in All things

In Romans 5, Paul tells us that the antecedent to hope is suffering, patience (perseverance), and character.

We failed to bear witness to the gospel in a way that eclipsed partisan division. We failed to offer a united front in the face of a global pandemic. But most significantly, we failed to offer an unambiguous rejection of white supremacy after irreplaceable black lives were extinguished. I felt some anger, but mostly I felt grief.

Robert Farrar Capon, an avid cook and Episcopal priest, wrote a sort of theological cookbook called The Supper of the Lamb. In his book, he contrasts ‘ferial’ and ‘festal’ eating. Ferial cuisine is the kind of everyday food that makes the most out of less expensive ingredients.

I imagine that the current state of U.S. refugee resettlement is no surprise to writer Jessica Goudeau, who describes the United States’ predictable pendulum swing between “restrictionist” (limited admissions) and “liberalizer” (more open admissions) refugee policies over the decades in her book, After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America.