​Like most Americans, I spent a good part of the first of this month with eyes glued to the Olympic games, and my guess is that many of you have as well. That’s because every four years the stories spawned by the various competitions inspire us all to new heights of effort. Who among us doesn’t know the name Katie Ledecky or Simone Biles or by now, Stephen Nedoroscik. Each Olympics introduces us to someone we’d never heard about, but who now is the topic of conversation around so many gatherings. 
 
I must admit that I envy the athletes, especially the runners. Part of my envy is because I hate running. I like to watch other people run; I just don’t like to run myself. But even then, there are moments when I fancy myself blowing away the competition, wrapping myself in the flag for a victory lap, and then standing on the medal stand bowing to receive my medal as the Star-Spangled Banner is played in the background. But it will never happen, certainly not at this stage of my life.
 
However, there is another competition to which I am called, along with fellow believers in Jesus Christ. It is the competition of faith, which in the book of Hebrews is called a “marathon” (in the Greek, agona, from which we get our English word “agony”). The text reads, “Let us run with perseverance the ‘marathon’ that is set before us, looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2). As the writer of Hebrews so vividly describes, we run this race with “the great cloud of witnesses” cheering us on. All the saints of heaven are urging us forward to the victory that is ours through faith in Christ Jesus.
 
Unfortunately, many of us live each day with a sense of defeat. It seems like everyone is passing us by and we’d be better off giving up the race rather than making a fool of ourselves by continuing to compete. 
 
Perhaps that’s how you’re feeling. Don’t give up; keep running. And as you do, consider the cause of whatever may be holding you back. The book of Hebrews gives us some suggestions. Is it some sin that is encumbering you? Throw it off; lay it aside. Is it fear of the course to which you’ve been called to follow? Don’t look at the course; look at Jesus.  Is it the people who criticize you along the way? Listen to the witnesses cheering you on and think about the opposition that Jesus faced and overcame.
 
Then one day when you come to the end of your race, you’ll have nothing to regret, because you did your best with the grace that came your way.  And when you bow down before the One who was lifted up for us all on the cross, you will receive your reward and know that, looking back, it was worth all the sacrifice.  In the meantime, live each day like the winner you are called to be.

Acoustics have never been my area of expertise, at least not in the technical sense. When it comes to music, both sacred and secular, I know what I like but am at a loss to explain why. But recently I heard someone refer to an “echo chamber,” a recording term, which in this current moment has come to take on more and more sense to me. 
 
In its purest sense, an echo chamber is a hollow enclosure used to produce reverberated sounds for recording sessions.  The term of course comes from that phenomenon of standing at the top of a high peak and hearing your own voice reverberating back to you from the valley below, as if there are others down in the valley who are repeating your words. Popular culture has picked up on the analogy so that to be in an echo chamber refers to a narrow-minded communications space where you think that everyone agrees entirely with your perspective. If you’ve spent any time on social media lately, you understand the analogy and have seen it practiced. It’s not so much that there’s anything wrong or unhealthy about having other people agree with you; the danger only comes when we feel the need to stifle other voices and turn a deaf ear to anyone who dares to think differently. 
 
Diversity of opinion is always a challenge. I never find it enjoyable to cross paths with someone who has a different take on things than I do. I much prefer to think that I’m always in the right. But in my more honest moments I must acknowledge that I have grown much from wrestling with other viewpoints, even when I haven’t ended up accepting them. 
 
All of this has come home to me in the last several days as I’ve been confronted with other opinions and interpretations from both the left and right of where I am, which has resulted in some fascinating conversations. My hope is not so much that I’ll convince anyone to agree with me as it is that they will at least respect my position. I like big circles that include as many people as possible.  But I also recognize that some people don’t, and it’s best for me simply to respect where they are and move on. After all, maturity demands we define ourselves without expecting everyone else to line up precisely with us. It’s a much larger (and more freeing and fulfilling) world once we open the door and step out of our echo chambers.
 
When I read the Bible, it seems to me that as a Christian, I am called as a person of faith to do my best to draw big circles in all my relationships - especially considering how Jesus seemed to have taken exactly such an approach in his ministry. That approach may be something you might want to consider also, especially in these present times, because in the end, whenever and wherever we speak up and hear the voice of Jesus echoing back, we will know we are in a very good place.
 

May 8, 2024

I trust that you are aware that this coming Sunday is Mother’s Day. Some would argue that every day ought to be Mother’s Day, considering all moms do to make their families function. I can’t disagree with that opinion. I know that in my experience, both as a son and father, the two households I have known were and are far better places because of the influence of good mothers.

Not to discount my role as a father, I still have to admit that my two children are better people for the mother God blessed them with. While I did my best to offer our kids counsel and encouragement, it was my wife, Judy, who did the most nurturing and instructing, as well as the most worrying and watching. I came to see how the fallback response of all fathers – “Go ask your mother” – is actually nothing more than a public profession of how, contrary to the old saying, “Mothers usually know best.”

One thing is certain: mothers are great influencers. Who among us has not found himself or herself saying something or seeing something along the lines of what we learned from our mothers? Clearly, we develop into responsible adults in large measure through the efforts of faithful mothers.​

So, if we still have them, our mothers deserve all the praise and gratitude we can heap upon them. And if we don’t, I think it’s still important that we acknowledge the great debt that we owe them. You may have many role models in your life. But chances are that there are none more critical than the mother God gave you. Keep that in mind not just this Sunday, but also everyday of your life and you will do well, just like mom wanted you to do.