Dear friends,
Do you follow the news?
Last night, I read about a young man killing children in Minneapolis. And then about the Israeli military bombing journalists and medical staff in a hospital in Gaza. And then about the Russian military attacking Kyev and leaving more people’s lives in rubble.
Reading these stories – facing these realities – is extremely painful to me. Seeing images of starving children in Gaza is especially distressing. I confess that I want to turn away.
I know that turning away doesn’t make this evil stop. But facing it head-on can feel overwhelming to me. In a split second, I can experience a tailspin of (1) desperately wanting this suffering to end, (2) not knowing what to do about it, and (3) feeling like my tank of hope just spilled a little emptier.
Where the Headlines Meet the Heart
For the last month, I’ve been working on an experiment. To be honest, it’s felt very vulnerable to me, so I haven’t even announced it until now. Today I’m mustering the courage.
I’ve started a Substack called Reframe where I process news headlines through the lens of Jesus’ Beatitudes. I’m asking: Can this core teaching of Jesus give us the grounding and guidance we need to face the pain of our world and still choose a life of love? Can the Beatitudes sustain us in hope when reality is heartbreaking?
These ancient verses are startling in their simplicity and their power. They don’t offer quick fixes or naive optimism. Instead, they invite us into a deeper way of seeing and being, one that refuses to look away from the world’s brokenness and yet dares to believe in restoration.
Through this lens, our headlines aren’t just news. They’re openings—calls to live out compassion, to grieve honestly, to act justly, and to hope courageously. The Beatitudes teach us that even in mourning and conflict, there’s space for blessing. And even when we’re poor in spirit, there’s an invitation to inherit something profoundly good.
A Journey Together
In Reframe, then, I use the Beatitudes to focus our attention on the world as it is—unvarnished, unsettled, and yes, beautiful even still. Each week, I engage a current headline or event, holding it up to the light of these teachings and asking, “What does it mean to be faithful in this moment?”
Reframe isn’t a lecture or a prescription. It’s an open conversation, a shared exploration of what it means to harmonize faith with reality. Together, we wrestle with questions like:
- How do we stay tender in a world that hardens us?
- What does humility look like in an age of self-promotion?
- Where is the comfort in grief, and how can we offer it to others?
- How do we balance conviction with compassion when injustice feels insurmountable?
These reflections aren’t meant to stay abstract. If you subscribe, each week you’ll receive practical steps to engage with these questions in your own life—a grounding practice, an act of solidarity, a way to step forward when confusion tempts us into retreat.
Why This Matters
At its core, this isn’t just about processing headlines. It’s about becoming people whose faith holds steady, even when the world doesn’t. It’s about showing up fully human—grounded, open, and courageous when the temptation is either to despair or to disengage. It’s about reclaiming the Beatitudes as living wisdom for a world in desperate need of hope.
I want to invite you to think of Reframe as more than just something to read each week. Think of it as a commitment—to yourself and to the world you inhabit. Together, we can take headlines that rattle us and find handles for them. We can respond to chaos with clarity, to brokenness with compassion. We can stay rooted instead of splintered.
The Invitation
Here’s my invitation to you as we begin this experiment together:
- Show up as you are. Whether you’re weary, hopeful, skeptical, or somewhere in between, there’s room for you here.
- Bring your questions. This is a space for reflection and wrestling, not easy answers.
- Be prepared to act.The Beatitudes call us not just to think differently but to live differently, even in small and everyday ways.
Each week, there will be opportunities to reflect, to respond, and to find grounding practices that help anchor you in the good, even when the world feels heavy. I hope you’ll step into this rhythm with me. You can subscribe for free or with a paid subscription here.
There’s no roadmap for these turbulent times, but there are companions for the way forward. And there’s power in moving together, guided by wisdom that has stood the test of time and remains as radical, urgent, and life-giving as it was when Jesus first spoke it.
I hope you’ll join me.
Yours with heartbreak and hope,
Andrew
PS: If you already support my work and would like to receive a gift paid subscription to Reframe, please send me an email. Thank you for your generosity!
