Big Christian Thoughts

Dear Friends,

Those of you who were here at St. Andrew’s last night got to hear Mother Samira Izadi, an Episcopal priest from Iran and the leader of the metroplex refugee ministry Gateway of Grace. Across town, I was at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, where I had been invited to give the Wednesday Lenten presentation on the Idol of Technology (specifically, AI).

Reflecting on last night, I want to point out something I hope is obvious but should be stated explicitly anyway: the Great Big Things™ happening in our world are within the Church’s purview. The war in Iran, our immigration policy, the rapid advances of Artificial Intelligence… these things affect us, of course, but we can also affect them. We can think about them not just in terms of oil prices, war casualties, job losses, and labor shortages, but also in terms of what gives us hope, deepens our humanity, and mirrors the sacrificial, saving love of Christ.

One of the ways we sometimes end up diminishing our own faith is when we think of it as just a private thing, just personal values and virtues. But when the waves of history loom large, we need to remember that Jesus didn’t give us a personal flotation device. He gave us a boat. The boat doesn’t control the waves—but if we trim the sails and point the bow in the right direction, we can get through them.

So, think some big Christian thoughts this week about the big things in the world. These are wild times we’re living in, but Christ is with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

In Christ,
Fr. Andrew