So what’s in the news today?
The White House continues to be ’must see TV’ - with a journalist suing to get his press pass back, and the First Lady firing an aide-
Then there’s the Civil War in Yemen that’s caused a famine that could kill a record 18 million people-
And there are those deadly wildfires torching so much of our beloved California neighborhoods and countryside -
On Sunday we’ll hear Jesus talk about about faltering institutions, unstable governments, famines, and natural disasters - and it’s as if he didn’t say these 2,000 years ago, but 2 hours ago.
We all know that turbulent times are still with us - and so is Jesus' advice:
Beware of how deeply we immerse ourselves - we marinate - in the troubles and tragedies around us - it can drive us nuts.
Be not led astray by these things - or the people who beat their drum.
The Lord warns us not to invest too much bandwidth on things like institutions - governments - even the weather - because they will fail and pass away.
Instead, pay more attention to Jesus - and the job he’s given us to do.
I like this term ‘fake news’ - though we might define it differently: Fake news is that which parades as most-relevant and important, and thus distracts us from what really is most important: our shared work of reconciliation, caring, healing, feeding, sticking up for the marginalized, working for a more just way of living together.
Fake news warns us to take cover because the world is going south quick -
Real news tells us to hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, because he who has promised is faithful.
Friends, God is at work around and through you and me - and that work vies for our attention alongside everything else.
Our challenge is to focus on that - on God, on God's work, to keep that at the center of our attention, that's where we find ourselves, that's where we find our joy, that's where we find the real news.
