Weekend Top 10: Love in the Time of Lent and Coronavirus edition
A curated list of what I've been up to lately: places, people, books, podcasts, music, links & more for your weekend downtime with thanks to the creators and cultivators filling the internet with truth, goodness, and beauty.
First, a photo from the past couple of weeks!
Brian makes the communion bread for our congregation’s weekly Eucharist. He uses a recipe that our church in Austin uses. On our final Sunday, they handed us a photocopied page taken from an old cookbook created by the original congregation that not only saved this recipe but also saved their tiny congregation when it had dwindled down to a group of core families who took turns paying the light bills for the church building. We received so much from our time at Christ Church in Austin, and this bread-making ritual is a sweet reminder of the way Christ holds his family together. I also love that my priest not only offers the body of Christ each Sunday but is often found rolling the dough and baking the loaves on a Saturday afternoon.
Yes, we’re still eating bread and drinking together in public worship - even in the time of Coronavirus.
Here’s what I published this week!
On Patreon:
Lent Livestream - Encouragement upon completing the first week in Lent.
First Sunday in Lent: By One Man’s Obedience (public post)
Each Sunday in Lent I’ll share a free Daybook devotional post at the Patreon page for everyone to enjoy. To receive notifications for the free public posts, click "follow" at the bottom of the profile page. The daily devotional posts will then be available to those who subscribe at the Daybook ($5 a month) level.
Now for more online truth, goodness, and beauty I’ve enjoyed this week…
My Top 10
(Click through each heading to see the Pinterest boards I’ve curated.)
1. Creators & Cultivators
Artist and Teacher Qiang Huang on Instagram: This image and the artist’s words about his beloved China stopped me mid-scroll and I keep coming back to read his updates.
You can view more of Qiang Huang’s work on his website here.
2. In Season (Lent & Holy Week)
Victoria Emily Jones is far and away the most influential person to my learning about the current practitioners at the intersection of art and theology.
Remember, You Are Dust by Victoria Emily Jones - reflections on hash2ash: everything saved will be lost. exhibit via CIVA blog
Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.
“Remember, man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
“This dictum from the Ash Wednesday liturgy, taken from God’s words to Adam in Genesis 3:19, is the starting point for Lent. Pronounced by the priest as he or she thumbs ashes, in the shape of a cross, into the foreheads of the people, it enjoins us to think back—together as a community—to our creation from the dust of the earth, and to acknowledge that we will all one day die and return to said dust. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.”
3. Justice, Reconciliation, and Social Critique
Lord, have mercy.
‘I can’t wait to hold my kids again’: Life inside Wuhan’s quarantine A father, a doctor, and other residents recount the coronavirus outbreak’s deadly first month. via National Geographic
4. People & Place
Fascinating and inspiring perspective.
Is isolation ever going to contain a pandemic or control public panic? by Patrick Comerford
“Eyam is a village in the Derbyshire Dales and in the Peak District. The village is noted for an outbreak of the plague in 1665, when the villagers chose to isolate themselves rather than let the infection spread.
Eyam was founded and named by Anglo-Saxons, although before that the Romans had mined lead in the area. Today, Eyam depends on the tourism and its reputation as ‘the plague village.’
Eyam was also badly affected by the Great Plague of 1665, although the plague is usually associated with London. The sacrifice made by the villagers of Eyam is said to have saved many places throughout the Midlands and northern England.”
5. Reading & Writing
Coronavirus – Epidemics from History Set it in Context – A Reading Guide via Englewood Review of Books
With the non-stop stream of news about the coronavirus and its effects around the globe, it is helpful for us to pause and set it in the context of other epidemics from history …
While we should take all the precautionary measures (handwashing!) in the face of the coronavirus, reading about other historical epidemics can 1) adjust our perspective, realizing that our situation could be much, much worse and 2) make us grateful for (and more attentive to) the medical knowledge and technology that has been developed in the wake of these historical epidemics.
Here are a few book recommendations that tell the history of some of the worst epidemics that the world has known….
Also related to reading, writing, and Coronavirus - Since this only happens every two years, I was surprised to hear the news of the Festival of Faith & Writing’s postponement. On the upside, maybe I’ll be able to attend since we won’t be hosting a beautiful wedding celebration next April.
6. Spiritual Direction & Disciplines
Within the Patreon community, we’ve been talking about how fasting feels now that we’re past the first week of Lent. Long story short: it gets harder. I appreciate Justin Earley’s encouragement about what it means to fast from something for 24 hours in a culture predisposed to “try to eat, drink, or sleep away your pain”.
Weekly Habit #3 - a 24-Hour Fast from Justin Earley, author of The Common Rule
7. Watching & Listening
So good and so sobering. This piece also renewed my sense of respect for investigative journalists that’s become quite jaded lately.
Mr. Chen Goes To Wuhan by Jiayang Fan via This American Life
What happens when a Chinese man—just a guy, not a journalist or dissident—decides to go to Wuhan and investigate the country’s response to coronavirus? Reporter Jiayang Fan brings us the story of Chen Qiushi.
Related: Chinese video journalist who disappeared after covering Wuhan outbreak tops One Free Press Coalition list via The Straits Times
8. Wholeness & Healing
David Dark knows how to say words that make me smile even when the noise level keeps getting louder and more alarming.
Where Do You Find Hope? A Conversation Between Friends With David Dark & Jon Foreman
JF: Where do you find hope? Where does the light shine through?
DD: I feel hope whenever I see that the person-maybe a whole series of people-cleaned up after themselves before I entered the bathroom stall, when people in cars decide to be good to each other, when strangers giggle together in lines in restaurants, when families and neighbors who don't know one another march together against degradation and on behalf of the vulnerable. The Women's March for instance, in Nashville, D.C., and all over the world, gave me great hope. I see the light shine through whenever I change my mind about someone or something. What politicians call flip-flopping the Bible calls repentance, and there's no life without it. No unity, as Alex Medina says, without repentance. No future till we seek forgiveness from the people we've wronged. Relatedly, I see light shining through whenever we find ourselves ridiculous, as that amazing song from James ("Sit Down") puts it, whenever we put on the mantle of the merely human one more time, when we let go of every front, whenever I feel deep affection for someone I once found threatening. Any day that happens is a very good day.
9. Work & Callings
As Christians, what’s our calling in times of public health crisis? Several years ago, I wrote this article that’s remained firmly anchored in my understanding ever since.
Balancing Vigilance and Providence In the Face of Ebola by Tamara Hill Murphy via Think Christian
"Richard Sacra, a missionary doctor, was headed toward the Ebola outbreak in Liberia when his colleague, Kent Brantley, was infected with the disease. Sacra himself became infected and returned to the United States for treatment. He has recovered and told reporters, “I fully intend to be part of its reconstruction as I continue my work at ELWA Hospital, with a focus on training physicians and strengthening Liberia’s health system for the long run.” Is this reckless behavior? What sort of credo informs our response to epidemics? Do we even need one?I
n 1527, the deadly Bubonic plague broke out in Wittenberg, Germany, the hometown of Martin Luther. Overwhelmed with the needs of the sick left behind while the fearful fled the city, Luther’s colleagues sought his counsel. What sort of action would please God? His letter in response, “Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague,” provides a humble treatise, balancing the tension between earthly vigilance and trust in God’s providence."
10. Worship & Liturgy
If we weren’t talking about the potential for actual human suffering, I would personally find these conversations about liturgical practices such as drinking from the common cup, shaking hands at the Peace, and sanitizing our worship spaces fascinating. Liturgy, after all, is what we call the literal embodiment of worship. So, what does it mean to embody worship that puts its faith in the Creator as Lord of all things and yet practice healthy stewardship for the bodies our Creator’s given us to shepherd? Not a new question, but an excellent time to revisit the tension between our theologies and realities.
Precious Blood In the Time of Coronavirus by Simcha Fisher
“I was surprised to learn that there is a fairly low risk of actually contracting an illness from sharing the chalice, because metal doesn’t harbor microbes well, and because the rim is wiped regularly. Still, low risk is some risk, and some diseases carry more of a threat than others. I decided several years ago that if I have good reason to worry about my family’s health, then we have good reason to reverently bypass drinking from the cup.”
Related: Coronavirus and Your Church: 14 Suggestions via Anglican Pastor