Month: July 2023 (Page 3 of 4)

Justin Lee, Associate Editor at First Things, got my attention with an article entitled, “Rewilding American Christianity.”  He references Umberto Eco, who maintains we are living in a New Middle Age.  Back in 1983, Eco saw the Pax Americana collapsing: “First of all, a great peace that is breaking down, a great international power that has unified the world in language, customs, ideologies, religions, art, and technology, and then at a certain point, thanks to its own ungovernable complexity, collapses.”  With the collapse of the great Pax, “crisis and insecurity ensue, different civilizations clash, and slowly the image of a new man is outlined.”  Can you visualize a new “Middle Age” on the horizon?  What is the new man like?

While Eco has a pessimist view of the New Middle Age, Eugene Vodolazkin believes we are entering “a period of deepening, integration, and refinement analogous to that which followed the collapse of the Roman Empire.”  He quotes Nikolai Berdyaev who divides epochs into days and nights.  “Days include antiquity and the modern age.”  These are moments of explosive display.  The Middle Ages “are outwardly muted but profounder than those of the day.  It is during the sleep of night that what has been perceived during the day can be assimilated.  A night epoch allows for insight into the essence of things and for concentrating strength.”  Are we to “slow down” so we can make spiritual sense of our day?  For example, do we discern the presence of evil in the events of our day?

Vodolazkin sees the image of a new man being shaped by the collapse: “Our dispersed and untrained souls need to be shaped and formed, attaining focus or concentration… Personal concentration works against the dispersing influences that might otherwise gain control of our souls.”  This concentration is not possible without a rediscovery of religious truth.  Is a new man being shaped by the events of our day?

Paul Kingsnorth points out the need for inner transformation.  “In a time when the temptation is always toward culture war rather than inner war,” the battle that is uninformed by inner transformation will soon eat itself, and those around it.” Kingsnorth encourages us to follow the example of the “wild saints,”  who sought unity with God, being made holy so that we can return to the world ready for battle.”  Do we pay attention to inner transformation first?

But there is no Theosis [participation in the life of God] without suffering.  Lee asks the question, “Are we in the West, so long accustomed to comfort and convenience, prepared to suffer?” Lee concludes with this comment regarding the saints of old. “They created markers of memory for future generations of believers.   America’s Christians are blessed with the opportunity for building their own markers.  I pray the Lord makes us equal to the task.”  Are we prepared for the coming days?  

As you can tell, I am intrigued by a New Middle Age.  Men, we need to be prepared for radical change in our nation.  The forces of darkness are descending upon us, causing anxiety, fear and uncertainty.  What will tomorrow bring?  Does the image  of a New Middle Age give us some direction?  I think so.   

Here are four points to consider:  1) First, God is calling men to step back and work on their inner life. 2)  Men are meeting for support and encouragement. 3) These small groups are serious about their calling to follow Jesus.  It is not a burden to endure, but a joy to know that we can make a difference in today’s world. 4) Encourage transformation in each other, using the Scriptures as your guide (II Tim. 3:16-17).   

I lead a Bible study in our apartment building.  We all have gray hair.  I encourage us to visualize the effects of our prayers for our loved ones as we experience “the rising up of the gray hairs.”  We read in Ps. 20:7-8, “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.  Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.”  Instead of lamenting about the state of the world, we will boast in the Lord.  We choose to see ourselves rising up and standing on solid ground.

We realize the culture is embracing a post-Christian narrative, putting the Good News in a negative light. As seniors, we grew up in a fairly positive environment. We know the difference.  Our prayer concerns can be expressed well in the words of the Psalmist in 71:17-18: “O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.  Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God.  Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.”

Recently I was sharing our Bible study’s corporate concern for our children and grandchildren with my son Kurt.  Seeing him as a good father, I asked what Judy and I as parents imparted to him that would encourage a group of gray hairs concerned for their families.  I have summarized what I gleaned from Kurt’s reflection in three principles noted below.  

Sowing the word of God as a seed that will grow and have its effect is a helpful image.  In Mark 4:26-27, Jesus tells us, “This is what the kingdom of God is like.  A man scatters seed on the ground.  Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.”  Our task is to sow the “living and enduring word of God” (I Peter 1:23).  Remember it is more than a memory.  It is living and enduring.

Instill – As believing grandparents, we cling to the Word of God that was sown in the lives of our loved ones. Isaiah 55:11 is a wonderful promise for parents and grandparents who have done this: “It is the same with my word.  I send it out, and it always produces fruit.  It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”  Our confidence is in Jesus, the light of the world, who is the Word incarnate (John 1:14). John assures us, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). 

Enhance – This implies daily prayer and remembrance of our loved ones.  Pray believing the seeds that were sown will bear fruit through the life of Jesus, as His Spirit bears witness to the heart and mind of a loved one.  Don’t give up: carry your loved ones in your heart. “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.  Keep on seeking, and you will find.  Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7 NLT).  

Trust – Believe in God’s sovereignty, knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God: “Indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).   God can at any time intervene with his presence in the life of a loved one through an event, a person, a still, small voice, etc.