October 27, 2021
Leadership Notes
Worship last Sunday {October 24} had the mark of preparation. The people of Covenant Church came ready to worship. You were engaged. The singing was transportational…it took us to a place where all we cared about, and all we wanted to do, was praise God. Clearly, you were putting yourselves in a joyful mindset, where giving God the glory {Soli Deo Gloria} was what mattered most.
Joy fills this place. In fact, we are growing in our expression of the fruit of the Spirit {Galatians 5:22-23} which will be our focus this Sunday, October 31. There is so much love in our community of faith!
While it's not my intention to disturb this positivity flow, I feel the tug to weigh in on a potentially divisive subject. I know, I know, if you feel it could be divisive, then don't go there. But I've never been bashful about boldly going where no pastor has gone before.
Daylight Saving Time. It's stupid. We don't need to spring back or fall forward. Next weekend we engage in the semi-annual charade once more. I don't like it. Why can't we just leave time alone!
Over 200 years ago, while living in Paris, Benjamin Franklin wrote a satirical piece which might be the first example of internet trolling a few years before the invention of the internet. At the time, there was an ongoing concern over the cost and availability of candles and lamp oil, so Franklin floated the idea, tongue well planted in cheek, about fiddling with clocks in order to have more daylight. It was a clever piece.
Fast forward to the late 1800s, when a New Zealander was the first to propose daylight saving time. His idea was two hours forward and two hours back. Since that disastrous introduction, there is not a shred a evidence to support any benefit of messing with time, as God created it. Yet here we are. Next Saturday, November 6, before we go to bed, like well-conditioned automatons, we'll fall back an hour.
For me, the most hilarious line in Franklin's piece was his conclusion. Rising with the sun would save the citizens of Paris a great deal of money:
"An immense sum! That the city of Paris might save every year, by the
economy of using sunshine instead of candles."
So let the clocks fall where they may.
For my money {with apologies to hockey and Celine Dion fans
everywhere} the three greatest living Canadians are Gad Saad, Jordan B.
Peterson, and Samuel Sey. Change my mind…
Finally, I learned a new word the other day. "Catastrophizing." It means believing that something is far worse than it actually is. It can take on two forms:
* Making a catastrophe out of a current situation, or;
* Imagining making a catastrophe out of a future situation.
When you read anything Jesus said or taught about worry, fear, etc., you realize it took modern psychology 2,000 years to describe something Jesus knew had a debilitating effect on our emotional, spiritual, and/or relational lives. Through faith in his death and resurrection, Jesus showed us the way out of catastrophizing. As I like to say, no matter what happens in our lives; no matter what we experience or go through, all is well because Jesus Christ is Lord. Amen?
Fight catastrophic thinking. Read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Resist negative spin. As we do every Sunday morning, turn your heart and mind to giving God all praise and glory and honor. That is the foundation of joy, and where there is joy, all is well. And be careful about groupthink. So much of catastrophizing is herd-driven. Trusting and following the teachings of Jesus will shield us from catastrophizing.
And now, your Moment of Spurgeon:
Beware of no man more than yourself; we carry our worst enemies
within us.
With Much Love and Affection,
Richard