Eclipse and the End
This week, we were privileged to witness a solar eclipse, a breathtaking phenomenon that, in the past, would have instilled fear in the hearts of our ancestors.
While not totally unexpected, some interpreted the eclipse as a sign of the end of the world. I don't need to write a great deal about the foolishness of that kind of outlook. On some level, most of us understand that those shouting from street corners represent the fringe elements of our society. We don’t need another blog post to point out the obvious.
I'm not angry when I see reactions like this, but it makes me sad. With a heart of compassion, I want to ask people like this, "Is this the substance of your faith? How is it that you are so hopeful for the end?" I only ask because I sense an eagerness in that subculture to see the end come about.
As I’ve been thinking about the few doomsayers who looked forward to some kind of apocalypse, I’ve wondered if there’s anything about them that I could relate to. It turns out there are times when I think I can.
I can relate anytime I’ve been frustrated, upset, angry, or depressed and wanted to skip to the end of any painful process. “Let’s just get it over with!”
I’m a happy person overall, which is why I don’t think I eagerly look for the end, but there are times when life feels less like a journey and more like…a ride. A ride that I feel a responsibility to stick with until the end. And maybe it’s that word, responsibility, that’s key. The desire to skip to the end is almost always about me avoiding hard work.
I don't want to overgeneralize, but those proclaiming that the end is near are folks who don't like change, feel the foundations of the world-shaking, and want to live in a world where they feel like they control it. In frustration, they hope to skip to the end of the story. For some, this is a form of theology that's provided them with a philosophical cheat code that allows them to skip the realities of life.
We all have a responsibility to live, work, learn, and navigate through the realities of life. Street preachers would rather some kind of cataclysmic event come to relieve them of their challenge to live in times of change. I understand what they mean when they say, “Jesus is coming soon,” but in light of the recently celebrated Easter season, perhaps a more empowering statement is, “Jesus is alive, and he is with us always.”
If this is true, then it must produce an underlying foundation of hope. I’m not interested in having faith that has no resilience when I encounter something I don’t like or understand. While the sun may be eclipsed by the moon for a moment, it will rise again the next day. When it does, we will have the responsibilities and joys of life to experience.
“It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.”
-J.R.R Tolkien The Fellowship of the Ring
Friend, thank you for reading. May you have faith that gets you excited about tomorrow! We have work to do!
Are we there yet? No, we get to keep walking