There was a stretch in Fall 2016 when I listened to the soundtrack for Hamilton constantly. I spent a lot of evenings going on runs because my wife and sons had not moved to Nashville yet. I found out that the first act of the musical roughly coincided with the time that it took me to run eight to ten miles (man, I miss the guy who could do that). Songs like “My Shot” and “Yorktown” gave me a shot of adrenaline to pick up the pace while the songs like “Helpless” and “Wait For It” let me settle into a more comfortable groove.

As such, I like the first act of Hamilton way more than the second. Granted some of that has to do with the fact that Act I is this ragtag group winning the Revolutionary War while Act II is Hamilton letting his ego and libido lead him to do dumb things and multiple characters being murdered because of antiquated ideas about honor. Plus there are not as many bangers in the back half (though “Room Where It Happened” and “What Did I Miss?” are fun; it’s a good musical!).

All of this is a long preamble to say that the most cringe moment, to borrow a phrase I generally don’t like from Gen Z, is at the end of “It’s Quiet Uptown.” The song finds Alexander Hamilton wandering the streets as his professional and personal life has come unraveled. Spoiler alerts from American history upcoming: a sex scandal has ruined his reputation and his son was killed in duel trying to defend Ham’s honor.

Leviticus begins with the clear goals and boundaries that are necessary for the sake of a moral and a religious society, and the tangent is set in motion with the final so-called “Golden Rule.” This all leads and develops to create the Jesus phenomenon, and what could well be called Jesus’ “commandments,” which go far beyond mere boundary-keeping to actually moving beyond all boundaries to take care of those who did not make it, do not fit in, the outsider, the criminal, the vulnerable, and the weak. It is quite a leap which, to be honest, many Christians have never made. You could obey the Ten Commandments perfectly all of your life and never come close to the mark that Jesus sets for the final judgment.
—Richard Rohr, Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent, 26-27

And there it is. Ever since reading it this morning, I have had that paragraph and especially that last sentence rattling around in my head. Because of course that is the difference of actually following Jesus. It is not whether you can keep the commandments, it is whether you are doing what you can to care for those who do not make it, do not fit in, the outsider, the criminal, the vulnerable, and the weak (Rohr also points out that seed of what Jesus is talking about is right there in Leviticus’ admonishment to love your neighbor as yourself).

This last month is Minnesota, we witnessed ordinary people doing just this. There has been a movement to protect neighbors that have been targeted by ICE. Through grocery runs, carpools, Zoom calls, protests, whistles, and so much more.

One of the few reasons that I still put up with Facebook is the Memories app, which will show me what I was posting on that day through the years. Usually it allows me to see pictures of when the two (wonderful) adolescents who live in our house were adorable tiny humans. What popped up this morning were pictures that I posted from a spiritual retreat I took to the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky three years ago. Along with the pictures was the caption reading “This place has been very good for my soul. I hope I get the chance to come back again.”

I haven’t been back yet though I still hope to. Trying to remind myself of those few days at Gethsemani, I tried to look for my journal from that weekend to no avail. But I did find myself looking back to a difficult blog that I wrote a couple of weeks afterwards that contained the memory that was creeping on the edges of my mind:

Let’s talk about the gold medal game in women’s ice hockey at the Olympics: United States vs. Canada, the two titans of the sport. The U.S. has been on an absolute tear through the tournament; throttling their opponents by a combined score of 31-1. That included a 5-0 victory over Canada. I had their semifinal game against Sweden on in the background a couple of days ago and there was a two and a half minute stretch where the U.S. scored three goals. It was like this team was playing the Olympics on Rookie mode.

So naturally this inevitable juggernaut was losing 1-0 to Canada with just over two minutes left in the gold medal game. With a stoppage of play, the United States made the move of pulling their goalie to allow for an additional player to help the offensive attack on the other end. The obvious flip side of that move is that it there is no one to protect the goal leaving the net wide open for Canada to put the game on ice (I will not apologize for puns whether intentional or unintentional).

The risk paid off as Hilary Knight deflected a shot from teammate Laila Edwards into the goal for the equalizing score. Then the United States went on to win the gold in overtime on Megan Keller’s beautiful goal that made me leap off the couch. The official slogan for the Winter Olympics should be “Making Ice Hockey the Most Important It Has Been to Me Since the Mighty Ducks Trilogy.”

There are two moments that matter. One is when you know that your one and only life is absolutely valuable and alive. The other is when you know your life, as presently lived, is entirely pointless and empty. You need both of them to keep going in the right direction. Lent is about both. The first such moment gives you energy and joy by connecting you with your ultimate Source and Ground. The second gives you limits and boundaries, and a proper humility, so you keep seeking the Source and Ground and not just your small self.
-Richard Rohr, Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent, 9

Watching the Olympics is a big deal in our household. We spend the weeks leading up to it reminding our sons that the TV belongs solely to Mom and Dad. Whether it is curling, cross country skiing, ski jump chainsaw juggling, or snowboard cross, we will be watching the Olympics (ski jump chainsaw juggling is terribly dangerous and should not be tried by anyone). We also let them know that these weeks are the most patriotic they will see us. Pride for the United States of America will be on display in a way that seems out of sync with how we typically feel about our country, especially in 2026.

It’s a weird thing to feel deep pride and deep shame about your country at the same time. Yet those paradoxes are central to our human experiences. I am deeply proud to be from South Carolina and often quite embarrassed by my home state. I love Star Wars and really wish Star Wars fans would chill the heck out and stop policing what others enjoy. The Christian faith is something that I hold near and dear to my heart even as experiences have made me profoundly wary of most every church that crosses my path. I am aware of both the great good and heinous harm of which I am capable. To be human is to live with these seeming contradictions.

Lent! It is a time for spiritual reflection, fasting, and taking on practices as we look towards Easter. It is usually not a time for exclamation marks, but it is not yet Wednesday. I have decided to try something this Lent. I really miss writing. It is a way for me to get my thoughts and try to make sense of the world (which is a quagmire of a task presently). So in addition to fasting (no Coca-Cola, french fries, or playing Disney Solitaire this year), I am going to attempt blogging five days a week during this season. Yes, I know it is not 2007 and people these days just make reels or whatever they do on TikTok, but blogging is my lane.

I have been trying to find work for about half a year now and my days are a bit lonely. I feel somewhat like a ghost while the rest of my family is at school. So writing, even crappy first drafts a la Anne Lamott, is my attempt to de-apparition myself during this season. I hope to rediscover my voice. I am not totally sure what I am going to write. I will be going through both Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent by Richard Rohr and In the Low: Honest Prayers for Dark Seasons by Justin McRoberts & Scott Erickson so I will reflect on those some. Likely it will be a little bit of everything.

I’m posting this to hold myself accountable to this plan. We’ll see how it goes; it could be a terrible idea. My hope is that it will provide something nourishing for me at the very least.