Dear one:
“What are they talking about?” I asked Emil.
“Oh,” he began, a gleam in his eyes as he looked upon several small groups of Romanian pastors discussing Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, “oh, they’re talking about Donald Trump.”
Of course, at that moment, as Emil and I laughed, those small group conversations were not centered upon Donald Trump; however, I have observed that such conversations are not unusual among Romanians, Ugandans, or Malawians. Not infrequently have I fielded astute questions about “things American”—including Trump and Obama, or the latest mass shooting. Those who live in the “global village” often carefully follow the direction and/or antics of the village leaders.
Thus, this week, as I’ve sought to view our “primary season” with “Romanian eyes,” I found my mind turning to the words of the Psalmist:
“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against his Anointed” (Psalm 2:1-2).
For me, these words raise those very perplexing questions: Why do the nations rage? Why do the peoples plot—and who counsels with whom? However we answer these questions, surely they reflect that truly human characteristic, evident within most every American house, White or otherwise: the plotting and raging for our own—but here again, our own what? Pride? Privilege? Power?
Please do not misunderstand my questions: I’m not suggesting that we view and live life passively, but rather that we own those deep seated tendencies so fully manifest in our “primary seasons.” For instance, as I’ve recently revisited the Great War (the war to end all wars?), and the plotting and raging prior to and during that voracious cataclysm, I was reminded: in 1915 the British had 279,000 casualties; the Germans had 612,000; and the French had 1,292,000–or approximately 2,183,000 lives lost. With memory, I was once again stupefied by the striving for pride, privilege, and power—and all to what end?[1]
By these numbers I do not mean to depress either of us, but given that we are in the “primary season,” we do well to remember that we are also in the Season of Lent, which recognizes the sovereign grace of God (Psalm 2), and thereby our being able to seriously heed Jesus’ words: “Whoever desires to follow after me, let that one deny her/himself, take up his/her cross, and follow me” (cf. Mark 8:??). Perhaps this Season we will do well to crucify those traits paramount within the “primary season.”
In the Season,
Stan
[1] Some estimate that 40 million people died in WW1.