Twin events in the past few days have revealed the catapulted status the social media now enjoy in our society. The Boston Marathon bombings and their aftermath last week and the hacked and tweeted hoax about a White House attack this week are a sobering reminder of the power wielded by a host of cyberspace social networks. “Monday’s bombings, the first major terrorist attack on American soil in the age of smartphones, Twitter and Facebook, provided an opportunity for everyone to get involved.

We were in the middle of our staff meeting Monday afternoon, when my phone beeped a text message. It was from Karen: “Bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.” Everyone around the table grabbed their phone, as with the rest of the nation we watched the first pictures from the marathon finish line. The orange explosion—twice, just a block apart. The surreal pause. Then mayhem. And now the casualty count this morning—3 dead, 183 injured, 13 amputations.

According to a recent Huffington Post/YouGov poll of Americans, 32% of us expressed our desire for Christianity to become the “official” religion of the United States. Forty-two percent of respondents opposed that notion, with 32% of them “strongly opposed.” I share their strong opposition. That’s why it really isn’t so inconsequential that a group of eleven Republican state representatives in North Carolina this past week pushed for a state resolution declaring that while the U. S.

It’s true. She was born in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. Only it wasn’t North Korea back then—it was simply Korea. My grandparents, Ralph and Mildred Watts, were young missionaries in Korea when Mom was born, and they ended up serving seventeen years in that country.

I’ve been amazed—on two counts—over the public reaction to the recent election of a new pontiff for the Roman Catholic Church. The global press has been awash in accolades for Pope Francis. No doubt the dramatic contrast between the personalities of this new pope and his predecessor, Benedict XVI, has fueled the news media’s complimentary, sometimes glowing, coverage of this new reign.  And Pope Francis’ publicly warm and modest persona have only heightened the fascination of the secular press.

Remember that childhood rhyme? “Every party needs a pooper, that’s why we invited you—party pooper, party pooper!” I certainly don’t want to rain on Wall Street’s parade and become the party pooper nobody wants. But in the midst of the hoopla over the Dow Jones industrial average’s new all-time high on Tuesday (14,253.77), could it be a bit premature to be singing, “Happy days are here again!”?

I keep wondering: Does the intransigence of the politicians and legislators of this nation somehow portend a dark chapter ahead for this government? That’s hardly an uncommon thought, given the headlines these days out of Washington. But could it be that the political and ideological gridlock we are witnessing plays into a  much deeper and darker narrative than the public or its leaders realize? And if so, how? One of these days the game of political chicken will backfire.

Remember the story about Chicken Little, meandering down the road when an acorn fell from the oak tree, striking her on the head? Panicked, she ran down the road squawking to all who would listen: “The sky is falling, the sky is falling, and we must tell the king!” Chicken Little’s cry in Henry Penny’s children’s tale has become a familiar idiom for hysteria over disaster that really isn’t imminent.

The world was stunned this past Monday morning when in his weekly meeting with Vatican cardinals, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation: “ . . .

What a fitting text our Black History Committee has chosen for the theme of this Black History Sabbath and month—the words of our Lord Himself: “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).