ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
November 13, 2025
So yesterday, I was standing next to someone who said, “Tomorrow is Friday the 13th!” There was definitely some spookiness in her voice. The third person standing there said, “No, it’s not! It’s Thursday the 13th.” The person who had originally messed it up looked a little confused, and then realizing her mistake, said somewhat jokingly, “Well, that’s even worse.” In that little back and forth, the mistake was covered with a joke that implied how the alternative was even more troubling. We laughed, yet I know folks who cannot help but find the negative in everything. They offer a quick flashback to Debbie Downer from SNL, more than two decades ago. However, as a good friend and psychotherapist has repeatedly reminded me, “No one wakes up one morning and decides to be pessimistic and gloomy. It may seem that way, but the negative energy they radiate has its source elsewhere.” I try to remember this whenever the person at the checkout counter at Walmart seems to believe my presence has ruined her day. In reality, I had little to do with her melancholy. Moreover, depending on the depth of the source of her negativity, saying, “Cheer up!” will probably be of little help. By Putting Love First in such moments, we might create space where that individual feels safe enough to begin speaking of the sorrow, injury, betrayal, abuse, hopelessness, grief, or whatever might be causing what most of us see as nothing more than the attitude of a curmudgeon or cynic.
Let me continue to place love at the forefront of my interactions, O Spirit of Encouragement and Hope. I do so trusting in the power of love over the power of short-sighted judgement. Amen.
