Settle Matters Quickly

“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.  I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
- Matthew 5:25-26

At this point in Matthew we’re in the middle of a bunch of Jesus’ sayings presented in proverb-like fashion.  Each proverb builds on the last and yet stands on its own.  For this reason I recommend reading the whole chapter before looking at each individual saying.  For now I’ll just note that for the above quote, the preceding proverb told us to be reconciled with our sibling before seeking reconciliation with God in worship, and the proverb after it has to do with avoiding adultery or even the thought of it.

What all three of these proverbs have in common is right relationships with our fellow human beings.   God cares deeply that we have strong, healthy relationships between ourselves and others, because He cares about us and because to some degree good relationships reflect and share the reality of the Trinity, showing something of the nature of God in us.

In this particular proverb, it seems to be assumed that the “you” in question has actually done something wrong, has broken the law, and belongs in court.   The proverb tells us when you know you’re in the wrong it is best to settle the matter before formal charges are made.  Make amends, admit your guilt, set things right.  Don’t try to make yourself out to be innocent when you’re not, or to be in some way more righteous than you are.  If you do, Jesus says, the judge will see through it and impose sentence — and rightfully so.

Or is this the correct assumption?  Is Jesus also saying that, even if we’re in the right, we should seek to settle any lawsuit that comes our way?  Perhaps.  Christianity is certainly a way of peace.  And the apostle Paul taught that the secular courts are no place for matters between Christians.

I think this calls for wisdom.  Christians are never told to be doormats to other people or to allow ourselves to be taken advantage of.  On the other hand we are told to be amazingly generous to our brothers and sisters in the faith.  Is Jesus saying it’s better to take a loss in order to be at peace with others than to risk being falsely charged and imprisoned?

And where is God in this?  Another way to read the proverb might be to say we’re the guilty and God is the judge.  And Satan is often described as the accuser of God’s people, our adversary — in which case the proverb could be read as a call to repentance and righteousness.  Make peace with God before it’s too late and we’re standing before the judgment seat.  Not a bad reminder!  And certainly a favorite theme of Jesus.  But it doesn’t fit quite right in this context.  If this is the correct interpretation then the phrase “you will not get out until you have paid the last penny” seems to support the concept of purgatory, which is not at all found in the overall arc of Scripture.

I think maybe the answer is simpler than all that.  Be at peace with each other.  Be faithful to each other.  Be generous with each other.  Do right by each other.  The more we do, the more like God we are and the more like the Trinity our relationships become.

Reflecting God’s Glory to the World

Based on Isaiah 62:1-5. This sermon was preached at Church of the Atonement, Carnegie, on 1-17-2010 and in modified form at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on 1-16-2010.  Lord, speak to us and give us ears to hear, minds to understand, and hearts to follow where You lead. Amen.

I’m going to be using Fr. Paul’s sermon from last week as a launching pad for my sermon today, so a brief recap. Last week at about this time Paul was talking about the baptism of Jesus, and he said (among other things) that Jesus’ mission was to be “a light to the nations”. He said even though Jesus didn’t need to be baptized, he consented to it to demonstrate His commitment to doing the will of God the Father. And the will of the Father involved restoring humanity’s relationship with God.

Today I want to build on that by saying that just as Jesus’ mission was to be “a light to the nations” our mission as God’s people is to reflect that light to the nations. And in being a reflection of Jesus’ light, like him, we will also need to commit ourselves publicly to doing the will of the Father.

At the beginning of the service we prayed in the Collect: “Almighty God, Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth”. This is our calling. This is our mission.

That’s the big picture concept for this morning. But how do we begin to get a handle on it? Because there’s no way I can say to you, or to myself for that matter, “go forth and reflect Jesus”. How do we go about doing that?

The details of God’s game plan can be found in all four of our scripture readings for today, which is far too much to preach on all at once. So today I want to take a look at just the first reading, from the prophet Isaiah. This reading speaks of God’s commitment to us and love for us, and therefore contains critical information for laying a solid foundation for our faith. God’s love for us and plans for us are beyond comprehension, but if we don’t at least begin to get a handle on them, we have nothing on which to build a life of faith. This is foundational stuff.

Before I delve into that though, a little context on this reading is needed. Our reading from Isaiah is a small piece of a much larger prophecy that begins way back in chapter 56. The subjects that God and Isaiah have discussed prior to this passage include: (1) the fact that God’s salvation is open to anyone who believes in Him, even foreigners – salvation is not limited to the Chosen People of Israel; (2) the fact that God has had enough of Israel’s crooked political and religious leaders; (3) Isaiah agrees with God and prays a prayer confessing the nation’s sins; and (4) God tells Isaiah He longs for His people and has plans to redeem them. All of that is what leads up to our passage for today, and all of that is repeated again after this passage, which makes our reading THE central passage of what is essentially a ten-chapter-long prophecy.

So God was having issues with His people, both the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. (you’ll recall Israel had had a civil war and the nation was divided into north and south). So when Isaiah was young, both kingdoms had become prosperous. But when they had gained money and power they forgot about God who had blessed them. They started to be greedy, they started to oppress the poor and take advantage of slaves, they started bribing judges and perverting justice – things that were all forbidden by Jewish law. And then they started worshiping false gods, particularly fertility gods (human fertility, that is) which led them into all kinds of activity that was also forbidden by Jewish law.

They rebelled against God’s commands. As a result, as the law of Moses had warned, God stopped protecting and defending them. The Northern kingdom, which was made up of 10 of the original 12 tribes of the Jewish nation, fell to the Assyrians. The Assyrians were a particularly brutal nation. For them, winning the war alone was not enough. They forcibly deported the people of Israel, and the Northern kingdom was completely lost. A little while later, Samaria, which was sort of the buffer zone between North and South, also fell to the Assyrians. Then their armies went and camped on the border looking south. Things weren’t looking good for the two remaining tribes in the Southern kingdom.

This is the backdrop against which Isaiah’s prophecy was written. The prophecy is God’s message to the king and people of the Southern kingdom of Judah, pleading with them to confess their sins and return to God. And here’s what God says (follow along with me in the bulletin insert): God says…

“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication [righteousness] shines out like the dawn,
and her salvation like a burning torch.”

Here God is committing Himself once again to His people. He won’t be silent, and He won’t rest, until they’re saved. And not just saved, but vindicated. The word vindication here is sometimes translated righteousness, and I think that’s a better word for modern listeners. “until her righteousness shines out like the dawn” – makes more sense doesn’t it? God’s people will be just, they will be good, they will be godly – and that righteousness will shine until it is seen by nations and kings. As it says in the next verse,

The nations shall see your vindication [or righteousness] ,
and all the kings your glory…

God’s salvation and righteousness weren’t meant for just the Jewish nation – they were meant for the benefit of the whole world.

And then God turns to His people and He gets personal:

…you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD…

What a promise that is! A new beginning, a new name. And this isn’t the only place in Scripture where a new name is mentioned… it pops up again in Revelation. This gives us a hint that Isaiah’s message isn’t just for the ancient Jewish nation, but for generations to come as well. And God continues…

You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Beulah (which means Married);

And God continues…

for the LORD delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your builder marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.

Can you imagine God… rejoicing… over us? He does, whenever we’re living in faith and love towards Him. He rejoices over us.

You can imagine the effect these words had on the people of Judah. The end of the story is that King Hezekiah and the people of Judah did repent and turn to God and were spared. God got rid of the Assyrians. Just like that. An army of 185,000 men gone literally overnight. The historical events are recorded in the book of II Kings, chapter 19, if you’d like to read more about it.

The people of Judah didn’t have to do a thing, other than trust God and do what He asked them to do, namely putting away their false gods and turning their hearts to keep His law. And His glory was made known through them.

So how does all this ancient history apply to us today? Just like Isaiah, we all grew up and spent our youth in a nation that is wealthy and powerful. Like Isaiah, we now live in a nation that revels in wealth and power and fame and is in the process of turning its back on God’s ways. Just like in Isaiah’s day, the rich are becoming richer while the poor are being exploited. Like in Isaiah’s day people are turning to false gods and following false teachers. Like in Isaiah’s day, many political and religious leaders are corrupt and leading people in the wrong direction. And like in Isaiah’s day, God longs for His people and has a plan to redeem them.

And so these words that Isaiah spoke to the people of Judah all those years ago He speaks to us, today. God says to us…

…you shall be called by a new name…
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD…

This is a message that so many churches need to hear. Every church I know has a history and a heritage that its people are proud of, and rightfully so. But often churches that have been around for many years begin to believe that their best years are behind them. If God’s people start thinking that our best days are behind us, we’re falling for a lie, because we’re forgetting God’s plan. God says He will not rest until the nations see and acknowledge the glory of His people.

Side note: this glory may or may not include wealth or increases in church membership. Jesus started His ministry with twelve people. They never had a building to meet in, they never had a budget, but they changed the world. God’s ability to display His glory does not hinge on church growth plans. End of side note.

So in light of God’s promises that we will shine with Christ’s glory so that He can be known among the nations, what should we do? Answers to that question can be found in our other three readings for today. For example, in the Psalm for today we read about worshiping and praising God, which is our primary task as the Church. BTW worship doesn’t mean just church on Sunday. It can mean humming your favorite hymn while doing the dishes, or chatting with God while you’re shoveling the sidewalk. But the Psalm tells us worship is what God’s people are all about.

From the New Testament reading we learn about the gifts of the Holy Spirit that God gives to each believer to help build up His Church and bring His message to the world. (I’d love to do a sermon just on that passage, but not today.)

And in John’s Gospel we read about THE ONE most important thing we can do, THE ONE thing Isaiah’s people did…

John 2:5. Referring to her son Jesus, Mary says to the servants, “do whatever he tells you”. I have never, in all my life heard better advice than that. “Do whatever He tells you.”

In doing what our Lord tells us, we become salt and light in a dark and tasteless world. In doing what our Lord tells us, we open ourselves to being used by God to show His glory and His righteousness to a world that has lost sight of both. God grant us the grace to do whatever He tells us. AMEN.

Prayers for Jos

One of our classmates and brothers in Christ recently returned home to Nigeria to begin his ministry and newly-married life.  Only weeks later violence broke out in the nearby city of Jos when around 200 Muslim youths began harassing Christians on their way to and from church on Sunday.  Reports on Jan 18 said at least 20 died in the incident; by the 19th the figures had risen to almost 150… plus at least five churches set on fire.  More details can be found here (Anglican) and here (Charisma) and here (Reuters).

Jos, Nigeria

Requesting prayers for peace and for changed hearts.  As one pray-er wrote, “shine Jesus shine, fill Jos with the Father’s glory…”

Pre-Trib or Post-Trib?

This post is a follow-on to a discussion found here.

Pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib?  The question can be a major litmus test of one’s spirituality in many churches today.  For anyone who has missed the argument, the question has to do with when the Church will be raptured out of the world — before the tribulation, during it, or at the end of it?

I submit that the question is irrelevant.

For starters, I submit that theological litmus tests are spiritual poison, leading to pride and self-righteousness on the one hand and discouragement and humiliation on the other.  I submit that where it comes to getting into God’s Kingdom, it’s not what you know, it’s Who you know. Yes, it is a good thing to read and study God’s word, but entry into the heavenly banquet won’t require passing an exam.

Second, I submit that the question stems from a mis-reading of Scripture.  The word rapture appears nowhere in the Bible, and the apostle Paul makes it clear that believers still living when Christ returns will meet Him when He returns.  (I Thess 4:16-17)  There is no guarantee anywhere in Scripture that Christians will vacate the earth before the end times; if anything Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 seem to indicate that the Church will still be here during the end times.  Jesus notes,  “but the one who endures to the end will be saved”. (Matt. 24:13)

A recent New Testament class presented us with a very different reading of Revelation and the end times than any I have heard in any kind of church, and it’s one that makes a great deal of sense.  Revelation is interpreted as a series of seven sections which move in progressive parallelism.  In other words, Revelation tells the story of the end times seven times from seven different perspectives, each re-telling building on the sections before.  This makes a lot of sense because (a) an apocalypse is a genre of writing that is often presented in repetitions; and (b) there are seven re-tellings – Scripture’s perfect number.

Looking at Revelation in this way, all the time-lines and road-maps that people have cobbled together trying to figure out exactly what is going to happen when in the end times become worthless – which they always were to begin with.  As Jesus says, “concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matt. 24:36)  He warns over and over in Matt. 24 not to be deceived by people who say otherwise.  “Wherever the corpse is, the vultures will gather,” is Jesus’ wry comment.  And yet the vultures continue to pick the bones of the Bible’s prophecies and grow wealthy publishing their “findings”.

Another interesting thing that happens with the seven-retellings approach is: many other frequent points of disagreement among Christians become settled.  For example, there is no problem defining who the people of God are – they are any and all people who are of the faith of Abraham and Jesus.  There is no problem defining the terms rapture and return of Christ – they’re the same thing.  All the judgments mentioned in Revelation are one and the same; and the two resurrections mentioned refer to spiritual resurrection (salvation) and physical resurrection (Christ’s return) respectively.  Everything fits.   No need to go through all kinds of mental gyrations figuring out which thousand years goes where, and more importantly, no need to view people as being excluded from God’s kingdom based on their eschatological beliefs.

So if we can’t determine some kind of sequence of events from Revelation, what is the book about?  It’s about encouragement.  It’s about hope.  It’s about reminding people who are suffering through difficult times that God is in charge and will set all things right in the end.  It’s about the victory of our Lord.  The aim of the book is not to give us a brain teaser to unravel — it’s to give us a vision of the brightness of our future.  The last chapter says it all.

Anger and Reconciliation

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca, ‘is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.  “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,  leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” — Matthew 5:21-24

I find it interesting that Jesus doesn’t directly quote the Ten Commandments when he is talking about murder.  God gave the law “thou shalt not kill” through Moses on the mountaintop millenia before Jesus walked the earth.  But Jesus only says “you have heard that it was said long ago…”.  Had ‘not killing’ become a tradition rather than a law?  The passage doesn’t say.  Just an interesting observation.

Jesus goes on to say judgment will fall not only on murderers, but on people who are angry with their brothers.  The word ‘brother’ is meant in the broadest possible way, to include both blood relatives and people who are not actually related to us, of both genders.  “Raca” is a slang term of contempt that might be roughly translated “numbskull” or “idiot”, similar in meaning to Jesus’ last example, “you fool”.

So if we’re heading out to church to worship God, and remember someone has something against us, we are supposed to make up with that person first and then worship God.  A right relationship with God is directly related to having right relationships with our relatives and neighbors.  In fact, Jesus seems to be saying here that God can wait, our fellow human beings come first.  Why?  Perhaps because God is eternal and we and our neighbors are mortal.  We have all of eternity to worship God; we have only this brief life, the here and now in which to set things right with others.

And most of the time this makes a lot of sense, and I recommend the teaching be taken literally — do what Jesus tells us to do!  Don’t pretend we can be at peace with God when we have unfinished business with others.

But there are other times when I find this an incredibly hard teaching.  Anger is equivalent to murder?  Yes, in that persistent anger is, or can become, a wish to get rid of another person.  The Greek verb indicates a state of chronic and continued anger.   Other verses of scripture offer some detail.  Both Psalms and the apostle Paul in Ephesians say “be angry and do not sin”.  Paul adds “do not let the sun go down on your anger,”  which gives some additional insight.  “Strive for peace with everyone,” the writer of Hebrews says.

Putting all this together, it seems that experiencing a flash of anger — and expressing it — when someone causes harm or takes advantange is not a sin; it’s the holding on to anger that is the sin.  Those who follow Jesus seek reconciliation with others, not by overlooking wrong or harmful actions but by confronting them with the goal of peace and brotherhood in mind.

Part of what makes this teaching so hard is that relationships are a two-way street.  Not everyone wants peace; not everyone wants to see good prevail; not everyone wants to stop doing the wrong they’re doing; or (when we’re the ones who caused the harm) not everyone wants to forgive.  Anyone who has dealt with a person who is hard-hearted, or caught in abuse or addiction of any kind, or dealt with a cheating spouse or an obsessive/compulsive personality [etc] knows that there are times when it simply isn’t possible to have peace with another person.  And constant exposure to the situation will almost inevitably lead to chronic anger.  The kind of emotional detachment needed to survive these relationships and remain spiritually healthy (as taught by 12-step programs) is not easily learned… and is meant only to be a temporary measure.  In a fallen world, sadly, sometimes “goodbye” is the most loving thing to say.

It’s at those times — when through no fault of our own reconciliation simply isn’t possible — that this passage really stings.   What should we do? Should we fast from the Lord’s table until reconciliation *becomes* possible, reminding God in prayer of a situation only He can set right?  Or should we continue to offer our worship and observe the sacraments, praying for His forgiveness that we have a relationship that is broken and beyond our ability to repair?

I don’t think there are any easy answers to these questions… and maybe that’s because we’re meant to wrestle with them… or more accurately we’re meant to wrestle with God over them.  At times like these the most important thing to remember is that even though we can’t forgive perfectly, and others can’t forgive perfectly, God can — and does. “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” Keep on wrestling, and trust Him.

“Is There a God?”

(another installment in the series of Googled questions)

Yes.

But the question, “Is there *A* God?” kind of makes God sound like an inanimate object or some vaguely miscellaneous thing out-there-somewhere.

God isn’t just any-old-god.  There are lots of any-old-gods around.  Anything that people make out to be of ultimate importance in life, things like money or power or sex or nationality, can become gods.  Anything people worship on the weekend and ignore the rest of the time is an any-old-god.  *The* God is a 24/7/365 Reality.

God isn’t “watching us from a distance” as the old song says.  God is closer than we realize.   Closer than the air we breathe, which is why the apostle wrote, “in Him we live and move and have our being”.

God also isn’t one of those six-armed deities or fat laughing deities you can buy in a head shop.  The real God can’t be bought.  The real God is not a thing but a living being.  The real God can’t be kept on a shelf and dusted off now and then.

God’s existence is the foundational principle of the universe (and the more we know about the universe, the better we understand its Creator).  “Is there a God?” might be better phrased, “Is God?”  To which God has already given the answer: “I AM.”

Merry Christmas!

Signing off for the holidays — I’ll be back in the New Year.  Wishing all a very Merry Christmas and many blessings in 2010!

With love,
Peg

P.S. Here’s Celtic Woman singing O Holy Night to start off your celebrations…

A Moment of Christmas Serenity: The Carpenters “Christ Is Born”

This gorgeous and little-known song was written by Ray Charles, arranged by Peter Knight (of “Nights in White Satin” fame) and recorded by Karen and Richard Carpenter back in the 1970s.  I’m amazed and pleased to find it in video form!  In the middle of the holiday hustle, enjoy a moment of peace and serenity…

It is he, Christ who is born today
Hear him crying in the manger
King of Heaven, Son of God
Alleluia, Alleluia

There he lies, there with the lambkin
Only swaddle for his garment
With his Holy Mother Mary
Alleluia, Alleluia

Glory, Glory to almighty God
And on earth peace to all men
Hear the joyful angels singing
Alleluia, Alleluia

He is born, let us adore him
Christ the Lord, King of Kings
Prince of Peace for all the universe
Alleluia, Alleluia

~

Sermon for Advent 3: Good News in Tough Times

[This sermon was supposed to be preached yesterday morning, but Western PA was hit with a major ice storm and church was cancelled.  Maybe it will be preached next year!]

Old Testament Lesson:
“Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!  The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.  On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak.  The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing  as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it.  I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.  At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD.
- Zephaniah 3:14-20

Gospel Reading:
John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.  Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”  And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”   In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”  Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”  He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”  Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”  As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,  John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”  So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
- Luke 3:7-18

We have two very different readings for today!  The OT lesson from Zephaniah is a song of great joy.  The prophet says, Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart… The gospel lesson, on the other hand, starts out with John the Baptist saying “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

The first lesson seems like a much more pleasant one to focus on — but notice something.  At the end of the gospel reading, after all the talk about vipers and unquenchable fire and repentance, the very last verse reads, So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.

Good news?  Isn’t that a strange comment?  John’s message is that God’s judgment is coming and the people need to repent.  John’s hearers don’t know yet that God’s appointed judge will come as a baby, in humility and gentleness, and lay down His life for the people.  All they know right now is that another prophet in a long string of prophets is calling them to repentance.

John the Baptist has been commanded by God to prepare the way for the King, and calling for repentance is how he does it.  Interestingly, our Prayer Book does the same thing – the service of Holy Eucharist begins with a call to repentance and confession before we present ourselves to the King.  People are always in need of confession because none of us is perfect.

In the meantime, where’s the good news?

Well, there’s some good news in verse 11.  John says people who have extra clothes or extra food should give to those who are in need.  Imagine if everybody did this.  The poor would be cared for, the less poor would grow in their ability to be generous, and if enough people did it we wouldn’t need welfare.  That’s good news.

In verse 13 John tells tax collectors to collect nothing more than what’s due.  And in verse 14 he tells soldiers – and by extension, government officials – not to extort money from the people.  That’s good news.

And then… towards the end of John’s message, in verse 16, he says: “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming… He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” In other words, after all these centuries of waiting, the Messiah is finally on the way!  And that’s amazingly good news.

And yet John says the Messiah brings with Him a baptism of fire – which sounds like not-so-good-news. But this fire not the same thing as the unquenchable fire John talks about in verse 17.  This fire is more like a refining process, like burning impurities out of gold.

And John also says the Messiah will baptize His people with the Holy Spirit.  With the coming of the Messiah, the Holy Spirit will be given to everyone who believes and follows Him.  The Holy Spirit is ‘God in us’ – the hope of salvation.  Tremendously good news.

And there’s one more answer to the question “where’s the good news?” – in our passage in Zephaniah.

Just to give a little background, the book of Zephaniah is a very short book – only three chapters long – and our reading comes at the very end of the book.  In the beginning of the book, for the first two-and-a-half chapters, the prophecies sound a lot like John the Baptist’s fire and vipers only worse.  Here’s a sampling.  Zephaniah 1:2-3 “I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.  “I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea… I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.

Zephaniah’s prophecy is, like John the Baptist’s message, a call to repent and turn to God so they can avoid disaster.  In Zephaniah’s case, the people ignored his warning and as a result the nation fell to invaders.

But at the very end of Zephaniah’s book, God gives a promise of a brighter future to those who have stayed faithful through it all.  In the middle of dark and troubling days the prophet says “Sing aloud! Rejoice!” because God will come to live “in the midst of” His people.

Taking a look at Zephaniah’s message in a nutshell, the reading contains four “he will”s and six “I will”s.

Verse 17 – the four “he wills”

• he will – save
• he will – rejoice over you with gladness;
• he will – quiet you by his love;
• he will – exult over you with loud singing

…and then there’s a shift of voice, from Zephaniah saying what God will do, to God Himself speaking…

Verses 18-20 – the six “I wills”

• I will – gather those of you who mourn
• I will – deal with all your oppressors
• I will – save the lame and gather the outcast
• I will – change their shame into praise and renown
• I will – gather you in (one translation says “I will gather you home”)
• I will – make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth

How’s that for good news?

In the original Hebrew these promises are set in a special kind of poetry.  It’s a poetry that would have been recognizable to the ancient Jews, just like we would recognize a haiku.  This type of poetry was called an ‘enthronement song’… something that would have been read at the crowning of a king.  And Zephaniah describes God as ‘a King in our midst’.

That’s what John the Baptist knew, and that’s the King he was preparing the way for.  And all the people of the earth would be included in the King’s blessing.  This is tremendously good news, because WE are included in that blessing.

Notice that the last three words of the book of Zephaniah are “says the Lord”.  This is the same God who back in Genesis 1 said “let there be light” and light happened.  The words that God speaks become reality.

Which brings us to the question that John’s hearers asked: “what should we do?”

* First, believe the good news. Jesus once said “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” Believing in good news can be really difficult when we look around and see all the wrong in the world, sickness and pain and greed and violence.  Just watching the evening news, it can be difficult to imagine a world where these things don’t exist.  But God is faithful and His words are true, and His kingdom is close at hand.  Believe the good news.

* Second, thank God for His love.  In Zephaniah verse 17 the prophet describes an amazing love.  God – rejoicing — over us.  God — singing — over us.  It’s hard to imagine.  I think maybe one of the hardest things in all the Christian faith is to grasp how deeply and intimately God loves us.  Zephaniah gives us a glimpse of it… and the Messiah gives us a far clearer picture.  Thank God for that love.

* And third, as you get the opportunity, share this truth and share this love with the people you know.

May you have a blessed Advent and Christmas season, full of good news.  AMEN

Sermon: Amos vs Amaziah: When Religious Leaders Oppose the Word of God

Readings for December 8, 2009:

Amos 7:10-17  “Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.  For this is what Amos is saying: “‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’”  Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.  Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”  Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.  But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’  Now then, hear the word of the LORD. You say, “‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the house of Isaac.’  “Therefore this is what the LORD says: “‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will certainly go into exile, away from their native land.’”"

Revelation 1:9-20 “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.  On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,  which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”  I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,  and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.  His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.  His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.  In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.  When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.  “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.  The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

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I love that in today’s readings we have the vision of the risen and glorified Jesus in Revelation alongside the passage from Amos.  One of the things I’ve learned here at Trinity is that the book of Revelation is not so much about predicting the future as it is about giving encouragement to believers in difficult times.  And Amos was living in difficult times.

Yesterday our brother Matt gave us some background.  He talked about how Amos and Jesus were alike in that both prayed for God’s mercy on the people.  In today’s reading, there is another parallel between Amos and Jesus.  This time Amos’ experience with the priest Amaziah parallels Jesus’ confrontations with the Pharisees and Sadducees.

As we’ve been reading over the past few weeks, Amos was called to preach a message of repentance and impending judgements to the people of Israel.  But the people didn’t think things were all that bad.  In fact many of them were quite happy – it was a time of economic growth, people were getting wealthy, and even their worship experiences were moving and meaningful.  But that’s not how God saw things.  Here’s God’s point of view:

Amos 2:6-8 …they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals -  ⁷ those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned;  ⁸ they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge…

All this great wealth had corrupted them.  The rich were taking advantage of the poor, making money on other peoples’ misery, particularly debt, and profaning God’s holy name.  Not all that different from today.

And so Amos spoke God’s word and ended up in confrontation with Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, which was THE central worship location for the nation. How often in scripture do we see a person speaking God’s word and then being opposed by the religious powers-that-be?  Jesus was opposed by them.  So was Peter, and Paul, and John.  And in our day… every one of us here could tell stories.  Just last week I heard about a man in a different denomination, a recent seminary graduate, who was denied ordination for saying scripture teaches that marriage is a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman.

In Amos’ case here’s what happened.  Amaziah leads off by sending a false report to the king: he says, “Amos has conspired against you…”  There isn’t any conspiracy.  Amaziah is just using a politically-loaded word in hopes of provoking the King into action.

Next he misrepresents Amos’ message, saying, “Amos has said ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword and Israel must go into exile.”  Here’s what Amos had actually said:

Amos 5:4-5 “thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live;  but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.”

Amos 5:14-15 “Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, […]  Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate…”

Amos 7:9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

God sent a warning to Jeroboam’s house; but the prophecy does not say Jeroboam will die (in fact as it turns out, trouble doesn’t come to the house of Jeroboam until the next generation).  God also does not say “Israel must go away into exile.”  Just the opposite – God is giving Israel a chance to repent!  “Seek me and live” he says.  Above all God is telling the people to stay away from the shrines at Bethel and Gilgal and Beersheba.  God says the ‘high places’ will fall.  Because the problem with the peoples’ worship, as exciting as it was, was they were worshipping golden calves.  False gods.

No wonder Amaziah wanted to shut Amos up.

Those who oppose God’s message will always mis-quote and mis-represent it as Amaziah did.  And they’ll always fail to mention that the key message is: God is calling His people to repentance.

Next Amaziah says to Amos, “go to Judah and eat bread there”. In other words Amaziah is saying, “you’ve only come to our city because prophets get good pay here.  Go home and let your own people pay you.”

But Amos answers “I’m not a prophet or a prophet’s son” – in other words, “I don’t get paid for this — I work for a living.”  And then Amos says to Amaziah, “the Lord said to me, ‘go prophesy to Israel’ but you’re telling me not to prophesy.” I almost expect Amos to add “and who am I going to listen to?” but Amos doesn’t go there.  Instead he says, “therefore thus says the Lord…”

And I imagine Amos must have been awed by the message God gave him.  I imagine he spoke it not harshly, but with sadness, knowing that God would rather have people repent than suffer judgements.  But he speaks the word God gave him, and pronounces God’s judgements on Amaziah and his family.

Every generation has its Amaziahs to deal with, and ours is no exception.  Jesus warned “Beware […] of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”  And when God’s word is being challenged by the religious authorities, we need to be ready to answer as Amos did – not with human wisdom but with the Word of God.  Amos’ words were not his own. He was called by God to remind his generation of the covenant of Moses, of old truths.  And we also are called to remind our generation of old truths: the truths of Bethlehem and Calvary and Patmos.  God grant us the grace to follow in the footsteps of Amos.    AMEN.

Book Review: UnChristian America

I picked up a copy of Michael Babcock’s UnChristian America on a recommendation from a friend.  I’ve been meaning to review it for some time and was finally nudged into action by this conversation.

Author Michael Babcock is a professor of humanities at Liberty University in Lynchburg VA, the school founded by televangelist Jerry Falwell and funded in large part by Tim LaHaye of the Left Behind series of books.  Where it comes to the Religious Right and American politics, Babcock is an insider speaking from personal experience.

This book is a must-read for evangelical Christians.  As Babcock says in the dedication, “May you always seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.”

The book is divided into two sections, Losing the Battle and Winning the War, and is prefaced by an introduction describing the author’s spiritual journey.  Babcock begins his arguments with these concepts:

“We forget that Jesus turned to fishermen, not politicians, when He began His ministry; we forget that He empowered the twelve disciples with the Holy Spirit, not political charisma, to build His church.”

“The real enemy we face has never been godless Communism, the gay lobby, the abortion industry, or the Hollywood elite.  The real enemy is the same one Jesus confronted two thousand years ago: the materialistic values of this world system. [...] The central miscalculation of the Religious Right has been its failure to recognize the real nature of the battle.”

“From the catacombs of ancient Rome to the cities of modern America, living for Christ has always meant the same thing: commitment and self-sacrifice, dying to self and dying to the world.  By absorbing the values of the larger culture, evangelicals have neglected their responsibility… to present a relentless critique of our fallen world.”

In Part One of the book, Babcock demonstrates how the Religious Right grew directly out of the racial prejudice of the Deep South in the 1950s, anger at the removal of school prayer in the early 1960s, and backlash against the women’s movement of the late 1960s.  He quotes George Andrews, congressman from Alabama, who said of the 1962 Supreme Court decision removing prayer from schools, “They put the Negroes in the school, and now they’ve driven God out.”  Babcock comments, “By linking these two matters so crudely, Congressman Andrews was putting his finger on the real issue that reverberated throughout the South…”

Babcock goes on to detail “political themes… emerging… in strange ways” such as from Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth, which Babcock describes as “breezily written and thinly documented” and which provided a “blueprint for a crude evangelical foreign policy” in the 1970s, giving rise to the Christian Zionist movement.

Babcock then traces the rise of the Moral Majority movement and Liberty Foundation of the 1980s and the Christian Coalition of the 1990s, exposing dirty back-room deals and moral compromises made for the sake of political power.   He also correctly identifies Ralph Reed, “political whiz kid” and former golden boy of the Christian Coalition (until he was discredited for doing business with a convicted felon), as the impetus behind the ‘take back America for God’ movement.   “Reed was a professional operative, not an evangelist,” Babcock writes, and adds Reed once likened his own political tactics to “those of a Turkish assassin”.

After Reed was publicly discredited, director of the Family Research Council Gary Bauer along with Focus on the Family filled the power vacancy created by Reed’s departure.  By this point, Babcock writes, “the distinction between what is “Christian” and what is “American” has become hopelessly blurred.”

In the next chapter Babcock takes on the question of whether America is really a “nation under God” and argues that no nation can claim to be “God’s country” except ancient Israel.  He argues that those who believe America was founded as a Christian nation “fail to distinguish between cultural Christianity and biblical Christianity.”  He points out that Thomas Jefferson was “conveniently selective about which doctrines of Jesus he included in his own anti-supernaturalist edition of the Bible” and “was deeply conflicted about the competing claims of revealed religion and the dictates of reason.”  Bottom line, “the Founding Fathers… certainly did not see themselves founding a theocratic state.”  Babcock then goes on to trace various movements in American history, showing both religious and humanistic influences.  Some important conclusions he draws include:

“When Christians on either end of the political spectrum redefine the church as a voting bloc instead of Christ’s very body, then we have succumbed to a false wind of doctrine.”

“The church’s mission is not to transform a changing culture but to bear witness to the unchanging truth of God.  The church’s mission is not to change the world by using the world’s tools.  We have been given spiritual tools…  because our battle is not “against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age.” (Eph. 6:12)”

“Something is terribly wrong if the world can’t see the ‘old rugged cross’ because we’ve surrounded it with white picket fences and American flags.  Nothing should obscure the Cross.”

“Whatever else the world may think of us, they should hear the love of Christ in our words and see it demonstrated in the way we treat others.”

“Humanism is the religion of the modern age, and the seeds of this humanism were planted in the New World when the shining city was chartered.  America was never ours to lose.”

In Winning the War, Babcock tells the story of how, after his disillusionment with the Religious Right, he stumbled into a worship service led by a fellowship of Calvary Chapel.  He writes: “No flashy illustrations. No politics. No legalism. No light shows. Just the Word of God in all its simple eloquence.  Something awakened inside me that I thought had been lost for good.  My will broke beneath the gentle onslaught of God’s grace…”

Babcock writes, “The eternal truths of God never expire.  Christians today face no new challenges, no new battles, and no new issues. “  He then outlines principles on which to build a more Christ-like future:

“Acknowledge God’s sovereignty over the political realm.”

“Submit ourselves to the authority of earthly rulers.”

“Recognize the importance God places on honor and respect. [...] The belligerent tone of much conservative commentary is inconsistent with the ethic of the gospel…”

Know that “God’s standard remains fully in effect even though society may change.  God allows no escape clause or exceptions for our personal preferences and political platforms.”

“Our civic responsibilities are always defined by godly living.”

Babcock concludes his book with “A Simple Call to Virtue” saying that Christians need to regain the message and importance of the Sermon on the Mount.  He finds that Jesus’ message has been nearly buried in conservative churches by “a modified form of dispensational interpretation… ultra-dispensationalism can obscure the fact that a consistent God lies behind the whole sweep of Scripture.  From beginning to end, He is a God of holiness, mercy, love, and forgiveness. [...] The Scofield Reference Bible… divided Scripture into “seven dispensations” and relegated the Sermon on the Mount to the future millennial reign of Christ.”  Babcock soundly rejects Scofield’s interpretation and the later amplifications of Arno Gaebelein, refuting them with quotations from Paul.

Babcock adds, “it really matters that evangelicals have been so deaf to the great Sermon Jesus preached. [...] Our casual dismissal of the Sermon on the Mount explains a lot of things that are painful to admit, such as nationalistic and militaristic impulses right now, crude addiction to prosperity and material success right now, and comfort with law and religiosity right now.  Jesus rejected the power paradigms of this world and issued instead a simple call to virtue.”

Recommended reading.

How Did Jesus Define Greatness?

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.  Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
– Matthew 5:17-20, NIV

Jesus’ followers have no right to flout the law.  Not that they were doing so when this passage was being written, but they were being accused of it.  “The Law” in question was not civil law but the Torah, the law given to Moses by God, commonly known as “The Ten Commandments” but actually including quite a few other laws recorded in the books of Exodus and Leviticus.  (A believer’s relationship to civil law is another discussion for another day.)  And “The Prophets” referred to ancient teachings and writings which, in modern Bibles, can be found from Isaiah through the end of the Old Testament.

What Jesus is saying here is “Make no mistake.  The Law stands.   The Prophets stand.  In fact, not even (in the original translation) a ‘jot or tittle’ will be removed from it” — referring to the small marks made near letters of Hebrew words which indicate pronunciation and (in many cases) determine the meaning of the word.  In other words, not the slightest little tiny bit of God’s law will be undone, not until all of creation is undone.

This is a hard teaching.  Is Jesus saying that all non-Jews who follow Him must also follow Mosaic law, must take on Jewish practices, must keep Kosher, etc?  The leaders of the early church — all of them Jews — taught not.  Non-Jews are to believe that Mosaic law is God’s word and reflects God’s perfection; but followers of Christ (whether Gentile or Jew) are under a covenant of grace, not law.  This is what Jesus is pointing to when he says “I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.”  No human being who ever lived has been able to keep the Mosaic law perfectly, so Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Jesus goes on to say that anyone who teaches people to obey the law will be considered great in God’s kingdom, and anyone who breaks the law and teaches others to disobey it will be considered least in the kingdom. There is no way, taken in context of the whole of his teaching, that Jesus could be interpreted to be promoting legalism here.  God’s law is good, and therefore obeying it is good; but it’s not a do-this-or-else kind of thing.  Jesus is quoted a number of times saying that if a person “loves the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loves your neighbor as yourself” then that person has “fulfilled all the law and the prophets”.  Hardly a recipe for legalism, or a toehold from religious leaders might manipulate others.

In fact, where it comes to religious leaders, I find Jesus’ last sentence liberating and awe-inspiring.  “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees…” — unless you get beyond legalism to the heart of the matter, to the heart of faith, to a love of God and neighbor — “you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Legalism will never get us there.  Religious observance will never get us there.  Only love will.

Giving Thanks

Forget Black Friday.  Black Friday teaches us to want what we don’t have.  Today is Thanksgiving, a day for being thankful for all we do have.  A heart filled with gratitude is a happy heart and a healthy heart, a heart that gives health to the whole body, a heart surrounded by loved ones and astounded at the uncountable small blessings that accompany each day.

Join me in song to the One we give thanks to.

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ His Son

And now let the weak say I am strong
Let the poor say I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us

Give thanks

~

A Day of Prayer and Fasting

Today Trinity School held a day of prayer and fasting for the persecuted church worldwide in response to the increasing number and severity of incidents of violence against Christians around the world.  Just as the day was coming to a close the following message was received on campus email.  I copy it here in its entirety as an example of the kind of reports that are increasing in number.  This particular report comes from Egypt, a nation close to the hearts of the staff and student body.

Please join us in praying for peace and an end to religious prejudice and violence both in Egypt and throughout the Middle East.

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Posted message begins here:

“On the day we are praying for the persecuted church this message was sent to me from [the] Executive Director of the Friends of the Diocese of Egypt.”
*****************

Egyptian Muslim Mob Attacks Thousands of Coptic Christians in Egypt

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 /Christian Newswire/ — As of Saturday, November 21,
2009 the Egyptian town of Farshoot, located 300 miles south of Cairo, and
the neighboring villages of Kom Ahmar, Shakiki and Ezbet Waziri, have been
the scenes of massive Muslim mob attacks against Coptic Christian
inhabitants. The mob looted, vandalized and burnt Coptic properties
estimated for six million Egyptian pounds (over one million dollars), while
Copts are still hiding indoors fearing for their lives. There are reports
that many Copts were attacked and injured. According to many eye witnesses,
the mob made wooden crosses and burnt them in the streets while shouting
“Allah Akbar.”

Victims and eye witnesses said that nearly 3000 angry Muslims have been
damaging and looting at least 50 shops all owned by Christians, including
jewelry stores and pharmacies, over a claim that a 20 year old Christian
man, now in custody, had a relationship with a 12 year old Muslim girl.
Coptic priest Rev. Benjamin Noshi was attacked and is now hospitalized as a
result of a fracture in his skull. His car was damaged by the Muslim mob. By
the evening most Coptic businesses were looted and burnt and many Coptic
Christian families were thrown out of their homes by other Muslim residents.

Farshout’s Bishop, Kirollos, said the attacks were definitely preplanned and
suggested that the principal of an Islamic Institute in Farshoot motivated
his students to attack the Christians. He also pointed out to the shameful
role of the security forces, which disappeared without giving proper
justifications or making any arrests, despite several demands by the victims
to put an end to the organized attacks against the Copts.

In the early hours of Monday, November 23, 2009 three additional
Christian-owned businesses were looted and burnt in the village of “Abu
Shousha” located 15 miles away of Farshout. New attacks were taking place
Monday night in Al-Arky village seven miles away.

It has become clear that the organized violence is spreading out to more
villages only to target the Christian lives and businesses while the Police
continue to watch. The last 90 days witnessed at least seven similar attacks
on Christian villages, where at least five Copts were killed, many Coptic
girls and women were abducted and forced to embrace Islam with the
assistance of the Egyptian authorities.

Coptic American Friendship Association (CAFA) pleads to the American and
International Rights Organizations to demand the Egyptian government to take
immediate measures to protect the Christian lives and properties of the
persecuted Copts in Farshout, Egypt (Copts are about 18 million Christians -
The largest Christian minority in the Middle East).

For more information, please contact CAFA at Coptic.American@yahoo.com or
Call: 703.337.5217

Ihab Aziz
Executive Director
Coptic American Friendship Association (CAFA)

Coptic American Friendship Association (CAFA) is a non-for-profit 501(c) (3)
organization based in the greater Washington, DC area since 1996. CAFA
advocates on behalf of the persecuted Christians in Egypt and the Middle
East.

Quote of the Week: C.S. Lewis on Suffering

Why is there suffering in the world?  If God is really a good God, why does He allow so much pain in people’s lives?  In his book The Problem of Pain C.S. Lewis gives intellectual answer to those who pose such questions from an intellectual standpoint.  Yet he is the first to admit that a person going through suffering and pain is not looking for an intellectual answer… which brings us to our Quote of the Week:

“…when pain is to be borne, a little courage helps more than knowledge, a little human sympathy more than courage, and the least tincture of the love of God more than all.” (p. xii)