We Light the Advent Candles - We light the second candle, and hear God's holy Word

For the last ten years, we've sung all or part of "We Light the Advent Candles" during our Advent worship services. You see, as we go through the four weeks, we sing the verses sung during the prior weeks, and we add a new verse recognizing the candles that have been and are being lit on that particular Sunday. During this Advent season, we're going to focus on the meaning of each verse, as expressed in the song. 

The second message dealt with "We light the second candle, and hear God's holy Word."

I think it’s really important for y’all to know, that right now we have about 16½ days before Christmas. Which means that, in just over two weeks, all the presents must be bought, all the cards must be sent, all the food must be fixed, and all the decorations must be put out. And if they aren’t, in less than two weeks, we’re out of luck. Maybe that’s why they call this the most wonderful time of the year.

But you know, when you think about it, this period before Christmas really is interesting time of year. Now you remember what I just said, you know, about all the stuff that we’ve got to get done in 16½ days: I’m talking about the chaos of shopping and sending and cooking and decorating. Man, it’s like Black Friday for a month.

It makes you crazy. Of course, I think we’d all agree that this kind of thing forces us to almost obsess on the future, because the future is going to be present and then the past in, what, 17 days! Now I think this kind of thing happens to us all this time of year. But what’s interesting is that, at the same time, we’re all kind of reminiscing about the past. I mean, this is the time of year that even teenagers are willing to watch black and white movies. And half the ornaments on the tree have some king of back story. And let me ask you, what tastes better than eating a wedge of pumpkin pie or a piece of gingerbread or about two dozen sugar cookies made just like mom, or if your like my dad’s family, Mrs. Smith, Sara Lee or the Dough Boy? Still it brings back memories. I’ll tell you, the past never feels as warm and fuzzy as it does a couple of weeks before Christmas, at least that’s how I feel.

And you know, that’s going to be our focus this morning. I mean, remember, last week, when we lit the first Advent candle we sang, “The first one will remind us that Christ will soon return. We light it in the darkness and watch it gleam and burn; we light it in the darkness and watch it gleam and burn.” And so, we talked about Jesus’s return. And this week, when Linda lit the second candle, we sang, “We light the second candle, and hear God's holy Word, it tells us, cling to Jesus, prepare to meet your Lord, it tells us, cling to Jesus, prepare to meet your Lord!” Now that’s what we sang. And with that in mind, we’re going to spend a little while thinking about what the Old Testament had to say about the one whose birth we’re about to celebrate. And just like we did last week, we’re going to focus on three aspects of these expectations: first, who did they expect him to be, and second, what did they expect him to do, and third, how might we respond. Now that’s the plan for this morning.

And it all starts with who they thought he would be. In other words, what kind of expectations did folks who lived way before the manger and the shepherds and the wise men, what expectation did they have as they looked forward to the one they’d call the Messiah in Hebrew or the Christ in Greek. And I’ll tell you, we can see the one they expected all over the place in the Old Testament. For example, they certainly believed he would be closely connected with God. I mean, just listen to what the Psalmist wrote. “Why do the nations and why do their people make useless plans? The kings of this earth have all joined together to turn against the Lord and his chosen one. They say, ‘Let’s cut the ropes and set ourselves free!’ In heaven the Lord laughs as he sits on his throne, making fun of the nations. The Lord becomes furious and threatens them. His anger terrifies them as he says, ‘I’ve put my king on Zion, my sacred hill.’ I will tell the promise that the Lord made to me: ‘You are my son, because today I have become your father. Ask me for the nations, and every nation on earth will belong to you. You will smash them with an iron rod and shatter them like dishes of clay.’ Be smart, all you rulers, and pay close attention. Serve and honor the Lord; be glad and tremble. Show respect to his son because if you don’t, the Lord might become furious and suddenly destroy you. But he blesses and protects everyone who runs to him.” [Psalm 2:1-12, CEV] And so they were looking for the Son of God.

But they weren’t looking for some kind of God-man. No, this one would also be one of us. For example, he was going to be a descendant of the greatest king of all, King David. I mean, this was what the Lord said to David. “I’ll choose one of your sons to be king when you reach the end of your life and are buried in the tomb of your ancestors. I’ll make him a strong ruler, and no one will be able to take his kingdom away from him. He will be the one to build a temple for me. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I’ll see that he is corrected, just as children are corrected by their parents. But I will never put an end to my agreement with him, as I put an end to my agreement with Saul, who was king before you. I will make sure that one of your descendants will always be king.” [2 Samuel 7:12–16, CEV] You see, the one they expected would be in David’s line. As a matter of fact, they believed he would be born in David’s city. As the Prophet Micah wrote, “Bethlehem Ephrath, you are one of the smallest towns in the nation of Judah. But the Lord will choose one of your people to rule the nation—someone whose family goes back to ancient times.” [Micah 5:2, CEV] No, this guy was going to be real, and I’m talking about flesh and blood. And even though he could be called God’s Son, he’d also be the son of man, which means “human,” you know, like us, just like Daniel wrote. “As I continued to watch the vision that night, I saw what looked like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven, and he was presented to the Eternal God. He was crowned king and given power and glory, so that all people of every nation and race would serve him. He will rule forever, and his kingdom is eternal, never to be destroyed.” [Daniel 7:13–14, CEV] And so, as these prophets and priests looked forward toward the Messiah, the Christ, they believed he would be uniquely God’s Son but also like any other son of man. That’s who they expected.

And when we look at Jesus, he really fulfills both sides of this expectation. I mean, we can certainly see an undeniable connection with God. As John wrote, “We know that Jesus Christ the Son of God has come and has shown us the true God. And because of Jesus, we now belong to the true God who gives eternal life.” [1 John 5:20, CEV] And at the end of his gospel, he said this to the reader, “Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life.” [John 20:30-31, CEV] And so, on one hand, his followers understood his divine sonship.

But on the other hand, his humanity was also clear. And if there’s any question about that, I don’t think we need to look beyond the birth story in Luke. “About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books. These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David’s hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David’s family. Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.” [Luke 2:1-7, CEV] I’m telling you, this is the birth of a baby, not the coming of a god. As a matter of fact, I think this combination of divinity and humanity was best expressed by Paul. He wrote, “Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us.” [Philippians 2:6-7, CEV] You see, in the past, they looked for the one who would be both Son of God and son of man; that’s who they expected. And that’s who we received in Jesus Christ.

But the hope of those Old Testament people went beyond identity. They also expected him to do certain things. And again we have a contrast. I mean, they expected their Messiah, their Christ to do incredible works. For example, they believed he would be a prophet like Moses, just like it was written in Deuteronomy, “Instead, he will choose one of your own people to be a prophet just like me, and you must do what that prophet says. You were asking for a prophet the day you were gathered at Mount Sinai and said to the Lord, ‘Please don’t let us hear your voice or see this terrible fire again—if we do, we will die!’ Then the Lord told me: ‘Moses, they have said the right thing. So when I want to speak to them, I will choose one of them to be a prophet like you. I will give my message to that prophet, who will tell the people exactly what I have said. Since the message comes from me, anyone who doesn’t obey the message will have to answer to me.’” [Deuteronomy 18:15-19, CEV] And they believed he would be able to heal those who were sick. When he comes “...the blind will see, and the ears of the deaf will be healed. Those who were lame will leap around like deer; tongues once silent will begin to shout. Water will rush through the desert.” [Isaiah 35:5-6, CEV] They even believed he’d be raised from the dead. As the Psalmist wrote, “I am your chosen one. You won’t leave me in the grave or let my body decay. You have shown me the path to life, and you make me glad by being near to me. Sitting at your right side, I will always be joyful.” {Psalm 16:10-11, CEV] I think the best word to describe their Messiah’s life would be “miraculous.”

But for all the glory and power, they also believed he would suffer. And no where in the Old Testament is this suffering described in more detail than in two chapters within the prophecy of Isaiah. And this is how the description begins. “The Lord says: ‘My servant will succeed! He will be given great praise and the highest honors. Many were horrified at what happened to him. But everyone who saw him was even more horrified because he suffered until he no longer looked human. My servant will make nations worthy to worship me; kings will be silent as they bow in wonder. They will see and think about things they have never seen or thought about before.’” [Isaiah 52:13-15, CEV] And this was the goal of this suffering servant: “By suffering, the servant will learn the true meaning of obeying the Lord. Although he is innocent, he will take the punishment for the sins of others, so that many of them will no longer be guilty. The Lord will reward him with honor and power for sacrificing his life. Others thought he was a sinner, but he suffered for our sins and asked God to forgive us.” [Isaiah 53:11-12, CEV] You see, this is what they expected him to do.

And I’ll tell you, when we consider his life, that’s really what Jesus Christ did. I mean, he certainly did magnificent things when he was alive. For instance, Mark wrote, “Everyone was amazed at his teaching. He taught with authority, and not like the teachers of the Law of Moses.” [Mark 1:22, CEV] And when some of the followers of John the Baptist came and asked if he was the one or if they should wait for another, “Jesus said to the messengers sent by John, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard. Blind people are now able to see, and the lame can walk. People who have leprosy are being healed, and the deaf can now hear. The dead are raised to life, and the poor are hearing the good news. God will bless everyone who doesn’t reject me because of what I do.’” [Luke 7:22-23, CEV] And as to the resurrection, Paul wrote this to the Corinthians: “So if the dead won’t be raised to life, Christ wasn’t raised to life. Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins. And those people who died after putting their faith in him are completely lost. If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else. But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life.” [1 Corinthians 15:16-20, CEV] And so the miracles are certainly there.

But so is the suffering. I mean, just listen to what Jesus said, “Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, ‘The nation’s leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. He will be rejected and killed, but three days later he will rise to life.’ Then Jesus explained clearly what he meant.” [Mark 8:31-32, CEV] Now that’s what Jesus believed would happen, and he was right. And you know, Paul said the same thing to the Philippians. Remember when he wrote about how Jesus had given up everything and had become a slave. This is what he said next. “Christ was humble. He obeyed God and even died on a cross. Then God gave Christ the highest place and honored his name above all others.” [Philippians 2:8-9, CEV] You see, Jesus did exactly what the Son of God and son of man was expected to do. And all that we can find when we look back into the Old Testament.

But there’s one thing we can’t find in this book. You see, it’s really up to us to decide how we’re going to respond. I mean, are we going to reject the one who fulfilled hope and did exactly what he was expected to do? You see, we can reject all of that and live as though we don’t have a God who loved us so much he sent his son to be our savior. Or we can choose to believe that Jesus is who he was expected to be and to trust that, through his life and death, he opened the possibility of a new kind of life that’s moving towards a glorious future. That’s also an option. But how we respond, that’s up to us.

But you know, maybe the song we sang as we lit the second candle, maybe it offers some solid advice about what we should do. Remember, this is what we sang: “We light the second candle, and hear God's holy Word, it tells us, cling to Jesus, prepare to meet your Lord, it tells us, cling to Jesus, prepare to meet your Lord!” You see, if we accept the expectations and fulfillment right there in scripture, we really will be clinging to Jesus. And we’ll be doing that right through the next 16½ days and beyond. And next week, we’ll consider verse number three: “Three candles now are gleaming and show us the true way, rejoice, the Baptist cries out, your Lord has come today, rejoice, the Baptist cries out, your Lord has come today!”

Sunday's Message - Why don’t people understand me?

Below is a message I offered at Cove Presbyterian Church on Sunday, March 12, 2017, and it seems very appropriate today.  It was the second sermon in a series entitled, "Why: Answering Some of Life's Hard Questions." We used the Book of Job to grapple with the following questions:

• Why do bad things happen to good people?
• Why don't people understand me?
• Why don't I understand what's going on?
• Why is God allowing this to happen?
• Why doesn’t he make things clear?

This message is drawn from the following passages from Job:

Job 3:1-10

Finally, Job cursed the day of his birth by saying to God:
Blot out the day of my birth
and the night when my parents
created a son.
Forget about that day,
    cover it with darkness,
and send thick, gloomy shadows
    to fill it with dread.
Erase that night from the calendar
    and conceal it with darkness.
  Don’t let children be created
or joyful shouts be heard
    ever again in that night.
Let those with magic powers
    place a curse on that day.
Darken its morning stars
    and remove all hope of light,
because it let me be born
    into a world of trouble.

Job 4:1-11

Eliphaz from Teman[c] said:
Please be patient and listen
    to what I have to say.
Remember how your words
have guided and encouraged
    many in need.
But now you feel discouraged
    when struck by trouble.
You respect God and live right,
    so don’t lose hope!
No truly innocent person
    has ever died young.
In my experience, only those
who plant seeds of evil
    harvest trouble,
and then they are swept away
    by the angry breath of God.
They may roar and growl
    like powerful lions.
But when God breaks their teeth,
they starve,
and their children
    are scattered.

In this second message, we addressed the question: Why don't people understand me?

As you remember, last week we started a new series dealing with some of what I consider life’s most difficult questions. And for each question, we using a different part of Job to ferret out some answers. Now that’s what we’ll be doing right up to Palm Sunday.

And during the first message, we looked at that simple, modest, easily-answered little question: Why do bad things happen to good people? And we talked about how sometimes good people suffer because of what they’ve done to themselves or what’s been done to them by others, but other times, there just doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for their pain, sort of like what happened when God allowed Satan to take away everything from Job, a righteous man just to show that he’d remain righteous. In other words, sometimes suffering is not fair; it just happens, because it does. Not a great answer, right, but it’s the only one we’ve got. But as we talked about last week, whether we can understand it or not, I think it’s important for us to remember three things. First, we’ve been forgiven and cleansed; therefore, we’re not bound to keep repeating the past like Bill Murray did in Groundhog Day. And second, our future have been secured; therefore, whatever’s happening now is temporary. And third, we can be confident that God is with us all the time. Now that’s what we talked about last week.

And today, well, today we’re going to consider the question: Why don’t people understand me? Of course, anyone who’s lived or worked with a teenager has probably heard this question before. I mean, even prior to becoming a father, I was a high school teacher; therefore, I already knew that anytime a teenager didn’t do what was expected or reacted in an extreme way to something that both a preteen and a post-teen would consider pretty insignificant, the problem wasn’t with her or her friends or even the situation she was facing. No sir, the problem was with me and my total inability to understand what she was going through. And for that reason any advice I might give or suggestion I might offer could be immediately rejected, because you see, I’m ignorant. I live under this great big rock. I just don’t understand. Now, that’s what I learned, a lesson that’s been reinforced these last two years.

But having said that, I really don’t want to suggest that the question, why don’t people understand me, that it’s only asked by folks going through adolescent hormonal changes. As a matter of fact, I think we might all find ourselves asking this exact same question from time to time, something we can see in this little clip from one of my all-time favorite television shows, “Faulty Towers.” And in this scene, Basil Faulty is trying to make sure his Spanish waiter Manuel doesn’t tell his wife about a horse he’d bet on but as you’ll see, he’s having a hard time being understood.

I’m telling you, I think, from time to time, we all wonder why the people around just don’t understand us.

And even though sometimes the issue we’re facing is trivial and unimportant even to us, at other times it’s not. For example, it may involve the kind of situation Job faced when he tried to share the undeserved, unfair, and unexplainable suffering he was enduring to his closest friends, and they all kind of blew him off. I mean, the more Job told them that his suffering had broken the fundamental rule he’d followed since birth and how he’d lived what really was a righteous life, something we know was true, and God had allowed horrible things to happen; man, the more he share the injustice he was facing, not only couldn’t his friends understand what he was saying, they accused him of lying. For them, God wouldn’t and couldn’t allow a righteous person to suffer for no reason. That wasn’t possible; therefore, Job must have done something wrong, and for his own good, he needed to admit it and then he could die in peace. But, of course, both Job and the reader, meaning us, we know they’re wrong. They just don’t understand.

And you know, when it happened to him, I think Job went through the same emotions we generally feel when people don’t seem to understand us. I mean, as we read this book, we see that Job went from a lonely-kind of sadness to genuine irritation and frustration to honest-to-goodness anger both at his buddies and even at God when it appeared that, not only did no one care that he was suffering, but that no one, including God, was even willing to explain why it was happening. You see, that’s what happened to Job, and I think that can also happen to us.

But I’ll tell you, when it does, I think we can do more that just sit there in the ashes and argue with guys who aren’t going to listen because they’re champing at the bite to talk. You see, I think we can understand why this kind of thing happens. But more than that, we can also get a pretty good idea about what we can do about it. And in my opinion, it all comes to two verbs, “will” and “can,” and how they apply to the people around us. Let me explain.

When we’re really struggling and that struggle is making us sad and frustrated and angry, because we feel that no one really understands what we’re facing, I think it’s important for us to remember that we’re always, and I mean always surrounded by four kinds of people. For example, whether we like it or not, there will always be folks who both won’t and can’t understand. You see, for some reason, they’ve made the decision that they will not understand what we’re saying or what we’re facing or what we’re feeling. They’re just not going to do it. Of course, they have their reasons: maybe, like Job’s friends, the stuff we’re talking about doesn’t fit into what they already believe, and they don’t really need to listen, or maybe they don’t feel they have the time or the energy to deal with someone else’s problems, or maybe they just don’t care, that’s another possibility. But regardless of the reason, they’re just not willing to understand. And that’s actually alright, because they really couldn’t understand even if they wanted to. Let me give you an example. I remember, back when I was in seminary, there was a guy in my class named Duncan. He had muscular dystrophy. He was limited to a wheelchair all the time. And his time on earth was going to be brief. That was Duncan’s life. And I’ll tell you, no matter how much I read about the disease and no matter how much time I spent with Duncan and no matter how kind and compassionate I tried to be, I was never able to understand what he felt when he woke up in the morning and when he rolled himself to class and when he worked and studied maybe harder than the rest of us to do something he might never live to do, and he knew it. You see, what he faced was so foreign to my experiences, I don’t think it was possible for me to understand what he went through every day. And I think that applies to all kinds of situations, including some of the stuff you and I face. Some folks couldn’t understand even if they wanted to. And I’ll tell you, when you combine this inability with a lack of desire, man, those folks are just about as close to a lost cause as you can get. I mean, they’re probably not going to listen. And if they say anything at all, it’s probably going to be brief and unrelated to what we’re feeling. In fact, they’re probably only going to increase our sadness, frustration and anger. And if we go to them for understanding more than once or twice and then leave feeling worse, and I think we all know that’s going to happen, we really only have ourselves to blame, because these people won’t and they can’t understand.

But you know, there are others who could understand if they wanted, but have decided they don’t. These are the can, but won’t folks. You see, they really are able to identify with us. They can do it, because we’re facing something that they already faced. Maybe they endured it themselves; I don’t know. But that’s really not important, because whether it’s from a lack of time or energy or interest or concern, they’ve decided that they will not be understanding. They just don’t care. And even though I think it’s possible to convince them to become concerned, I honestly believe it’s pretty unlikely. I mean, let’s get real, if someone can identify with what we’re facing but just doesn’t care, I think we may waste a lot of time trying to convince them to change their minds. And when we’re feeling like Job and the sadness, frustration and anger is on the rise, time may be one thing we don’t have. And so, unless we have some kind of martyr mentality and deep down really want to believe that no one understands, that no one cares, I think we can move past both those who won’t and can’t right along with those who could but won’t.

But even if we mark these guys off our sharing list, there are two other kinds of folks that we might want to approach. You see, there are plenty of people around us who actually care and who genuinely want to understand us; unfortunately, they just can’t. In other words, they’re willing to take the time and to make the effort and to offer direction and support and comfort. Man, they want to do it; they just don’t know how. They just don’t know what to do, because what we’re facing is different from anything they’ve ever experienced, you know, sort of like what I was saying about Duncan. And I’ll tell you, for those who want to understand but can’t, man, that can be extremely frustrating, and I’m talking about for them as well as us. But even though it won’t be easy, I think we can help them with this identification problem by trying as best we can to understand their backgrounds and then to explain what we’re facing in a way that relates to their experiences. In other words, if they can’t understand what we’re saying, we might need to speak with words and images that they can grasp. And even though, like I said, that’s certainly not easy, especially when we’re kind of struggling, it’s a whole lot easier than trying to convince someone that they should care when they’ve already decided that they don’t. I think those who are willing but not able have a greater potential to understand.

But even though it’s possible to bring them into our experience, when we feel as no one understands us, the best folks for us to turn for help are those who will and can, in other words, those who want and who are able to understand us. And we can identify them, because they already care about us. They’re already concerned about what we’re facing, and they’re already willing to take the time and make the effort to offer whatever insight and sympathy they’re able to muster. But more than that, they’re also able to understand, to identify with our struggle, including our sadness and our frustrations and anger. And I’ll tell you why; they may have actually walked in our shoes. They may already have survived what we face. Good night, they may have muscular dystrophy like Duncan. In other words, they have been where we are. And because they also care, they’re ready to listen; they’re ready to understand. And that should be good news for us, because now we have someone with whom we can share, without worrying about whether, at some point, they’re going to start looking at their watches or rolling their eyes or whether, after sharing our story, they’re going to look like we’ve either started to talk in Portuguese or suddenly have lobster clawing out of our ears. Man, those worries are gone; therefore, we’re free to share. But more than just talking, we can also start listening, listening to what they have to say, listening to the words of comfort they’ll offer as well as the advice they might give. And we can decide to trust that what they’re saying comes from both the heart and the head, you know, from sincere concern and actual experience. I’ll tell you, these people can make a huge difference when we need to be understood.

In fact, that may be one of the reasons why in the church, the Body of Christ, God has drawn together so many different people with different backgrounds and who have gone through different experiences, but who are united by one command: that we love one another as we’ve been loved. And along with a God who is always present and who always loves and who can identify with us on our worst day, because, remember, as the writer of Hebrews said, “Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin!” God will and can understand us, and we should certainly be able to find the same among his people.

Now, like I said earlier, I think at some point, we don’t have to be teenagers to wonder if there’s anyone who will and who can understand how we feel. And when this happens, I also think it’s natural to experience some sadness and some frustration, maybe even some anger. But I think we can avoid this grief when we recognize that some folks won’t and can’t understand while there are others could but won’t or who are willing but just can’t but that there are still others, hopefully right here in this community, who do want to understand and who can identify with us. And I’ll tell you, those are the ones to whom we can go. And you know, if we do, that can offer a lot of comfort when we feel like asking the question: Why don’t people understand me?

Sunday's Message - Why do bad things happen to good people?

Below is a message I offered at Cove Presbyterian Church on Sunday, March 5, 2017, and it seems very appropriate today.  It was the first sermon in a series entitled, "Why: Answering Some of Life's Hard Questions." We used the Book of Job to grapple with the following questions:

• Why do bad things happen to good people?
• Why don't people understand me?
• Why don't I understand what's going on?
• Why is God allowing this to happen?
• Why doesn’t he make things clear?

In this first message, we addressed the question: Why do bad things happen to good people?

This message was based on Job 1:1-20:

Many years ago, a man named Job lived in the land of Uz. He was a truly good person, who respected God and refused to do evil.

Job had seven sons and three daughters. He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred pair of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a large number of servants. He was the richest person in the East.

Job’s sons took turns having feasts in their homes, and they always invited their three sisters to join in the eating and drinking. After each feast, Job would send for his children and perform a ceremony, as a way of asking God to forgive them of any wrongs they may have done. He would get up early the next morning and offer a sacrifice for each of them, just in case they had sinned or silently cursed God.

One day, when the angels had gathered around the Lord, and Satan was there with them, the Lord asked, “Satan, where have you been?”

Satan replied, “I have been going all over the earth.”

Then the Lord asked, “What do you think of my servant Job? No one on earth is like him—he is a truly good person, who respects me and refuses to do evil.”

“Why shouldn’t he respect you?” Satan remarked. “You are like a wall protecting not only him, but his entire family and all his property. You make him successful in whatever he does, and his flocks and herds are everywhere. Try taking away everything he owns, and he will curse you to your face.”

The Lord replied, “All right, Satan, do what you want with anything that belongs to him, but don’t harm Job.”

Then Satan left.

Job’s sons and daughters were having a feast in the home of his oldest son, when someone rushed up to Job and said, “While your servants were plowing with your oxen, and your donkeys were nearby eating grass, a gang of Sabeans attacked and stole the oxen and donkeys! Your other servants were killed, and I was the only one who escaped to tell you.”

That servant was still speaking, when a second one came running up and saying, “God sent down a fire that killed your sheep and your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

Before that servant finished speaking, a third one raced up and said, “Three gangs of Chaldeans attacked and stole your camels! All of your other servants were killed, and I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

That servant was still speaking, when a fourth one dashed up and said, “Your children were having a feast and drinking wine at the home of your oldest son, when suddenly a windstorm from the desert blew the house down, crushing all of your children. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
When Job heard this, he tore his clothes and shaved his head because of his great sorrow. He knelt on the ground, then worshiped God and said:

“We bring nothing at birth;
we take nothing
    with us at death.
The Lord alone gives and takes.
Praise the name of the Lord!

In spite of everything, Job did not sin or accuse God of doing wrong.

I know Heather and Rocky Campbell just had a new grand baby, which I think more than compensates for the sprained ankle. And although that’s really exciting, what makes it even better is that this is the second one in the last year, right? And that’s great. I mean, Debbie, Maggie and I were all excited about the coming of Coco Channel, the dog not the person. I just can’t imagine how great it is to have two grand babies, both of whom you can hold and cuddle and snuggle until they get fussy and then you can send them home. The best of all worlds. Now I know this is an odd way to start a sermon entitled “Why do bad things happen to good people, but hang with me for a minute.

You see, I’ve always been fascinated by how babies learn language. I mean, for me to learn a new language, man, it would take months, maybe years of focus, concentration and study. But for babies, who haven’t had any of my education, good night nurse, they can pick up language in a heartbeat. And I find that amazing. In fact, I can remember like yesterday the time Maggie said her first word. Of course, it was “dada,” which didn’t make Mama all that happy, but what can I say; sorry about your luck. And after those two syllables, man, she was off and running. And with each word, I could feel this little twinge of excitement, that is until she got to one particular three-letter word that nearly drove me to drink. And I think most parents know what word I’m talking about: W-H-Y, why.

 Now outside of that “God is dead” part I think that’s pretty accurate. That’s just what kids say.

But I’ll tell you, I really don’t think we ever outgrow asking why. As a matter of fact, I believe we may do it more when we’re older than we do when we were kids. Of course, as we get older, the questions, well, they seem more focused, because they’re questions I think folks tend to ask when something bad happens to them, you know, something that they just don’t understand and sure didn’t expect and probably don’t deserve. We ask, “Why? Why did this happen? And why did it happen now? And why did it happen to me? Why?”

And you know, even though that three-letter word is the same one we used as kids, the stuff that follows seems to get more intense as we age. I mean, while a little girl at a breakfast table may just end up saying, “ok” and then move on to something else, our whys can keep us awake at night and distract us during the day, even when we’re trying do what God has created us to do. I guess you could say that this is the power of the “why.”

And I’ll tell you, for that reason, for the next five weeks, we’re going talk about some of these difficult “why” questions, starting today with the big Kahuna itself, Why do bad things happen to good people? And as we’ll do with the other questions, we’ll use the story of Job to help us focus. And to consider this first question, we’re going to look at the first chapter. Now it’s printed in your bulletin, but instead of reading it all, let me summarize what’s going on here. And remember, this is story, you know, like a long parable; In other words, I don’t think it’s a historical event. I mean, if this really happened to a specific man at a specific time, we’re looking at a lot more issues than I can cover in a twenty minute sermon.

Anyway, in the beginning, there was a man named Job. And as it says in the book, Job “was a truly good person, who respected God and refused to do evil.” And his life reflected his goodness. I mean, he “...had seven sons and three daughters. He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred pair of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a large number of servants. He was the richest person in the East.” And so everything was pretty sweet for Job.

That is until God and Satan have their little conversation. I mean, “the Lord asked, ‘Satan, where have you been?’ Satan replied, ‘I have been going all over the earth.’ Then the Lord asked, ‘What do you think of my servant Job? No one on earth is like him—he is a truly good person, who respects me and refuses to do evil.’ ‘Why shouldn’t he respect you?’ Satan remarked. ‘You are like a wall protecting not only him, but his entire family and all his property. You make him successful in whatever he does, and his flocks and herds are everywhere. Try taking away everything he owns, and he will curse you to your face.’ [Now if Satan were a ten-year-old boy, he’d say “I double do dare you.”] The Lord replied, “All right, Satan, do what you want with anything that belongs to him, but don’t harm Job.’ Then Satan left.” Now that’s what it says.

And as a result of Satan’s challenge, Job losses everything. Sabeans steal his oxen and donkeys, and everybody knows how sneaky those Sabeans are. And then fire comes down from heaven and barbeques his sheep and servants. And then a bunch of Chaldeans stole his camels, including the one named Joe. And as the cherry on top of the sundae, Job’s whole family, except for his wife, get smashed in a house. And I’ll tell you, in chapter two, it gets worst, at least for Job, not his sons and daughters, but for him. You see, he’s given this horrible disease that resulted in boils all over his body. And I’ve got to tell you, by the end of the second chapter, Job is pretty discouraged by this whole mess, that, remember, started with Satan kind of daring God to test the faith of this righteous man, something that Job will never find out.

And although I don’t want y’all to leave thinking that our suffering is the result of some weird waging between God and Satan (remember this is a story), I do believe it may say a lot about why good people often end up experiencing suffering they really don’t deserve. You see, I think there are three broad reasons why good people suffer, and the first two aren’t mutually exclusive. You see, first, sometimes we cause our own suffering, and that can happen to the good and the not-so good. For example, if I drink and drive and then run into a tree, I don’t have to struggle with why I’m picking splitters out of my forehead. All I have to do is look in the mirror. And second, sometimes others people cause us to suffer. And that kind of thing isn’t hard to find. I mean, just open either a newspaper or an app and read about the inhumanity humans inflict on one another. Although it’s in no way fair to the ones suffering, the reason is, at least, understandable.

But I’ll tell you, there’s a third kind of suffering, you know, the kind we see in Job, that isn’t caused by the sufferer nor inflected upon him by someone else. Some suffering, maybe not most but certainly some, man, sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. In other words, there just aren’t any reasons we can understand. And I’ll tell you, I think this kind of suffering causes the most confusion and frustration, especially when it’s happening to us. I mean, a tornado hits one trailer but not the others. And a person who’s never inhaled a cigarette develops lung cancer. And a righteous person loses everything, even though he’s done nothing, and I mean nothing to deserve it. Now try to example that to your kids or grand kids. And even though we might say something that sounds spiritual, you know, like God must have his reasons and we’ll understand later, that’s the kind of stuff we say when it happens to happens to someone else, not when it happens to us and those whom we love. I’ll tell you, right along with suffering that’s self-inflected and imposed by others, some suffering is so confusing and so frustrating that, if we’re honest with ourselves and others, all we can really say it that we don’t know why good people suffer; sometimes they just do.

But you know, regardless of the reason, I mean, whether it’s deserved or not, whether it makes sense or it doesn’t, I do think there are three things that we might need to remember as we face suffering in our lives and in the lives of those whom we love. And even though these three things may not give us all the answers we might want, they may help us live with the questions until we get to the other side. Three things, and let me tell you what they are.

First, regardless of the reasons, I think we need to remember that,  because of the Son, our past has been cleansed. And this is how it happened. When Jesus was hung on that cross, he died to save the men who drove the nails. And as a result of that death, they were freed, freed from the power of sin, freed to live for God. They were freed; and brothers and sisters, so are we. It’s like the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Your sins are scarlet red, but they will be whiter than snow or wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) Now that’s cleansing. And according to Paul, “We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so that our sinful bodies would no longer be the slaves of sin. We know that sin doesn’t have power over the dead. As surely as we died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. We know that death no longer has any power over Christ. He died and was raised to life, never again to die. When Christ died, he died for sin once and for all. But now he is alive, and he lives only for God. In the same way, you must think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But Christ Jesus has given life to you, and you live for God.”  (Romans 6:6-11) Now that’s what Paul wrote. In other words, when Christ died on the cross, we died too.

And I’ll tell you why that’s important to remember as we face suffering especially when the suffering is self-inflected. You see, because of what Jesus did, we’re no longer bound to our past. We’re no longer bound to the mistakes we made but can’t seem to unmake. We’re no longer bound by all those stupid things we did to ourselves and to others, things that we’ll never be able to undo. And we’re no longer bound to reputations that we created for ourselves but that we no longer want. We are free. Now, don’t get me wrong, we may always have to deal with the consequences we picked up along the way, but we’re no longer bound to continue making the mistakes and being stupid and justifying our reputations. In the sight of God, we’ve been freed through the blood of Christ. And ultimately, God’s not going to hold the garbage we did against us, even if our teachers and our bosses, even if our spouses and our kids, even it our city and state continue to hold us accountable. We’ve been forgiven. Through the Son, our past has been cleansed, and that’s the first thing we need to remember.

And second, I think we also need to remember that, because of the Father, our future is secure. You see, when the Father raised the Son to new life, we got a glimpse into our own coming attractions. Again, it’s like Paul wrote, “Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us. But we must each wait our turn. Christ was the first to be raised to life, and his people will be raised to life when he returns. Then after Christ has destroyed all powers and forces, the end will come, and he will give the kingdom to God the Father.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-24) And this is how John of Patmos described it in his revelation: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and so had the sea. Then I saw New Jerusalem, that holy city, coming down from God in heaven. It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband. I heard a loud voice shout from the throne: God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever. (Revelation 21:1-4)

You see, the resurrection locks in our future. Which means that we can trust, we can believe, we can have faith that any pain, any separation, any suffering we’re facing right now is temporary. Now again, don’t get me wrong, it may also be difficult and frustrating, it may dominate our attention and undermine our confidence, man, it may even tempt our faith, but it’s still temporary. Believe me, it’s going to end. And I can’t think of better words to describe how this feels than the ones Paul wrote to the Romans: “In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 8:37-39) Through the power of the Father, our future is secure, and that’s the second thing to remember as we suffer.

And third, because of the Holy Spirit, we can trust that God is with us all the time. And I’m telling you, that presence just might get us through to the other side. Remember, Jesus said this to his disciples before his crucifixion: “If you love me, you will do as I command. Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you. The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don’t see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you.” (John 14:15-17) And our good friend Paul wrote, “God’s Spirit doesn’t make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and call him our Father. God’s Spirit makes us sure that we are his children. His Spirit lets us know that together with Christ we will be given what God has promised.” (Romans 8:15-17)

You see, it’s the Spirit that flows around and through us that brings God’s presence and his love and his strength into our lives. And it’s also the Spirit that brings us together into the church, the Body of Christ, a community where we’re commanded to love one another as we’ve been loved by God and where we’re expected to build one another up and not tear one another down and where we’re obligated to offer real help to all those who have a need, especially to the widow and the orphan, the alien and the stranger, in other word, to least of those who are members of our human family. As we struggle with and through suffering, I think it’s important that we remember that, regardless of where we go or who we’re with, the Holy Spirit is always with us. And in my opinion, that’s the third thing we need to remember.

Now, as we go through this series, we’ll use the Book of Job to consider other questions, you know, like why don't people understand me and why don't I understand what's going on; why is God allowing this to happen and why doesn’t God make things clear? But that’s what’s coming up. As we grapple with why bad things happen to good people, in other words, why do we suffer, I think it’s important to recognize that sometimes we cause our own suffering and sometimes others cause it for us and sometimes, well, sometimes our suffering just doesn’t make sense. It just happens; that’s just the way it is. But I believe that if we remember that our past has been cleansed and that our future secure and that God is always with us, even if we never understand the reason why good people suffer, we’ll be able to live with the question.

Sunday's Message - A Woman at a Well

Here's the message I offered during the celebration service in the Richmond United Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Ohio on Sunday, March 15.

John 4:5-42 

...and on his way he came to the town of Sychar. It was near the field that Jacob had long ago given to his son Joseph. The well that Jacob had dug was still there, and Jesus sat down beside it because he was tired from traveling. It was noon, and after Jesus' disciples had gone into town to buy some food, a Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well.

Jesus asked her, “Would you please give me a drink of water?”

“You are a Jew,” she replied, “and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink of water when Jews and Samaritans won’t have anything to do with each other?”

Jesus answered, “You don’t know what God wants to give you, and you don’t know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would ask me for the water that gives life.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where are you going to get this life-giving water? Our ancestor Jacob dug this well for us, and his family and animals got water from it. Are you greater than Jacob?”

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again. But no one who drinks the water I give will ever be thirsty again. The water I give is like a flowing fountain that gives eternal life.”

The woman replied, “Sir, please give me a drink of that water! Then I won’t get thirsty and have to come to this well again.”

Jesus told her, “Go and bring your husband.”

The woman answered, “I don’t have a husband.”

“That’s right,” Jesus replied, “you’re telling the truth. You don’t have a husband. You have already been married five times, and the man you are now living with isn’t your husband.”

The woman said, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. My ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say Jerusalem is the only place to worship.”

Jesus said to her: 

Believe me, the time is coming when you won’t worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans don’t really know the one you worship. But we Jews do know the God we worship, and by using us, God will save the world. But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth.

The woman said, “I know that the Messiah will come. He is the one we call Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

“I am that one,” Jesus told her, “and I am speaking to you now.”

The disciples returned about this time and were surprised to find Jesus talking with a woman. But none of them asked him what he wanted or why he was talking with her.

The woman left her water jar and ran back into town. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! Could he be the Messiah?” Everyone in town went out to see Jesus.

While this was happening, Jesus' disciples were saying to him, “Teacher, please eat something.”

But Jesus told them, “I have food that you don’t know anything about.”

His disciples started asking each other, “Has someone brought him something to eat?”

Jesus said:

My food is to do what God wants! He is the one who sent me, and I must finish the work that he gave me to do. You may say that there are still four months until harvest time. But I tell you to look, and you will see that the fields are ripe and ready to harvest.

Even now the harvest workers are receiving their reward by gathering a harvest that brings eternal life. Then everyone who planted the seed and everyone who harvests the crop will celebrate together. So the saying proves true, “Some plant the seed, and others harvest the crop.” I am sending you to harvest crops in fields where others have done all the hard work.

A lot of Samaritans in that town put their faith in Jesus because the woman had said, “This man told me everything I have ever done.” They came and asked him to stay in their town, and he stayed on for two days.

Many more Samaritans put their faith in Jesus because of what they heard him say. They told the woman, “We no longer have faith in Jesus just because of what you told us. We have heard him ourselves, and we are certain that he is the Savior of the world!”

A Woman at a Well

Before I say anything else, let me tell you how glad I am to be here this morning. But even more than that, I’m delighted to see y’all, especially knowing all the other stuff y’all could be doing because of the coronavirus , you know, like staying home and not watching March Madness or risking infection just to grab one of the last few rolls of toilette paper in eastern Ohio. Trust me, even as we speak, God has taken note of your dedication and, frankly, your courage.

And I hope by the time you leave you believe the risk was worth it, because this morning we’re going to look at one of those stories that’s pretty familiar to folks who’ve been around the church for a while, and I’m talking about the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. I mean, I think a lot of y’all probably already had a pretty good idea about what happens even before I read it, right? What y’all may not know is that there’s really two stories here, with one actually being a story within the story. And even though, as we’ll talk about in a minute, the two have a lot in common, I think the difference is really important for us. And for that reasons, for the next ten minutes or so, we’re going to look at this passage from John by, first, focusing on the bigger story and, second, talking about the story within the story and, third, looking at how both of them might relate to us. And even though it won’t replace the XFL, it just might change how we see ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ a little bit.

And like I said, first, it really starts with the bigger story, and you know, I think this is what generally comes to mind when we hear about the woman at the well. And I’ll tell you, I think it can be broken down into the three parts. For example, I think part one involves the initial exchange between Jesus and the woman. Now the fact that Jesus said anything at all is sort of a surprise. I mean, we’re talking a Samaritan woman, and we all know Samaritan women are just no good, right? And so that’s a surprise. And after they meet, there’s a lot of confusion. Jesus said something which she didn’t understand and so Jesus said something else which she still didn’t understand and yada, yada, yada. It was like they’re talking pass one another. But even though, in the story, she was clueless we understand that Jesus was talking about a heck of lot more than water. Now that’s the initial exchange. And the second part, well, I think that centers on what Jesus said. I mean after they tied up the “who’s on first” conversation, “Jesus said to her, ‘Believe me, the time is coming when you won’t worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans don’t really know the one you worship. But we Jews do know the God we worship, and by using us, God will save the world. But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth.’” [John 4:21-24, CEV] Now that’s what he said, that the time had come when God was going to change everything and that starting right now, through the living water, the Holy Spirit, he was leading folks into a new kind of worship and revealing a new kind of truth and offering a new kind of relationship, a new kind of life. And after this woman told him that Samaritans expected this to happen when the messiah came, Jesus told her, “I am that one, ...and I am speaking to you now.” [John 4:26, CEV] You see, in this second section, Jesus told the woman exactly what to expect and how it was going to happen. And in the third section, well, that was all about what the woman did and the results that followed. Remember, according to John, “A lot of Samaritans in that town put their faith in Jesus because the woman had said, ‘This man told me everything I have ever done.’ They came and asked him to stay in their town, and he stayed on for two days. Many more Samaritans put their faith in Jesus because of what they heard him say. They told the woman, ‘We no longer have faith in Jesus just because of what you told us. We have heard him ourselves, and we are certain that he is the Savior of the world!’” [John 4:39-42, CEV] You see, she went and shared, and the people, her people came and believed. Now, in a nutshell, that’s the bigger story.

But, if you remember what we read a little while ago, that’s not the entire passage, because there was something else, sort of a story within a story, one that if you took it out, man, that wouldn’t change what happen to the woman at the well at all. And this second story dealt with Jesus and his disciples. And I think this is cool, right from the start, structure sure seems to be similar. For example, it also started with an initial exchange, this time between Jesus and the disciples. And as they talked back and forth, there was also a lot of confusion. I mean, while the woman didn’t understand what Jesus meant by water, the disciples couldn’t get their heads around what he meant by food. And again, after the initial conversation, in the second part, Jesus made a statement, but instead of talking about the changes that had already come, you know, about how the good news made everything different, he zeroed in on what his confused followers had been called to do. In other words, Jesus told his disciples about the role they would be expected to play in this new spirit-driven world. According to John, he said, “My food is to do what God wants! He is the one who sent me, and I must finish the work that he gave me to do. You may say that there are still four months until harvest time. But I tell you to look, and you will see that the fields are ripe and ready to harvest. Even now the harvest workers are receiving their reward by gathering a harvest that brings eternal life. Then everyone who planted the seed and everyone who harvests the crop will celebrate together. So the saying proves true, ‘Some plant the seed, and others harvest the crop.’ I am sending you to harvest crops in fields where others have done all the hard work.” [John 4:34-38, CEV] Now that’s what he said, that in this new age brought by the Spirit, his disciples would play the role of the harvesters, you know, the guys who bring in the crop. In other words, recognizing that someone else had prepared the soil and planted the seeds, you know, done the hard work, they would be the ones out in the field ready to gathering the harvest. And since the fields were ripe and ready, right now was the time to do it. Of course, I think we all know he wasn’t talking about agriculture. Instead, Jesus told his disciples exactly what they were suppose do now that spirit was leading folks to believe, people like the woman at the well and all the folks from her village. And once he said this, before his disciples could respond, those Samaritans started to come.

And I’ll tell you why I think that’s important. The third point in this passage is really up to us. you know, in how we apply it. You see, just like he told his disciples back in the day, Jesus is telling us to roll up our sleeves and to get to work. Why? Because the fields are ripe and ready to harvest. In other words, people are ready to hear the good news, but not some stuffy, boring and arcane collection of should and shouldn’ts that probably should be left in a dusty case in a museum. No, I’m telling you, they’re ready to hear a red-blooded message of grace and mercy and compassion and to hear it with energy and enthusiasm and passion. And they’re ready to hear about a God who loves and a Christ who saves and a Spirit that inspires. You see, they are ready, man, they’re desperate to hear the exact same message we’ve got. And as harvesters, it’s our job to get out there in the world and to share it. And getting out there is important, because Jesus never said that we should wait for the harvest to come to us. That would be nuts. We need to go outside these walls into our families and communities and world. And even though it’s easy to assume that the only way we can do it is through our words, that’s just not true. You see, we share godly compassion every time we’re compassionate, especially to someone who doesn’t deserve it. And we share godly mercy every time we’ve got the courage to turn the other cheek and to walk the second mile. And we show godly grace when we choose to pull an Elsa and, as it relates to the past, simply let it go. And brothers and sisters, we show godly love the minute we decide to make these words of Paul a check list for daily living. Paul wrote, “Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil. Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting.” [1 Corinthians 13:4-7, CEV] You see, that’s how we can bring in the harvest, and we don’t need to be a great public speaker or to have a seminary degree to do it. As a matter of fact, we can step out confident of two things. One, just like Jesus said, the hard work has already been done. The soil has already been prepared. The seeds have already been planted. The plants have already grown. All we have to do is bring in the sheaves. That’s one reason to be confident. And two, when those crops start coming in, man, we’re going to see lives transformed. We’re going to see men and women take the good news and pass it on to others not unlike the coronavirus, but in a good way. As a matter of fact, we’re going to see the world change, when we get off our pews and do what disciples are called to do. And all this is possible because of a woman at a well.


And so there you have it. Of course, I’m not going to say that this message was as exciting as watching Ohio State play Maryland for the Big Ten Championship. Nor am I suggesting that it was as satisfying as finding the last pack of Charmon behind the paper towels at Krogers. Still I think this passage is still pretty good. I mean, in the big story we can learn a lot about both the good news and how it can change people. And in that story within the story, we can understand what disciples are called to do in this new, spirit-driven world. And then, by applying both stories to ourselves, we can get ready to move out into the fields and to bring in the harvest. That we can do. And I’ll tell you, unlike watching basketball and buying toilette paper, no virus can stand in our way.