all shall be well?

a reflection on the news

last night my oldest son and I stayed up late talking.

Lane had gone to sleep, and he was asking about some of the geopolitical goings-on in the world. I was pulling from my international studies degree and trying to help him see as big of a picture as I could.

but the more I tugged on the frame, the worse it all looked.¹

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sometimes when I read the news (which is less and less lately), I get the deep-down sense that we humans are well and truly tcf.²

do you ever get that sense?

there are headlines that feel like garish, farcical nightmares. I struggle to relay any sense of goodness or even purpose in the quotes that appear in my feed. I struggle even to believe some of it.

how can this be reality?

and sometimes stories surface of old, secret infections—historic wounds from a hundred years ago or more… something most of the world knew nothing of, but they finally found out. sins buried, brought into the bright light of the public eye. only now, no one is now alive who participated in their crimes.

and what of all that will never be uncovered?

or what of the things that are happening in the world that are never reported? the hidden sins of powerful people? from small, personal bloodlust, to systems built to fail… if all of this has come to light, what worse things are currently being hidden under fresh dirt?

will we ever know?

how can I paint a rosy picture of the world for my son?

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I actually apologized to him this morning, because though I felt my descriptions of the goings on in the world were more or less accurate, and though I feel it is important to us to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, it is at least as important that I help him attune to the Jesus project in the world.

things are not so different now, and there is a sobriety that comes when hidden darkness is seen and acknowledged.

but it would be silly for me to paint the dark background of the world without drawing his attention to the streaks of lightning paint that illumine the whole world scene.

the project of Jesus is ultimately one of him restoring in/through himself the rift between God and man. the good news of this is that we, each of us, need personal restoration—the infection out there is also within. we can wrap a bandage over it like Ashitaka, but the worms stay eating.

this is the darkness outside, within.

I am sobered by the dichotomy between the way of Babel and the way of Christ.

one was to be as big and powerful as it could get
to build up to heaven—
to make heaven subservient to the will of mankind
let us make a name for ourselves

the other is greatness taking on humility
to bring heaven down to the lowest depths of humanity
and to give itself in life and in death
to bring heaven-born and earth-born into reconciliation and alignment, harmony
they’ll know you’re mine by how you love one another
now that I, you lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have done this so you also should do.

the second way will not earn you power, wealth, notoriety, or even comfort as long as Babylon is in charge.

make peace with that.

but the project that Jesus began and invites us into even now is one of repentance and restoration. and not just for our individual lives, but for all of creation.

I’m convinced that, as Adam was taken from the dirt of the ground and then placed in the garden to tend it, he was also tending himself. Adamah = earth/dirt. made very good in the separation and union of man and woman, and set in the garden, with the earth made to echo God’s goodness, who made them both; man’s goodness, for he called them all good; and the disharmony of mankind with God as the earth itself heaves and quakes and moans for the revealing of the children of God.

for the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. […] the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time…

this is a story to belong to—a project of forgiveness, not because we are evil, but because God loves us, and we are sick and he wants to make us well. and he wants us to participate with him in the redemption of all things.

all things with the A and the T capitalized, yes.

but also the way you say goodbye to your family, the way you work when you’re alone, the ways you give your attention to the world and care for it like Adam and Eve, the way you look to the Christ way and not the Babel way when someone wrongs you.

the reconciliation of man to man, and man to God, is in the way of Christ.

by him all things were created and through him all things will be made well.

this is one of those posts I wrote in one go. sometimes it’s refreshing not to cook too long, but to use what we have in the fridge (shoutout to Lane).

if I said anything heretical, let me know in the comments.

if I have missed a better, more beautiful way of being in the world than the Jesus way, do please let me know.

if something stirred some other thoughts in you, I’d love to know.

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thanks for being here. I write weekly sharing poetry, songs, musings, thoughts on creative life, and hopefully some encouragement…

I’m playing 3 shows in Virginia this month: 6/26 Charlottesville, 6/27 Harrisonburg & 6/28 Roanoke—see here.

my store is here. my collection of poetry, Snowmelt to Roots, is available in my shop is SOLD OUT! but my music & other merch are still in my shop. and to listen to my music, go here.

you can also preorder my new album & poetry book here for now.

if you’re interested in having me out for a concert, a talk, a workshop, etc., please write to contact@zachwinters.com. some fun new concert announcements here (more to come).

with gratitude,

Z

1. if you happen to be a cafeteria worker at SpaceX, this might not currently apply to you.

2. to be read backwards, phonetically, vowels assumed