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On Christmas Eve, I received a note from a friend in Nigeria. The subject line of his email was this: bombs for Christmas. In this note, he describes in detail how he and his family are dealing with the violence all around them. Today, I received another note from a colleague in Asia who is living on a very low salary and cannot see how he will make ends meet. And yet another note from a couple in the Southern United States outlined how the sale of their house fell through and they weren't sure what to do next. My inbox took the wind out of me. I recall a section of 'The Stranger' by Albert Camus where we read these words:
Can you imagine filming that scene? I would think that the director should just halt the background music and simply let the shocking words linger a bit. Have you noticed that bad news lingers? I am not sure if it's because we foolishly think good things should happen to us or if it's because stains are hard to get out of stuff, but bad news seems to hang around longer than expected. What do you do with bad news? A professor of mine in England once told me to soak in bad days. Play blues music, drink, and let it soak in you a while until you truly never want to feel that way again and then proactively work to make sure it doesn't. I kind of liked the advice, so I have learned to try to soak in various emotions, but since I am still a work in progress, I often cannot snap out of it. And so it is with the news of violence and economic woes. These things just hang around a while and we either avoid them like they're not really there or we treat them like they're all that's there. And neither is true. The conversation for Camus is instructive for believers. 'Have you no hope at all?' is a good question for those of us professing faith. Can a watching world visibly see not just a reason for the hope within us, but a true response to the hope that is within us. Is there truly any hope within us that ever comes out? Camus could be rephrased like this: And do you really live with the thought that one day, you will inherit all that Jesus has inherited and will live in a sin free heaven forever? Don't rush to answer--let it linger a bit....it will do us all some good if we lingered more on good news....... -bo |
The chaplain knew the game well too, I could tell right away: his gaze never faltered. And his voice didn't falter, either, when he said, 'Have you no hope at all? And do you really live with the thought that when you die, you die, and nothing remains?' 
