Losing the Taste for Spectacle
When I was a young wife and not yet a mother, I went on a women's retreat with my church. And it was an AMAZING weekend! Every worship service connected me with God. He spoke to me through every speaker. I kept a journal of his words to me, and they were deep and profound and desperately needed at that moment -- and I referred back to them often over the next few years. I went back the next year (and the next, I think) in great anticipation, expecting a similar experience. And yeah, it was fine . . . but it wasn't the same. I found myself trying to read into things I was hearing, looking for big messages from God for me. But they weren't there. It was disappointing all around. I thought of that retreat recently when I was listening to a podcast where Skye Jethani was talking about "Spectacle vs. Subtlety." Specifically, he was referring to Jesus' raising of Lazarus and how it was clearly set up to intentionally be a spectacle. He waited until Lazarus had been...