s, half of the population grows happier and half the population sees their mood sink; 3) The surest way to be in the group that grows happier as they age? Go to church.

Pondering: In advance of the 2022 launch of our Institute, Christ Church gathered a dozen people for an extended discussion of Os Guinness’ latest book, The Magna Carta of Humanity. Guinness, who joined us by Zoom, gave us much to think about. I keep coming back to a point he made quite casually: freedom and equality live in tension. Perhaps I am late to the party, but I had not heard that point made quite that clearly before.

After Further Review: In college I heard – and believed – that in the 3^rd century, Constantine turned Saturnalia (a pagan holiday) into Christmas in an effort to unify his sprawling kingdom. Dr. Timothy Larsen, the scholar on Christmas and the editor of The Oxford Handbook on Christmas, says that is not true. In this article, he argues that Christmas is more Christian than many Christians think.

Closing Prayer: My God and my All! What greater blessing can I receive than your love? What greater wealth can I possess than your grace? What greater pleasure can I enjoy than your presence? What greater sweetness can I taste than your body and blood? What greater wisdom can I know than your Gospel? Your wisdom is so simple that even fools like myself can understand it. Your holy communion is so generously given that even sinners like me are allowed to receive it. Your presence is everywhere so that even someone with such a dull mind as I have can find you. Your grace is such a constant source of reassurance that I can trust you completely for all my spiritual and material needs. And your love is so warm and so forgiving that even a cold, hard heart like my own is melted. Amen. (Thomas a Kempis – 1380-1471)

Happy Friday,

Produce fruit consistent with repentance.

John the Baptist, Matthew 3:8

Scripture explains repentance as a Spirit-driven, comprehensive activity – one that begins with sorrow and includes changes in both our attitudes and our actions. Some get it wrong by thinking they can engineer these changes on their own. More get it wrong by thinking that feeling bad is enough. As John the Baptizer makes clear, real repentance results in a transformation. No transformation means true repentance did not happen.

The Gratitude Challenge 2.0: I read enough about gratitude last week to persuade me to keep the Challenge going. If you generated a list of things you’re thankful for, take three minutes right now to add to it. If you didn’t get around to it writing out at least twenty items, start now. If you need help, read this inspirational piece about gratitude, or this piece about how many things are going right.

The Ig Nobel Awards: Because my uncle holds a grudge against Stockholm for not awarding a Nobel Prize in Geology, I’ve not given their silly award much thought. Seriously, it’s never bothered me that I haven’t won. Who wants to? Besides, I have so many participation trophies on my shelves, I don’t even know where I’d put it. Plus, there is the hassle of the long flight to pick it up. Who has time for that? And now something better has come along anyway. In the spirit of the Darwin Awards comes (drum roll)  the Ig Nobel awards.

Word(s) of the Week: Two terms earned honorable mention this week. The first is “disordered passivity,” which was coined by Peggy Noonan in this should-be-read WSJ piece. The second is the “Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect,” which describes forgetting how unreliable a source is in one area and then trusting it in another. (You are guilty of Gell-Mann Amnesia when you read an article on a subject you know well, realize that the journalist has no idea what they are writing about, and then turn to another story, assuming that the paper is more trustworthy on this new topic than it was the previous.) If you want to read more about Gell-Mann amnesia, click here. The actual Word of the Week is post-liberal, which is suddenly showing up everywhere. Given how little agreement there is about what liberal means, I’m not certain how long it will take to gain consensus on post-liberal. But my suspicion is, it’s the word coined to describe those who no longer believe in freedom of speech.

A Second Conversion: Once Copernicus’ helio-centric theory carried the day, a revolution followed. A similar tsunami should have up ended your life. I’m talking about the one that follows the realization that the universe does not revolve around us, it revolves around God. I know that you know this. But we need to keep rereading the memo. God does not exist for our benefit; we exist for His.

BTW: I still have not heard anyone wonder if COVID is God’s judgment on us. I am not suggesting it is. I just find it curious that no one has suggested as much. I’m pretty sure earlier generations would have raised this possibility by now.

From the Home Team: 

• Syler Thomas, Christ Church’s long-time Student Ministries Pastor recently published this piece on sports and the glory of God.
• Brad Coleman, our Campus Pastor in Highland Park, is headed to LA to join some friends in writing, recording, and filming new original Christmas music. He’s done this before. This group goes by the name Reindeer Tribe, and you can find their website here.

Without Comment: 1) In four major pollsters’ explorations of identity, people report that their political affiliation ranks at or near the bottom in a hierarchy of importance; 2) 24% of the world is currently Muslim and 31% is Christian; 3) Those born in 1946 had an 80% chance of making more money at thirty than their parents were making at that point in their lives. Only 50% of those born in 1991 – i.e., those turning thirty this year – did so; 4) This year’s most popular names are: Bella and Luna (for girls), and Max and Charlie (for boys). BTW, these are new names for puppies not people; 5) LSU just lured Notre Dame’s football coach away by offering him a 10-year, $100 million contract. (I am told professors make somewhat less.)

Overheard: I was encouraged and unsettled at a conference this week. It will take a while to process what I’ve learned, but I can pass along a few quick take-aways: 1) One man noted that the much-repeated adage that a parent “cannot be happier than their least happy child,” is both wrong and destructive. He also notes that it certainly is not true of our Heavenly Father; 2) When asked about the failures of the church, one man noted, “When you hear the 7^th grade orchestra play Beethoven, don’t judge Beethoven;” 3) When limited to one word to describe Jesus, someone noted that Dallas Willard chose “relaxed.” Who else falls asleep in a boat in a storm?; 4) Finally, on two occasions we heard from Lo Alaman, a spoken word artist whose wedding video went viral after his comments to his bride.

Closing Prayer: How brief is our span of life compared with the time since you created the universe. How tiny we are compared with the enormity of your universe. How trivial are our concerns compared with the complexity of your universe. How stupid we are compared with the genius of your creation. Yet during every minute and every second of our lives you are present, within and around us. You give your whole and undivided attention to each and every one of us. Our concerns are your concerns. And you are infinitely patient with our stupidity. I thank you with all my heart—knowing that my thanks are worthless compared to your greatness. Amen. (Fulbert of Chartres – 970 – 1028)

Happy Friday:

Three times I was beaten with rods.

Paul, 2 Corinthians 11:24f

 In his second letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul riffs about the hardships he faced working to advance the Gospel. “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” The most remarkable thing about this passage is … it’s not all that remarkable. All 28 chapters of Acts make Kingdom work look ridiculously hard. Silly me, I keep expecting that changing the world – and changing my own heart – should be easy and happen quickly.

Good News / Bad News: In this article, Yuval Levin lists reasons we should be encouraged – e.g., the U.S. divorce rate has hit a fifty-year low and teen pregnancies are at their lowest point since records started being kept in 1930. Unfortunately, he also lists several reasons we should be alarmed – most notably, both marriage and fertility rates are at all-time lows in the United States.

Take the Gratitude Challenge: At some point today you should: 1) Disconnect; 2) Take out a sheet of paper; and 3) Write down at least twenty-five reasons you have to be thankful. Set the list somewhere you’ll see it tomorrow so you can read it over and add to it. Do this for a week and let me know how it goes. BTW, I shared this challenge at church this weekend, and have since heard back from one woman whose list is up to 600 entries. (Need a running start? Thank God for: color, music, the rotation of the earth, grace, apples, laughter, the ability to read, etc.)

The Great Resignation: An estimated 4.4 million workers voluntarily quit their jobs in September. When you add them to the 24 million workers who have left their jobs since April – and the 700K+ who have died of COVID – you understand the labor shortage. Experts say those quitting are doing so in light of, “better opportunities, pandemic burnout, and a shift in priorities.” I’m not great at math, but I am starting to think there are only a few of us left working. Maybe only you and me. And, honestly, I am not that sure about you. (On a related note, the latest Barna research suggests that thirty-eight percent of pastors have “seriously considered leaving ministry during the pandemic.”)

The Chosen: A few weeks ago, I endorsed The Chosen. I am not rescinding that endorsement, but FWIW, my image of the Sermon on the Mount does not line up with theirs. For one thing, I believe the reason there is some daylight between what Matthew records (Mt. 5-8) versus Luke (Luke 6) is because Jesus gave this sermon on many different occasions. That said, I look forward to season three.

Word of the Year: The Oxford English Dictionary has already weighed in with their 2021 selection. It is…drum roll please: vax. Any day now other language pundits will chime in. Why not beat them with your own nomination. Here is a list of previous winners to get you warmed up: 2013 – selfie; 2014- vape; 2015 – the “face with tears” emoji; 2016- post-truth; 2017 – youthquake; 2018 – toxic; 2019 – the nonbinary pronoun “they;” and 2020 – lockdown.

Without Comment: 1) In case you were wondering, five thousand Yale administrators attend to the concerns of the school’s  4,703 students. (Yes, Yale now has more administrators than students.); 2) The YouVersion of the Bible app has amassed over 500M installs; 3) More than 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses between May 2020 and April 2021, marking the first time on record that overdose fatalities have hit six figures in a 12 month window; 4) Eighty percent of the world’s population now has access to electricity. 5) Young people in America are having less sex than previous generations, and this article claims Christian convictions is the reason. (Among never-married individuals under age 35 who attend religious services more than monthly, the rate of sexlessness has risen from about 20% in 2008 to nearly 60% in 2021.)

Thanksgiving Quotes Worth Requoting:

• “Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint. I can choose to be grateful when I am criticized, even when my heart still responds in bitterness. I can choose to speak about goodness and beauty, even when my inner eye still looks for someone to accuse or something to call ugly.” Henri Nouwen
• “If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon
• We should give thanks. It’s God’s will, and it’s really, really good for us: “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” G.K. Chesterton

No Friday Update Next Friday: Happy Thanksgiving (and Black Friday and Cyber Saturday and Small Business Monday and all the other new secular holidays I may have forgotten).

Closing Prayer: O Lord our God and heavenly Father, which of Thy unspeakable mercy towards us, hast provided meate and drinke for the nourishment of our weake bodies. Grant us peace to use them reverently, as from Thy hands, with thankful hearts: let Thy blessing rest upon these Thy good creatures, to our comfort and sustentation: and grant we humbly beseech Thee, good Lord, that as we doe hunger and thirst for this food of our bodies, so our soules may earnestly long after the food of eternal life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Amen. (We do not have a record of the prayer prayed by the Pilgrims back in the early 1700s. This circulates as what it might have been.)

Happy Friday,

To live is Christ and to die is gain.

The Apostle Paul, Philippians 1

If offered a choice between Heaven or Hell, people favor the former. Offered a choice between Heaven and Earth, most choose the latter. Not Paul. He longed to leave this land of the dying and go to the land of the fully alive. Set your mind on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of the Father.

For Every 100 Women…: Every year, economist Mark Perry publishes an enlightening comparison of men and women. His column begins, “For every 100 women,” and then lists the corresponding number of men. For instance, “For every 100 women who earn a Master’s degree, 61 men do,” or, “For every 100 women who abuse illicit alcohol or illicit drugs, 180 men do.” The full list is here. In case you are wondering, the women win. Big time. In almost every possible way. Alas, in a way that means no one wins. It’s hard for society – to say nothing of a family – to do well when men are faring so poorly.

Servant-LEADER or SERVANT-leader: A friend recently noted that we talk as if Jesus suggested we learn to lead with kindness – i.e., a soft edge. No. What Jesus taught – and modeled – was that we influence others by serving. My friend went on to suggest that we stop reading servant-leadership books and start studying serving. Count me as one of those who have been quite impressed with their own efforts on “servant LEADERSHIP.” Lord have mercy.

Faith > Fear: It’s worth rehearsing the litany of things we’ve been told to be scared of. In my life that includes things such as: the Soviets, acid rain, Y2K, radical Islam, killer bees, HIV/AIDS, secular humanism and fluoride in the drinking water. (And this list doesn’t even include things such as supermarket scanners and backmasking.) Meanwhile, the consistent refrain of the New Testament is, “Fear not.” We are called to faith.

Aging: In case you missed it, last Friday I was 60. This Friday I am 61. I do not share this to draw attention to my birthday, but to proclaim that aging is OK. Look, just because our culture obsesses over youth doesn’t mean you have to. Are there some advantages to being young? Certainly. As I mentioned a few weeks back, I’d like my 25-year-old knees back. But there are advantages to growing old as well. And sixty-year-olds trying to pass themselves off as forty-year-olds is not such a good look. I’m fine being 60 (uh, 61). And I’m planning on moving forward (towards Heaven!) and not backward (towards Middle School).

Word of the Week (WOTW): When I started the WOTW, I did not expect to have an entry every single Friday. But once I started looking, I realized I needed to create an honorable mention category so I could highlight more than one term. This week is no different. Honorable mention goes to “luxury beliefs” – a term coined by Rob Henderson and explained in this article. It describes what he identifies as destructive attitudes – e.g., “monogamy is outdated” or “defunding the police is a good idea” – that are verbally endorsed by One Percenters who are able to avoid their ill effects. The actual WOTW goes to “metaverse,” in honor of Zuckerberg’s decision to rebrand Facebook as Meta. What is the metaverse? According to this piece, it is, “the massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds which can be experienced synchronously and persistently by an unlimited number of users.” The article notes we’re likely a dozen years away from Meta in its prime. (Did I mention I’m OK being old?)

Free Speech? I grew up thinking it was Patrick Henry who said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” It turns out he might not have said it. Some claim it was Voltaire. Others point to an English author named Evelyn Beatrice Hall. I’ll let others solve this mystery, especially since it may not matter. It turns out todays’ collegians favor cancelling and shouting down anyone who tries to say something they do not like.

Question of the Week: Can you name a political position you once held that your Christian faith has led you to change?

Thanks: Thanks to all of the veterans (and active military) for your service. I hope you had a happy and safe Veterans Day.

Modesty: In apologetics classes, I was taught that modest claims were easier to defend. In a series of recent Tweets, Tim Keller offers a second reason to understate your position: you are less likely to illicit angry counter claims. By way of example, he notes that those advocating for anti-racism often suggest that virtually all social inequalities are due to structural, social injustice. “If you are poor or a criminal it is not your fault.” Meanwhile, those arguing in favor of anti-anti-racism often claim that no social inequalities are due to structural, social injustice. “If you are poor or a criminal, it is always your fault.” Keller notes that Christianity teaches both individual and corporate responsibility. The Bible does not promote a simplistic view. “It fully critiques both yet fulfills the best aspirations of each. It calls for biblical justice but acknowledges the deep complexity of the causes and the solutions without being reductionistic.”

Overheard: Teenagers today live with a perpetual Yearbook Day in their pockets. There is a constant barrage of pictures showing if you are included or excluded. There is a constant unveiling of the best-looking, the most-likely to succeed, etc. And the comments are not isolated to the back cover of a yearbook. They are for the world to see.

Schadenfreude: I felt – and enjoyed – reading this much discussed NYT piece. It’s about the way Gen Zers roll their eyes at their aging Millennial bosses.

Closing Prayer: O blessed Jesus, give me stillness of soul in you. Let your mighty calmness reign in me; Rule me, O King of gentleness, King of peace. Give me control, great power of self-control, Control over my words, thoughts and actions. From all irritability, lack of meekness, lack of gentleness, dear Lord, deliver me. By your own deep patience, give me patience. Make me in this and all things more and more like you. Amen. (St. John of the Cross – 1542 – 1591).

Happy Friday,

Be still and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

The twenty-first century leaves many agitated. Our disquiet comes in three forms. The most basic is the nagging sense that we should be checking our phone, attending to email or finishing some half-baked project. The second is the suspicion that we should be attending to one of those Quadrant Four things Covey wrote about – i.e., the important but not urgent. Think: learn Spanish, Read The Brothers Karamazov or review my will.  The final is the unanswered existential questions in front of us – e.g., What really matters? What is expected of me? or What happens when I die?  Ironically, while level three concerns the most important matters, they are the least disruptive. We have to be very still before they surface and most of us never are.

Uncommon Sense: Every person has value and deserves respect, but not every idea does. Some ideas are wrong, some are silly and some are evil. Not embracing a bad idea is not an act of aggression towards those who do embrace it. On a related note, some cultures are better at some things than other cultures. Given the rabid relativism many now champion, this is routinely denied, but it is surely true. The ethos and convictions of the Amish – or of those advocated by Nelson Mandela – are better than those embraced by groups advocating Female Genital Mutilation.

Plus Ten: A simple drill that can yield big returns unfolds in two steps: 1) Add ten years to everything (and everyone) around you; 2) Ask yourself, “What is now broken?”  There are things about the future that we cannot know, but there are some things that we can. If I am still alive in ten years, I will be ten years older. So will our house. So will the roof. So will my knees.  What can sixty-year-old Mike do today that seventy-year-old Mike will appreciate?

Gap Analysis:  When the Brits implore you to “Mind the Gap,” they’re suggesting you avoid falling between the platform and the train. I’m using the phrase to suggest you close the distance between yourself and Christ.  However, I do so with this caveat: Your awareness of your need for grace will increase. When I first came to Christ, my sense was that I was at -3 and Jesus was at +10 – that meant, I needed 13 points of grace. Over the intervening decades, while my actions have improved, my awareness of my sinfulness has expanded. So, while others might rank me at a -2, I would score myself far lower.  What’s more, I now realize that Jesus is not a +10, He is a +10,000.  I no longer think I need 13 points of grace. I think I need one thousand times as much. This is the thinking behind Dallas Willard’s famous line, “A saint burns grace like a 747 burns fuel on takeoff.”

Word of the Week: “Hegemonic” deserves honorable mention. After all, it’s only slightly less trendy than Squid Games. But because I think it’s peaked, I’m going with “safetyism” instead. Best I can tell, “safetyism” became a buzz word via Lukianoff and Haidt’s 2015 Atlantic piece about the “coddling of the American mind.” There they defined it as “a culture or belief system in which safety (which includes ‘emotional safety’) has become a sacred value.” It seems ironic that we are so obsessed with safety when in so many ways we have never been safer, but we are. BTW, this conversation brings I Thessalonians 5:1-3 to mind. It reads: “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

Expectations: I am currently reading Tim Townsend’s book, Mission at Nuremberg: An American Army Chaplain and the Trial of the Nazis.  It tells how Henry Gerecke (rhymes with Cherokee) wrestled with his assignment to serve as the chaplain to the top twenty-one Nazi war criminals as they awaited their trials in Nuremberg. I’m not far enough along to know if I should recommend the book, but this paragraph jumped out at me. It comes from a letter the Major General in charge of Chaplains sent to Gerecke on the latter’s first day as a military chaplain. “Inconveniences, difficulties and hardships will be your portion…. Loyalty, obedience, devotion, and self sacrifice will be expected and required.” Think about how much easier our lives would be if we read such a letter.  BTW, we did have just such a letter sent to us.

Without Comment: 1) The 2021 World Series averaged 11.7 million viewers; up 20% from last season but still second lowest audience ever; 2) The US stock market rose to record highs this past week; 3) Children’s screen time doubled during the pandemic and shows no sign of coming back down; 4) According to the Labor Department, 4.3 million workers voluntarily quit their jobs in August, the most in the two decades the government has been keeping track; 5) Almost half of US congregations are involved in efforts to feed the hungry.

See It!: On Wednesday night, Sheri and I saw Max McLean’s CS Lewis. The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of C.S. Lewis. Do yourself a favor, watch it.

Recommended for Parents: I thought this piece by Eric Geiger – Eight Reasons We Have Delayed (Further) Getting Our Daughters Phones – is worth reading.

FWIW:  As Halloween has gotten darker – i.e., as it has transitioned from It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown to slasher movies – it has become more popular. It is now officially the number two party night of the year (after NY Eve) and the number two holiday in terms of retail spending.

Closing Prayer: Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)

We tend to be troubled by our troubles. That is, we allow our sadness to be multiplied because we do not expect it. It does not have to unfold that way. After all, Jesus told us to expect trials. In fact, He told us to be thankful for them. Trials are a path to growth.

Tech: Both the Left and the Right think Big Tech has too much power. I agree. However, while I am not thrilled by the way Zuckerburg (and his cohorts) capture data and manipulate us via algorithms, I am equally as concerned about the power we casually cede. Though some claim otherwise, technology is not neutral. It does not simply help us “do the same things only faster,” it leads us to do very different things. And beyond that, the pace at which it is reshaping our world – and consequently reshaping us – is beyond our ability to process. As I have noted before, the whole Amish option is looking better all the time.

Faith > Politics: Dr. Scott Dudley, a friend, and the pastor of a significant church on the West Coast, recently noted that although he knows many leaving their church because it doesn’t match their politics, he does not know of anyone changing their politics to line up with what their church is teaching. He often tells his congregation that, “If the Bible doesn’t challenge your politics at least occasionally, you’re not really paying attention.”

Speaking of politics: In a letter to a friend – dated January 8, 1776 – John Adams not only explained his preference for a republic over a monarchy, but he also expressed his doubts about whether Americans “possessed sufficient virtue for a republic to survive.” His concluding comments were bracing: “It is the Part of a great Politician to make the Character of his People; to extinguish among them, the Follies and Vices that he sees, and to create in them the Virtues and Abilities which he sees wanting. I wish I was sure that America has one such Politician, but I fear she has not.” I hope you are joining me in praying that such a leader emerges. We need Lincoln 2.0.

Word of the Week: Bari Weis and Jon Lovett get honorable mention for their contributions. She described Twitter as “political heroin” and he referred to this moment as “A Culture of Shut Up.” The other runner up is “endemic,” which refers to “medical maladies that are regularly found among particular people or in a certain area.” While I am heartened by our forward progress against COVID, I now suspect the pandemic is going to be “regularly found,” and thus turn into an endemic. So, what word won? This week’s Word of the Week is… courage. I may be engaging in some wishful thinking, but I think we need to see more courage from the 80 percent of people who live in the middle and hear less from the ten percent on either extreme.

Dads on Duty: This video went viral earlier this week, so many of you will have seen it. But if you haven’t, you will want to.

The 3/9 Burger: This one minute video says much about Americans – both our diet and our math skills.

Ironic: Two weeks ago, I referenced the Dunning-Kruger Effect. It’s the title given to the idea that people who know a little often have more confidence in their insights than those who know a bit more. Well, the term has become trendy and in the process been attacked. This article suggests that those who know a bit about D-K have more confidence in it than those who know more. This means that it’s not true. Oh wait…

Without Comment: 1) A recent poll by the University of Virginia indicates that 75 percent of Biden voters and 78 percent of Trump voters believe that their political opponents “have become a clear and present danger to the American way of life;” 2) Harvard University reported that the “epidemic of loneliness” continues to grow; 3) The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 31 percent of adults experience an anxiety disorder at some time in their lives; 4) The Census Bureau recently noted that college enrollment in the United States declined slightly from 2020 to 2021; 5) Two in five Americans say they believe in ghosts; 6) A new FTC report notes that cigarette sales rose in the US for the first time in 20 years; and 7) The Christian polling firm Barna Group found that 29 percent of pastors said they had given “real, serious consideration to quitting being in full-time ministry within the last year.” 

Robinson Crusoe. At my recommendation a friend recently reread Robinson Crusoe. He reports being “surprised by the theology.” If it’s been a while since you read it, you should note, Crusoe does not spend any time talking to volleyballs or much time trying to get off the island. Instead, he uses his time alone to cultivate a deep and life-giving relationship with his Lord and Savior.

Death: When people are asked how they want to die, most say, “quickly, painlessly and in my sleep.” There are reasons for this, but it’s worth noting that such a death was exactly what our great ancestors feared. They wanted time to get right with God, forgive their enemies and say their goodbyes.

Closing Prayer: Use me, God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself. Amen. (Martin Luther King Jr. – 1929 – 1968)

Happy Friday

“Our Father…”

Jesus, The Lord’s Prayer

During this moment when families, churches, colleges, civic groups, small groups, legislative bodies, countries and more are riddled with acrimony, it’s worth pondering the first word of the prayer Jesus taught us. It’s not “My Father” in heaven, but “Our Father.” For better or worse, we are in this together.

No Music: Afghanistan has fallen out of the news cycle, but I did catch a clip from someone who just got out. When asked how the country had changed the most during the last month, he replied, “You no longer hear any music.” I’m not sure if that statement is more jarring if taken literally or metaphorically.

Law of Farmer > Law of Student: It seems a good time to remind everyone that though it’s possible for students to blow off class all quarter and still pull out a good grade, farmers cannot. If you want to harvest in the Fall, you must plant in the Spring. No amount of cramming during finals week can grow corn in three days. This is probably also a good time to note that life operates more like a farm than it does like a college classroom.

The Chosen: A recent addition to my job consists of saying, “Actually, that’s not in the Bible. It’s in The Chosen, which is based on the Bible but takes a few liberties. Feel free to watch The Chosen if you’d like, but understand that it’s coloring outside the lines here and there.”

Evangelical: The term evangelical has become tarnished and toxic. Whether it can be salvaged is anyone’s guess. Whatever happens on that front, however, should not diminish our allegiance to its Greek root: euangelion. As noted in previous Friday Updates, I am a fan of The Bible Project’s animated videos. Their video on euangelion is no exception.

Word of the Week: I thought about burnout, but suspect you’re already burned out on articles about burnout. My next thought was inflation, but I think it will be around for a while, so I’ll save the word and use it later. I briefly considered Post Liberal – which is what illiberal liberals want to be called – but I’m not inclined to give them what they want. All of that to say, I landed on merchants of rage. This seems an ideal way to describe those who delight in amplifying problems rather than addressing them. BTW, it takes zero skill to be a merchant of rage. Any fool can do it. Look at me, I am doing it right now.

Curious: BTW, it’s too early to guess, but I am wondering if President Biden will repeat the standard applause line in his January ’22 State of the Union. I’m thinking of, “The state of our union is strong.”

Quotes Worth Requoting: 1) No man knows how bad he is, until he tries very hard to be good. C.S. Lewis; 2) If knowledge “puffs up,” the solution is humility not ignorance.  J. P. Moreland

The Tyranny of the Majority: Lewis’s insights about democracies are worth resurrecting these days. Years ago he wrote, “I am a democrat [proponent of democracy] because I believe in the Fall of Man. I think most people are democrats for the opposite reason. A great deal of democratic enthusiasm descends from the ideas of people like Rousseau, who believed in democracy because they thought mankind so wise and good that everyone deserved a share in the government. The danger of defending democracy on those grounds is that they’re not true. . . . I find that they’re not true without looking further than myself. I don’t deserve a share in governing a hen-roost, much less a nation. . . . The real reason for democracy is just the reverse. Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows. Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters.”

Speaking of Lewis: Readers of this update know I’m quite a fan of C.S. Lewis. Indeed, that has moved past reading his books to include: visiting his home and both universities where he taught, teaching a course on his works and seeing all of the Lewis dramas starring Max McLean. I mention the latter because on Nov. 3 there is a single day major release of The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of C.S. Lewis. I know nothing about any of this other than McLean is involved – which I take as a good sign – and that you get more information here.

Without Comment: 1) For the 12^th straight year, women earned the majority of doctoral degrees in the US. They outnumber men in grad school 148 to 100; 2) According to two recent studies, as we emerge from the COVID lockdown, “There is marked polarization in desires related to marriage and childbearing. Those who hope for either have one or all of three ingredients: money, hope or a deep dedication to the family. In other words, those most likely to marry or have children are: “the rich, the religious, and the Republicans;” 3) According to the World Economic Forum, religions contribute $1.2 trillion dollars of socio-economic value to the US economy yearly. This is more than the global annual revenues of the world’s top ten tech companies—including Apple, Amazon, and Google—and more than 50 percent larger than the global annual revenues of America’s six largest oil and gas companies.

Closing Prayer: If only I possessed the grace, good Jesus, to be utterly at one with you! Amidst all the variety of worldly things around me, Lord, the only thing I crave is unity with you. You are all my soul needs. Unite, dear friend of my heart, this unique little soul of mine to your perfect goodness. You are all mine; when shall I be yours? Lord Jesus, my beloved, be the magnet of my heart; clasp, press, unite me forever to your sacred heart. You have made me for yourself; make me one with you. Absorb this tiny drop of life into the ocean of goodness whence it came. Amen. (Francis of Sales  – 1567–1622)

Happy Friday

Lord, where else can we go?  You alone have the words of eternal life.

Peter, John 6:68

The crowds following Jesus grew when He fed them and shrank when He explained the true cost of following Him. After one such explanation – which had prompted a large number of people to walk away – Jesus asked the twelve if they planned to join the exodus. It was at this moment that Peter beautifully framed their dilemma. “Where else can we go? You alone have the words of eternal life.” Being a Christ-follower is not easy. In fact, there are times when walking away may seem attractive. But where exactly would we walk? Jesus is altogether unique. He alone has the words of eternal life.

Lament and Hope: I recently opened a three-hour discussion on “pluralism in higher education” by asking the nine in attendance to answer an initial question: “If ‘one’ means you believe we will fix our cultural challenges, and ‘ten’ means you think that’s quite unlikely, where do you stand?” The average response – which included two college presidents, two university trustee board chairs and one provost – was an eight. Ugh. However, after three hours of discussion, the score was reset to a five. No one shared any particularly encouraging information or mapped out a way forward, but the mood was noticeably buoyed. What accounted for the change? I’m not sure, but if I was forced to guess I’d suggest a combination of things: 1) We lamented – which is a biblical path forward; 2) We strengthened each other; 3) We rehearsed God’s faithfulness in the past; 4) We focused on eternity.

Beyond Reach: Jonathan Edwards – the brilliant Puritan preacher, an architect of the Great Awakening and the subject of last week’s history podcast – was famously fired by his church over his views on communion. Lots of pastors get fired. What is noteworthy about his release was his response. It was reported that, “His happiness was out of reach of his enemies.” May we all grow into that space.

Quote Worth Requoting: “Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.” Thomas Moore

Acts 5: Speaking of navigating challenges, consider Acts 5. In that chapter the apostles are arrested, imprisoned, interrogated, beaten, and threatened with death. Their response: They welcomed the chance to share in the sufferings of Christ. It’s probably prudent to note that it’s our culture – not the New Testament – that suggests that suffering is abnormal and bad.

The Heavens Declare: I never tire of photographs from space. It seems to me that they shout Psalm 19 – “The heavens declare the glory of God” – as loud as anything could. If you join me in this, you’ll appreciate this year’s winners of the National Maritime Museum annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year Contest.

SCOTUS: Count me among those who hope (and pray) that the Justices of the Supreme Court remain above the DC dumpster fires.

National Unity: If you are old enough to remember 9/11, you know that on 9/12 the country came together. That is what typically happens in a national crisis. Unfortunately, that is not what is happening now. Perhaps it’s because COVID forced us inside and limited much of our interaction to social media. Whatever the cause, I suspect things will get worse before they get better. The initial reports on redistricting suggest the lines are being redrawn in such a way that even fewer congressional elections will be competitive. When this happens – i.e., when a voting district is deep red or deep blue – those elected to Congress occupy positions further to the left and to the right.

Do Not Idolize the Middle: Speaking of cultural and political positions, I think Keller’s comments here are gold.

Without Comment: 1) Trust in the media dropped to 36 percent, a scant four points above the lowest score ever. Sixty-eight percent of Democrats currently trust the media, but 89 percent of Republicans do not; 2) The average smart phone user checks their phone 50x / day; 3) Depression in America has increased 450 percent since 1987; 4) DC Comics recently announced that Jon Kent – the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane – is bisexual. He joins Robin in this. Captain America and Supergirl are gay.

Addictions: This Arthur Brooks piece on breaking a phone addiction is worth scanning if: 1) You check your phone as soon as you wake up; 2) You grow anxious if it’s not next to you; 3) And you are average and check it 50x / day.

Closing Prayer: You taught us, Lord, that the greatest love a man can show is to lay down his life for his friends. But your love was greater still because you laid down your life for your enemies. It was while we were still enemies that you reconciled us to yourself by your death. What other love has ever been, or could ever be, like yours? You suffered unjustly for the sake of the unjust. You died at the hands of sinners for the sake of the sinful. You became a slave to tyrants, to set the oppressed free. Amen. (Bernard of Clairvaux – 1090-1153)

Happy Friday,

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.

Psalm 95

Remember, gratitude is an acquired skill. Do not overthink this. Develop this discipline. Take out a sheet of paper and write down twenty reasons you have to be grateful. You can thank me later.

Staying Current: In I Cor. 4:3, Paul dismisses the judgment of others. I was going to say, “this was very 21^st century of him,” but that would be misleading. Back in the early days of Postmodernity, it was common to hear people argue that we should not judge. Yes, they tended to be quite judgmental of those who disagreed with them, but at some level they thought judging was bad. In the last few years we have moved into a new version of postmodernity, and this one pulls no punches. It not only judges, it celebrates judging. If you are on “the wrong side of history” those in this group argue that you have no rights to say anything. Think Cancel Culture.

Paul’s Thinking: BTW, in I Cor. 4:3, Paul was making quite a different point. He was arguing that he did not care what others thought of him, he only cared about the judgment of God.

The Global Sex Recession: Given the historically low numbers of marriages and children, it’s not entirely surprising to hear that people are having less sex, but it made the news all the same. According to a recent AMA study, one-third of men between the ages of 18 to 24 did not have sex at all in the previous year. FWIW, while marriage and real sex are down, online porn is at a historic high. In 2019, more than five billion hours of porn were watched on Pornhub alone. Five billion hours. That is 500,000 years worth of time consumed in one year by one provider.

The Word of the Week: Even though I spotted civil war in three recent headlines, and although I was quickly drawn to bio-politics as a new and useful term, the word I believe best captures the last seven days is… fragile. This is my way of saying, not only does the Ambient Anger Index remain high, I think some things may start to break if we don’t learn how to dial back the rhetoric. (As an aside, Jesus promised we’ll be able to identify His disciples by their love for others, not their snarky tweets.)

Without Comment: 1) According to Gallup, 51% of Americans can’t think of a news source that reports the news objectively; 2) After just three weeks on the platform, the Korean series Squid Games is set to become Netflix’s all time most popular show; 3) In 1992, only 38 percent of Americans lived in a “landslide county” (i.e., a county in which one party wins by at least 20 points). In 2016, that number hit a record 60%; 4) Over 5 billion Prager University videos have been viewed; 5) The first season of The Chosen broke the film industry’s crowdfunding record.

Oops and My Apologies: As you likely noticed – and as some of you noted – last Friday we sent out the wrong Friday Update. Somehow, while doing a final edit, I forwarded an initial draft full of misspellings, duplications and half-baked thoughts. We are not sure how it happened. We are pretty sure Russia was involved. And Biden. And Congress. Perhaps Tim Cook and Elon Musk. We’re hoping to hold a congressional hearing.

Lewis & Foster Wallace: Last week’s comments by C.S. Lewis on praise generated enough feedback that I thought I’d run another favorite worship quote. This one is from the late David Foster Wallace – a noted author and professor who tragically ended his own life. Though secular in his worldview, Foster Wallace recognized our “worship orientation.” This is from his famous commencement address at Kenyon College back in 2005. “In the day to day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshiping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual type thing to worship – be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles – is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you.

Jonathan Edwards versus Max Jukes: If you’re not familiar with the contrast between the descendants of Johnathan Edwards – famous Puritan pastor and architect of the Great Awakening – and Max Jukes, a contemporary of Edwards – you are missing out. While more has been written, the gist is, Edwards was a godly influence and Jukes was the opposite, and this played out over time. One-hundred and fifty years after their deaths, a comparison revealed that Jonathan Edwards’ descendents included: 1 U.S. Vice-President, 1 dean of a law school, 1 dean of a medical school, 3 U.S. Senators, 3 governors, 3 mayors, 13 college presidents, 30 judges, 60 doctors, 65 professors, 75 military officers, 80 public office holders, 100 lawyers, 100 clergymen, and 285 college graduates. Meanwhile, Jukes’ legacy included: 70 thieves, 190 prostitutes, 150 other convicts, 310 paupers, and 440 who were physically wrecked by addiction to alcohol. Of Jukes’ 1,200 descendants that were studied, 300 died prematurely.

Closing Prayer: Grant me, O most sweet loving Jesus, to rest in you above every creature, above all health and beauty, above all glory and honor, above all power and dignity, above all knowledge and subtlety, above all riches and arts, above all joy and exultation, above all fame and praise, above all sweetness and consolation, above all hope and promise, above all desert and desire, above all gifts and presents which you are able to bestow or infuse, above all joy and gladness which the mind is capable of receiving and feeling; finally, above angels and archangels, and above all the heavenly hosts, above all things visible and invisible, and above all you are not, O my God! Amen (Thomas a Kempis – 1380 -1471)