FROM THE EDITOR

From the Editor

By Steve Haal, Editor-in-Chief

Dallas, TX: After a long wait due to their shooting schedule with Marvel StudiosTM, Lord Omicron, Iron Man, and Thor were finally able to get away and help make sense of the global pandem.....wait, what??

As ridiculous as that sounds, with the arrival of the Omicron variant—as yet another delay to our pursued normalcy—people are responding in a slightly different way than before. Combined with the ubiquitous concern of contagiousness, is an air of exhaustion and futility that seems greater than it has been in the past. It's almost as if concern is more fully giving way to despondency, for many. One response, perhaps a coping mechanism, has been to ridicule and "meme" their response to this latest development. Today, it looks like Twitter is on fire, a bit, with the masses posting multiple Omicron memes, such as the one above.

So. How are you holding up? Hopeful? Over it? Anchored?

C. S. Lewis stated “Hope is one of the theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do....” Alternatively, Dostoevsky quipped, “To live without hope is to cease to live.”

I believe both are correct—but the most intriguing thing to me, about these quotes, is a subtext of action—that steadfast hope in the midst of difficulty needs to be anchored somehow. What actions of ownership am I taking to keep hope anchored and steadfast? Because unattended to, the slog of just normal daily life can suck the life out of me—let alone all this.

Last issue we mentioned that Henry Ford Health System psychologists advise us to prioritize connection and activity, and Rector Chris Girata reiterated that Saint Michael is alive with opportunity and ministry in which to engage and anchor. And here on page 8, Chris provides further clarity, "Now is our opportunity to renew our commitment to God and to one another and commit the time and effort to be together...we are focusing on the deep experience of our discipleship." Bonhoeffer reminds us that, “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.”

Our anchor is embedded in Christ, and the pursuit of Him.

Hebrews 10:23 reads, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." In Philippians, the Apostle Paul speaks of a habitual action; a lifetime of pressing on towards the life for which we are called.

With renewed energy and effort, this is the life of discipleship we are pursuing at Saint Michael. Whether with a few or many, take action by joining together with us as we progress from Advent to Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, and then the resurrection of our Lord on Easter Day! Use this time to further anchor your hope, that during the valleys of life it will yet thrive and fill you with peace!