But the messengers of God, ever stoic and succinct, are not deterred by the chaos. They deliver their message with all seriousness. After all, it’s the salvation of the world they’re helping to arrange. I find it encouraging that they do not call out Abraham’s ineptitude or indulge Sarah’s suspicion. What we find uncanny and unlikely, God takes very seriously.

So we know that waiting is holy, and that signs of the Spirit can be found all kinds of places. But in our global, digital age, it feels like signs are everywhere and nowhere at the same time. We don’t expect something dramatic like speaking in tongues, and yet we are inundated with dramatic news all day every day. The disciples recognized the sign they’d been waiting for to start their new ministry in the world. For those of us still waiting for a sign of the way the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, how can we recognize it when it comes?

It’s not that we should never listen to other people or take advice from the internet. God comes to us in many and varied forms. But nurturing our relationship with God, particularly when it comes to how we order the household of our inner lives, is important. It’s what grounds us so that our joy and hope are not snatched away by headlines or trends or other tools that empires may use.

The Artemis II space mission was so special. The joy we got from watching this story unfold did not, as we know, solve world hunger or end the war in Iran. But it was a sign for us that humanity is capable of these things, that we have reason to hope for a glorious future we cannot yet imagine. It was a reminder that we have the capacity for clear perspective, for kindness, for creativity and wisdom. It was a reminder that the human spirit is strong and faithful in good times and in bad.

Before Judas kissed Jesus to reveal him to the Roman guards, before he met with them to receive his silver coins, his first act of betrayal, to Christ and to himself, was in getting up and leaving the table. We belong at the table with our friends and family. And when there is disagreement or confusion, when right and wrong seem blurry and God’s call seems obscured, that is where we will find clarity, understanding, and peace. The knowledge and ability to be good and righteous in the world starts there.

Magdala, in Aramaic, means fortress, or tower. Now perhaps, the town of Magdala, where Mary came from, had a fortress of some kind. But Schrader suggests that Mary Magdalene is not named solely for where she comes from, but for who she is. Both Peter and Mary Magdalene confess Jesus as Lord. Peter is the Rock, Mary is the Tower. This is theologically meaningful. It suggests that confessions like these are both the foundation and the pinnacle of our faith. They are our starting point and the culmination of our journey with Christ.

I’m in dire need of some prayer and faithful reflection about the nature of sin as I enter into Lent this year. suppose that’s the point. But I was surprised this week when my doom scrolling was interrupted by an old friend. Eve and her forbidden fruit entered the chat, as the kids say, at the precise moment I needed her, and rarely have I felt more seen.

Of course, slapping on a bumper sticker is easy. It’s much harder to put down our nets to follow Jesus. But that is the real work of faith, of faithfulness to the most important cause we can align ourselves with, the Gospel of Christ. If we could shift even a little of our cultural loyalty and performative identity towards proclaiming Christ crucified, just imagine what we could accomplish.