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…by thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension… Good Lord, deliver us.

2 Corinthians 5:15-20 (NIV)
15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

I recently read a history of the 16th Century, that amazing 100 years when the Catholic dominance of Christianity was shattered by the Protestant Reformation. (A World Lit Only By Fire by William Manchester (1992 ) )
That same century saw the invention of the printing press, the discovery of the New World by Columbus, and the circumnavigation of the globe by Ferdinand Magellan. These events dramatically transformed Medieval Europe and set the stage for the development of the modern world. That is the premise of the book, and allowed me to understand the Renaissance and the Reformation in under 300 pages. It was a good read.

Before the author dove into the events of the 1500’s he set the stage, describing the Dark Ages, (400 A.D-1000 A.D.) from Rome’s fall, until just before Norman conquest of Britain. It was not a pleasant time to live in Europe, yet his brief description of that time looked to me more like he was describing this millennium, indeed even today:

“…most of what that is known of the era is unlovely,…the portrait which emerges is a melange of incessant warfare, corruption, lawlessness, obsession with strange myths and an almost impenetrable mindlessness. p.3 A World Lit Only By Fire William Manchester (1992 )

I liked this quote because the world looks pretty “dark-agey” to me right now, particularly the Church in America. Christians are being blown about and blown away from demigods on the right and God-haters on the left. Our pulpits are often more about politics than piety, and we spend more time in prayer calling down fire and brimstone than asking for the fire of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, our cancel-culture engages in impenetrable mindlessness instead of seeking the mind of Christ. I Cor.2:16. Phil. 4:7

One pastor noted that more Christians get discipled by Fox News or MSNBC than by Jesus Christ. From this comes our obsessions with strange myths and conspiracy theories. I see that it is not just me and you that needs redemption and restoration, but so does our country, our culture, our city, our politics, our schools, our churches, our homes, our families, our marriages and our fellowship with one another. All these are in desperate need of God’s saving grace.

But honestly, the task looks a bit overwhelming. I am pretty dadgum busy just trying to allow God to deal with me, let alone the rest of the madness out there. I find myself a bit jaded, depressed and fearful of the gathering darkness. I could use a nice quiet monastery for the next few years. Nevertheless, I will hope for restoration, for myself and all the rest, and I will pray for the faith and fitness to work toward that end. That brings me back to this truth: Restoration is real and possible. The repentant and reformed pastor Gordon McDonald says it like this:

“Either you believe in the capacity of Christ’s atonement to make you a new person, or you don’t. If you do, then start living like a forgiven person should live. And how is that done? By being a lot more quiet, humble, thankful, sensitive, and anxious to serve than you ever were before. Forgiven people basically live like that.”

The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus proves this truth. In Jesus Christ there can always be a new day, a new start, a new Holy normal, both for ourselves and for our society. We need to believe in it, walk in it, work for it and pray for change that comes from Easter and beyond. Be forgiven and rise anew in Christ. For He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed !

Peace. Phil Parsons

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From Rodger:

I emphatically agree with the point above that the world currently is pretty “dark-agey.”  I don’t think that’s simply a perception issue – on Phil’s part or on mine.  And as enticing / inviting as the idea of finding a nice, quiet monastery is – actually that’s something that rather clearly applies to me during this Lent (see below) – I think that perhaps as busy as we all are dealing with our own selves, our own lives, our own darkness… perhaps we are the ones God is calling to speak up, speak out, remind those around us that the darkness doesn’t win, unless we let it win.  I wrote a long piece about our nation and the prophet Amos a few days back, and I can’t help but wonder if perhaps you and I – all of us – are maybe being called to be prophetic in some way.  That’s a frightening thought actually; I’m going to address it more fully in the next day or so with some help from Garrison Keillor of Lake Wobegon, Minnesota.  Stay tuned.

(A further note about the “monastery” idea:  I am currently, as a Lenten discipline, leaving town every Sunday after worship, driving my truck and camper to a State Park somewhere not all that far away from home, but a place that I know is quiet, out of the way, and pretty much isolated (from cell phone, Internet, TV coverage.)  And I’m spending Sunday night, Monday, Tuesday, and in a couple of cases Tuesday night and Wednesday morning doing pretty much nothing but reading, praying, writing, with an occasional hike or meditative moment sitting by a camp fire.  (When  this post goes live, I’ll be at New River State Park up in the mountains between Jefferson, NC and Sparta, NC; essentially in the middle of nowhere.)

It’s making the rest of each week a bit crazy, making sure everything at church is OK, getting the “normal” chores done at home with 2 days essentially carved out of the week, and interestingly enough, dealing with a sense of “withdrawal” from the phone, the web, TV news and sports, and even the cesspool of social media!  But it’s also amazing in some ways; I’m thinking deeply about issues that most of us manage to ignore when we have distractions to assist us in that ignorance.  I’m reading passages of Scripture that I’d just as soon ignore (like Amos or parts of Isaiah, or even those “hard words” of Jesus we gloss over so easily).  And I’ve already found that each Monday night (or Tuesday night) when I begin to “clean up” to help with the packing,  hookup, and getting on the road the next morning – always a challenge for a confirmed and dedication “non-morning” person like myself! – there’s a sense of sadness that what’s been a really valuable 36 or 48 hours is coming to a close.

But I also know it must:  Because home, this computer, my pretty good Internet connection, and a lot of editing and uploading thoughts like these and what Phil has labored over need to happen.  If there’s a bit of a prophetic role in all that?  I guess I’m maybe reluctantly OK with the thought.

And that raises a really important question:  Are you?  Is God calling you to bear witness and speak to both the call of the Gospel and the need for “hedge prayers” for the world around us?  Remember Jonah; remember Isaiah, remember the message that “Jester” had for “Maverick” below:  We can run… but we can’t hide.