ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 18, 2026
I have plenty of shortcomings, and some of them are rather obvious. I have been known to allow my mouth to begin moving before my brain begins thinking. There are times when the conversation is over, yet I feel it necessary to toss one more opinion into the vacuum. There are many others, and a quick conversation with my wife will reveal them. But amidst all these, there is a strength—at least as I do some self-reflection—where I refuse to allow nonsense to be spoken. And as the election gets closer, the nonsense has only intensified. I am not looking for anyone to offer a specific example. However, the purpose for calling out the nonsense is not to start an argument that only piles on the nonsense. The hope, and I am always hopeful, is that we can actually have conversations around the real issues impacting people. Nonsense is avoidance, and doubling down on the nonsense, only reveals more clearly the avoidance. Do we feel uncomfortable having actual conversations because we feel insecure about our own opinion, and thus we reach for the absurd to draw attention away from the flimsy view? Jesus shared a parable about building a house on rock as compared to building one on sand. Now not every difference of opinion is rock vs. sand, but I have appreciated people who respected my thinking while also presenting a strong argument, including things I may never have known. It’s not to say any opinion was changed, but problems—both small and large—will only find solutions when honest people enter into the conversation with a willingness to hear a well-founded opinion. If it’s just nonsense or name-calling, it’s not a conversation.
My passion for truth-telling is rooted in you, O Living Christ, yet may my passion never obscure the truth I had not previously pondered. I am on a journey toward greater understanding, not only for myself but for the faith I seek to live. Amen.
