Hello friends,
Happy Independence Day, Americans! As for me and my house, we will be listening to Hamilton and arguing about the legitimacy of the Revolution from a Christian standpoint. Good fun all around!
The Part Where There’s an Essay: Courage in the In-Between
Since I left you, another edition of Cultivating has dropped. This season’s theme is “Courage.” Below is an excerpt from my piece for this edition.
Be strong, and let your heart be courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord. – Psalm 31:24 (ESV)
When our children were young, we used to remind them that angels were scary.
What is the first thing that happens when an angel shows up in the Bible? People usually hit the ground, facedown. John even started to worship an angel, prompting the heavenly messenger to help him up. (Rev. 22:8, ESV) From the descriptions we read in the Bible, it would seem that the people visited had good reason to be afraid. Far from Raphael’s adorable chubby cherubs, angels are described as shocking creatures.
In turn, the angels respond with the most common command given in the Bible: “fear not.” Throughout the whole of Scripture, this phrase is said by angels, by God the Father, and by Christ Jesus. Some people say that it’s there 365 times, once for each day of the year.
The silent conclusion here? Humans are fearful. We need to be told.
One of the most fearful places is the place in between.
The road, rather than the destination. You might call this “liminal space.” You might call it normal life. We are all in between: stages, phases, jobs, places, life and death.
I recently heard a man describe the in-between place we all live in as not only “both/and” but also “neither/nor.”
Someone who is on a journey is neither at their point of origin nor their point of destination.
Someone who is a refugee is at home neither in their home country nor their country of asylum.
Someone who is a Christian is neither far from the kingdom, nor have they arrived in the kingdom.
Framing the in-between in this way is helpful to us. It does not negate the place of “in-between,” but it dignifies the disconsolate feeling we may sometimes have on the road where we’re traveling. In such cases as these, a kind of courage is required: the courage to continue. The phrase comes to my mind frequently—it’s often attributed to Winston Churchill: “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Read the whole piece right here.
For the Anglophiles
Happy Election Day, UK! Try not to let the fireworks on this side of the pond distract you.
I would be doing you a disservice if I did not point you to the BBC’s coverage of Dogs at Polling Stations. There is even a Twitter account: @VotingDogs .
Here’s a favorite from a past year’s coverage:
Reads & Listens of the Week
I appreciated this piece on Re-Enchantment of Protestantism at TGC Canada, particularly the bit on (of course!) Imagination and Art. “…there is a small and growing movement within Protestant evangelicalism working to rebuild and renew the imaginative and creative faculties entrusted to us by our Creator. To borrow language from Tolkien, they are taking seriously the call to be faithful sub-creators.”
A good older reminder from Trevin Wax that the best witness may be A Quiet Life in a World of Unrest. “Your life adds credibility to your witness, especially in times where people feel afraid, or fall prey to cynicism, or can’t see hope beyond the horizon. On the flip side, your life can take away credibility from your witness if you act contrary to the example of Christ.”
Amy Goodgame, wife of Randall Goodgame of Slugs and Bugs music fame, is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met1. She and her brother just started a podcast where they chat about various things. It’s a good listen: Hey Real Quick.
I’m preparing some thoughts about the Flannery O’Connor movie which just released a few months back: Wildcat. It begins streaming on various platforms next week. If you have never encountered Flannery before, be forewarned: like her writing, the film is very dark and very, very weird. In the meantime, you can read Alissa WIlkinson’s review right here.
Now we are more inclined to speak of information than of learning, and to think of the means by which information is transmitted rather than of how learning might transform, and be transformed by, the atmospheres of a given mind. We may talk about the elegance of an equation, but we forget to find value in the beauty of a thought. - Marilynne Robinson, “The Givenness of Things”
She is also a standup comedian!
Planning to use this playlist next year, what a great idea!