A Sound Mind
I ended my sermon on March 8th by summarizing it with one verse from St. Paul: God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7).
That message was about bravery. God has not given us a spirit of fear. God gives us courage.
In the ten days and (approximately) 250 handwashes since that Sunday, I have been thinking about the final gift the Spirit imparts: a sound mind. God has not given us a spirit of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). God gives us common sense.
I love the connection Paul makes between spirituality and sanity. Being filled with the Spirit makes us wise (not weird); people under God’s influence are less subject to deception and more sound in judgment.
I am praying for sound minds throughout this pandemic. Specifically, I am praying that we can maintain a delicate balance: On the one hand, we need sound minds to respond responsibly to this crisis. We should honor the wisdom of public-health officials and charitably ignore voices portraying their opinion as an overreaction. We need sound minds to keep ourselves healthy and connected amidst spatial distance.
On the other hand, however, we need sounds minds as an immunization against undue panic. We need sound minds to remember that Jesus remains Lord during the time of the virus.
Can I give you a specific encouragement? Be cognizant of your #coronacontent intake. It’s (obviously) important to say informed, but I’ve found myself reading worst-case scenario projections by the hour. Who’s that helping?
The article I linked to above wonders if this disruption can be reimagined as a time of Jubilee – a season where prayer can flourish and the God’s own being and grace can be unveiled in our otherwise distracted lives. If you’re spending too much time online, turn your phone off. Read a book. Listen to music. Pray. Watch a movie. Give yourself a break.
We’ll gather this Sunday in homes throughout Austin. You’ll find everything you need to participate at cotcaustin.org/live. Please respond to this email if your family is celebrating a birthday or anniversary this week. We’d love to mark this transition with you.
Finally, we’re striving to offer as many points of connection as possible during this time of spatial distancing. Here is a list of all the ways you can participate in the life of COTC:
Click here on Sunday mornings at 9 am for Catechesis and Coffee. We’ll be discussing chapter three of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.
Click here on Sunday afternoon to attend Fr. Peter’s Lunch and Learn on “Walking in the Way of the Cross.”
Visit the livestream for Morning Prayer and to connect with the prayer team.
Follow us on Instagram to be encouraged and/or slayed.
In Christ,
Nick+