The Thursday After

This is a departure from the blog’s stated purpose of ‘riffing off Sundays at WMB’, and rather riffs off recent news.

I’m troubled by the news. I’m interested in what it is, but much more interested in what it means and therefore how to respond.

First, its tempting to vilify particular leaders as bad. That’s, at best, an incomplete reading of where we are at. Whatever your persuasion, something much broader is going on. If Jefferson was right when he said the government you elect is the government you deserve, then its better to focus on what the electorate is feeling and thinking. And, its best to listen with curiosity, empathy and a desire to understand.

Second, lets zoom out a lot. First century Palestine was a very political place, and yet Jesus invited people to get above the politics. Everyone wanted him to make Israel great again, and in spite of that pressure, he spent most of his time talking about the kingdom of the heavens (or the sky) or the kingdom of God. That kingdom he said, was “here now”, and would ultimately win. Rather than clever policies, his radical principles include focusing on the other and transformed human hearts (primarily my own).

That’s a very good reminder when everything in sight wants us to focus on policies within the lines we’ve drawn on the earth that separate us from them. I don’t want to minimize this – people are going to be hurt and some will be hurt a lot. And the earth will be hurt. All of this is terrible.

Third, consider something Bonhoeffer struggled with. He was a young pastor in 1930s Germany when national socialism was on the rise. Mark Twain quipped “the past does not repeat itself, but it rhymes”. At least for the purposes of listening to what Bonhoeffer says, that feels right to me.

Bonhoeffer developed his theory of stupidity in response to empty reactions to his words. If you react to the word stupidity, hear him out. Here’s a 6 minute summary video. I think you’ll agree he doesn’t intend to insult and perhaps the word foolish is better. Does this theory resonate for what you are experiencing today.

Perhaps one great response is to focus on Wisdom. Unsurprisingly, the Bible and Jesus have lots to say about Wisdom and why you should focus on it.

One bright spot for wisdom is in 1 Kings 3:5-15 when Solomon has a “whatever you want” wish and asks for wisdom, not for his own sake, but for leading the people. This is a great example of a human choosing to be what God wants us to be.

Here’s 3 great videos on Wisdom, one for each of the Wisdom books: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. All short, all great. And then there is the Sermon on the Mount, which doesn’t give you this nice list of what to do and what not to do, but rather a whole set of wisdom principles for you to work out. Meditating on this larger wisdom helps me put news worries in their place.

I have no answer to why tariffs are put in place, against the best understanding of almost everyone. Perhaps its to “bring back America’s golden age”, perhaps its to run the world and annex Canada (the manifest destiny), perhaps its to relive the 1970s (Panama), or perhaps its bluster to achieve something else. Intentions do have a way of becoming clearer over time, so we shall see.

Especially now, each of us should pay attention to what we are paying attention to. We can get wrapped up in news cycles and reading the tea leaves. Doesn’t the writer of Ecclesiastes say something about that? It seems we are invited to dig deeper, look higher and imagine farther into the future. Then act.

Blessings on your mediations.

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Footnotes:

• The common quote “The nations get the government it deserves” is attributed to Joseph de Maistre (adopted by Jefferson). Lots of people disagree with de Maistre’s view.
• For four political views among the people around Jesus, watch this video.
• some good history repeats quotes here.
• If you are interested in learning about this rise of national socialism, I recommend The Rest is History four part podcast starting at episode 295, January 15, 2023, wherever you get your podcasts.