Show Notes
In this fourth week of Lent, we read 2 Corinthians 5 and consider a Christian response to social media.
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Episode Transcript
As we continue our journey through Lent, we face our fallenness with joyful and confident anticipation found on the promise of 1 John 1:9 that, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” And we pause to consider what that may mean for the way we are being shaped to view others by outside influences that ignore the central hope and truth of the gospel.
A reading from 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 16 to 21.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
They used to say that whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but that was before the ubiquity of the internet and social media. Today, our past discretions are only ever a click away from everyone’s knowledge. Functioning at its best, the news media plays an important role in a democratic society, providing necessary information and holding those in authority accountable. At times that, of course, means exposing wrongdoing. But at its worst, instead of being a promoter of salient discourse, the media is merely a provoker of salacious discord. Instead of educating, it entertains, often by dredging up the past. In what might be viewed as an expression of the gospel, some local newspapers have adopted a right-to-be-forgotten practice.
They are considering requests to expunge from their public records old crime and court cases, when it’s clear that those long ago events have no relevance to who the people involved are today. That sounds a lot like God’s promise in Hebrews 8:12 to “remember their sins no more.” To be clear, this is not the same as forgetting, which is passive. It’s an active choice not to recall something that is no longer relevant because it has been dealt with. This is not just an issue for those directly involved in the media to wrestle with. As consumers, we all need to be aware of how our views and opinions are often shaped by what we read and see, whether we recognize it or not. We need to be discerning, separating what really matters from what merely appeals to our lesser appetites. Churches might do well to incorporate some media awareness teaching in their discipleship programs, equipping us to separate the wheat from the chaff and let what doesn’t matter be blown away in the wind.
A reading from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, verses 1 through 3, and then 11 through 24:
15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them this parable:
11 “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
A prayer from Daniel Niranjan:
Almighty God, in a world filled with noise and confusion, I pray for the discernment to distinguish truth from deception, sharpen my intuition and grant me wisdom to see through facades that may lead me astray. Guide me towards trustworthy sources of information and illuminate the path that aligns with your divine truth. May I make choices rooted in your word and protected from misleading influences. Amen.
A reading of Psalm 1.
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
