ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
March 21, 2025
A few weeks ago, I mentioned the World Happiness Report in one of my Etchings, highlighting the United States’ consistently poor performance in the nearly 15 years of the study’s existence. The most recent findings were just released, and after a couple of years with slight improvements, the United States fell to its lowest level in the study’s history. Now, happiness has nothing to do with individual wealth, but with things like social connection, benevolence, a commitment to kindness, and contentment. While contentment does encompass a sense of financial security, it is important to note that there is no direct correlation between accumulating wealth and increased happiness. One of the reasons the United States scored so low is an increase in the number of people who are eating alone. Now, I’m the type of person that, on occasion, doesn’t mind eating alone. But I am also a social creature, and I really enjoy gathering together with others around a table and eating good food and experiencing great company. For a faith tradition centered around a meal, it seems logical that we are built for helping to grow a sense of happiness in our culture by modeling a table where the gifts are plentiful and every person has a place. In worship on Sunday, let’s see if we can help create a bit more happiness, not simply in our worship space, but starting with that place and then moving beyond the walls.
Could it be, Lord God, that you understood the source of happiness, inviting your people to be generous, compassionate, and to share fellowship around the table, where every human being has a place? Amen.
