Blessing in the Freefall: Anger, Grief, and Joy with Andrew DeCort

It’s Easter Monday, and we have a conversation that’s all about the pain and joy of undergoing resurrection!

Last time on Third Things First, “dissident theologian” and Neighbor Love founder Dr. Andrew DeCort joined me—from his bathtub, no less—to talk about what happens when our moral outrage at injustice tips into a “glee in other people’s grief.” This time, in Part 2 of our conversation, we talk through an emotional spectrum that many of us are journeying through right now:

• 🟩 Green shame, that inner voice of “I’m not enough.”
• 🟥 Red anger, the fire that can either destroy or energize us.
• 🟪 Purple grief, the terrifying freefall where our “why” finds no answer.
• 🟦 Blue joy, the ambient delight that appears when we love what is truly good together.

Andrew shares very concretely from his own experience, from his recent arrest with 90+ other faith leaders in Minneapolis during a nonviolent protest, to the loss of his father, to his home being vandalized by some activists who were, let’s say, very convinced of their own righteousness. We talk about how easy it is to weaponize unprocessed grief, to enjoy the suffering of “the wicked,” and why nonviolent resistance requires resisting the urge to dehumanize the dehumanizers.

One of the anchors of our conversation is Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s definition of blessing:

“To bless someone means to lay your hand on them and say, Despite everything, you belong to God.”

Even within this conversation, Andrew  goes out of his way to live this practice—and it’s every bit as challenging as it sounds. We also talk about why it can be harder to bless ourselves than to bless our enemies, and what it looks like to practice grief in relationships that can safely witness our pain.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by anger at the world, tempted to celebrate your opponents’ suffering, or struggling to believe that you belong to God, I think this episode will give you language, practices, and maybe a little blue joy.

📽️ Watch here! Or listen below: 🎧

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wicked-truth-third-things-first/id1872146191

📖 Read Andrew’s work: https://andrewdecort.substack.com

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