IT IS NOT TIME TO WAKE UP

I don’t know about you, but I hate it when I wake up at 4:00 or 5:00 AM.  It is not time to wake up, but my eyes will not close and my mind will not shut down.  How can a mind be awake at 4:00 AM?  How can a complete thought even form at 4:00 AM?  It is not time to wake up.

A very long time ago, there were some men sleeping soundly, when they heard, “Are you still sleeping and resting?  Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.  Rise!  Let us go!  Here comes my betrayer!”

Waking up suddenly can be confusing:  Where am I?  What day is this?  What time is it?  We have all had this experience.  Think how confused the disciples must have been.

Hour for what?  How long did we sleep?  What is Jesus talking about?  A betrayer?  Why are there soldiers coming toward us?  Judas?  Why is Judas walking up to Jesus?

So much confusion.  So much happening.  And...and, Jesus is so calm.  It will be okay.  Jesus is calm.

No.  Do not take him!  What are you doing?  A sword.  An ear healed.  What is going on?  And..and, Jesus is so calm.  It will be okay.  Jesus is calm.

So many soldiers.  They have Jesus.  Fear.  We should stay.  Will they take us next?  Go now.  Hide.

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I can picture that night.  Jesus praying.  The disciples sleeping.  Judas leading the soldiers.  It is like a play taking place in my mind.  I have read it many times.  I have seen many movies.  I can picture that night.

But my heart..my heart wants to cry out, “Do not leave Jesus alone!  He loves you.  He has walked beside you.  Prayed with you.  Taught you.  He will turn his children over to you.  Do not leave Jesus alone.”

I can picture that night.  My mind sees it very clearly.

But my heart..my heart wants to cry out, “Run Jesus.  It is not time.  I need to know more.  I need more parables.  I need you to be alive.  I need you to take my hands and look into my eyes and gently say, “I love you Mary.  Look, I am calm.  It will be okay.”

I can picture that night.  I can close my eyes and it plays in my mind.  But my heart..my heart wants to write a different ending.  No trial.  No beating.  No cross.  No tomb.

And...and, Jesus is so calm.  It will be okay.  Jesus is calm.

I do not want to see the whip.  I do not want to hear the crowds.  I do not want to feel the earth shake.  I want to fast forward.  I want ...I need Jesus to take my hands and look into my eyes and gently say, “I love you Mary.  Look, I am ALIVE!  It will be okay.”

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As hard as it is, never forget that the worst of man came out against Jesus.  We condemned him.  We beat him.  We held the hammer.  We gave him vinegar.  We crucified him.

And...and, Jesus is so calm.  It will be okay.  Jesus is calm.

A very long time ago, the worst of man came out and condemned God’s Son.  And calmly Jesus died.

TO BE CONTINUED

PUNCTUATION

I know, I know, but I think Pastor Larry opened his Bible to the wrong page.  It is getting close to Easter and he read Isaiah 9:6.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

We all love this scripture because it describes Jesus.

            Wonderful                   Mighty            Everlasting                  Prince

            Counselor                    God                 Father                          Peace

What comfort to say Jesus is wonderful, mighty, everlasting and a Prince.  He is my Counselor, God, Father, and my Peace.  Then, just like the voice on as seen on TV, he said, “But wait.”  (Now he might not have used those exact words but that is what my mind heard.)  Wait for what?  I know this passage.  It is not confusing and what does it have to do with the quickly approaching Easter?

Well, doesn’t that beat all!  He pointed out that we should read this passage carefully and notice the commas.  Or lack of commas. 

No commas?  What difference could four commas make? Actually…a lot.

He is not Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty, God, Everlasting, Father, Prince, and Peace.  Think about that freshman English class. 

Wonderful, Mighty, Everlasting, and Prince are adjectives.  Counselor, God, Father, and Peace are nouns.

Jesus is my Counselor.  And no run of the mill, just out of college, barely passed the last class Counselor.  Jesus is a Wonderful Counselor.  Wonderful!  Jesus’ counsel is marvelous, astonishing, admirable, dynamite, first-class, splendid, unsurpassed, and primo. 

Jesus is my God.  And not just any god that promises and cannot deliver or found at every tourist shop or fashioned after an earthly being god.  God is a Mighty God.  Mighty!  God’s might is powerful, cosmic, enormous, super, Brobdingnagian (look it up), and vast. 

Jesus is my Father.  And He will never leave me.  A Father who is Everlasting.  Everlasting!  Jesus, a Father who is eternal, enduring, indefinite, ageless, immortal, and perpetual. 

Jesus is my Peace.  And not the peace that comes through having money or having family and friends or no trials.  Jesus’ Peace is a Princely Peace.  It is royal, noble, has high standing, and is Kingly. 

Now I tell you, “But wait!”

Jesus is more than a Counselor.  He is a Wonderful Counselor.

Jesus is more than a God.  He is a Mighty God.

Jesus is more than a Father.  He is an Everlasting Father.

Jesus is more than Peace.  His is the Prince of Peace.

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.     Luke 2:52

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.  At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”     Matthew 3:16-17

Pastor Larry did not open his Bible to the wrong page.  He opened his Bible to the exact correct page and the exact correct passage.  The baby grew up.  The baby became our Savior.  Became our Savior when he arose at Easter.

SEND THEM AWAY

I teach a Sunday School class and I am never exactly sure where the lesson will go.  It is usually my fault when a lesson takes a U-Turn.

“When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.  Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.  As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late.  Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away.  You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

“Bring them here to me,” he said.  And he directed the people to sit down on the grass.  Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.  Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces that were left over.  The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”     Matthew 14:13-21 NIV

This lesson was going as planned.  Jesus was going away, because he had heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded.  The people from “towns” — plural — followed him.  Being Jesus, he did what Jesus did.  He healed the sick and felt compassion for them.  This was no short devotional time...not even a Sunday morning hour service.  The teaching, in this place where Jesus sought solitude, went on longer than those mornings when the minister is long winded and our tummies begin to growl.  It became evening and the disciples wanted Jesus to send the people away.  Now, I think the disciples were hungry and wanted to head toward the local McDonald's and sending the people away would mean they could get on their way.

Jesus had a better idea.  He wanted to continue feeding their souls and feed their bodies.  Are you thinking:

• Crowds
• Five loaves of bread — This would not have been an Aunt Millie’s loaf with 20 slices of bread.  This was like a small McDonald’s hamburger bun.
• Two fish — Do not picture two large trout.  Picture a McDonald’s tiny fish square.

And the crowd was five thousand men plus the women and children.  JESUS SHRUGGED AND TOLD EVERYONE TO SIT DOWN. 

Jesus thanked God.  All the people were fed and there were leftovers! A LOT OF LEFTOVERS!

We talked about how all those people would leave, go back to their towns - plural - and tell others.  Can you hear them?

• Jesus healed so many.
• You should have seen the compassion Jesus had for the ill and the hurting.
• Jesus taught and healed and listened for a very long time.
• There was a big crowd.  At least 5,000 ...  plus the women and children.
• He blessed two fish and five loaves — and there were leftovers.  Leftovers.
• YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!

Yup, the lesson was going as planned, until — until my mind looked at the words and lines I had drawn ...  what if:

• I marked out the word people and wrote us?
• I marked out fish and bread and wrote mercy, forgiveness, hope, peace.....?
• What if those baskets were now full of all the blessings we have available to us?

That is when the discussion really began —

• How fast would the Word of God spread and how many people would find the salvation of Jesus if we spread the word.
• How amazing that we can take everything we need out of the basket and there is still plenty to give to others.
• I needed forgiveness, but my goodness; there is still forgiveness for you and you and you.  The basket is still full. 
• I have taken out mercy, grace, peace, and salvation, but the basket is still full. 
• I have learned wisdom from the Word of God, but look...right on top is the Word of God waiting for the next person.  The basket is still full.

We realized it is our responsibility to offer God’s grace, mercy, peace, salvation, wisdom, and forgiveness to all.

Sadly, too often, we are like the disciples.  We are tired and hungry.  It has been a long day.  We don’t want to make sure those around us are fed.  We just want them to leave.  We want Jesus to ourselves.  We want him to listen to us and take care of our needs. 

Sadly, too often, we are like the disciples.  We are tired and hungry…and someone goes away without peace or mercy or grace or salvation or wisdom or forgiveness or…..

NAME THAT TUNE – ANSWER SHEET

Google Music Quizzes and you will find:  Name That Tune, Beetles Song Quiz, Find The Song Title Quiz, and Can You Finish These 60’s Song Titles Quiz.  So here we go…

FIND THAT HYMN

Traditional and Contemporary

Some faith journeys begin at birth, because the person spent their life growing up in Jesus.  Some faith journeys begin slowly, but are built on the church’s one foundation.  Some faith journeys take a lifetime before a person becomes gracefully broken.

My journey?  My parents did not attend church, but they sent us kids off to church with a smile.  Truth be told, the only reason I went was because I was made to go.  Although I did not go down to the river, I was baptized and joined the church.  I was such a good little Christian.  I went to church.  I went to Sunday School.  I listened to the old church choir sing “To God Be the Glory.”  Finally, I remembered my grandmother, a woman who read her Bible and believed the good news, had told me to take time to be Holy. 

Take time?  Be Holy?  God is a mighty fortress, I tried to find time for a sweet hour of prayer, and I had told Jesus, “I believe.”  Was I missing something?

Even then, I needed someone to remind me who I am, so I had just a little talk with Jesus.

“Mary, are ye able to understand that I just want you?”

Why me, Lord?  I ….

“You are what?  Afraid?  My child, do not be afraid.  Fear is a liar and will make you doubt yourself and me.  Take a minute to just breathe.  My Son did not remain on the old rugged cross and because he lives, it is a glorious day and, in my eyes, you are flawless!”

That’s it?  I only need to believe, to confess and to trust and obey?  I only need to say, “Here I am” and ….

“I do expect you to grow your faith, share your faith, help others …but yes, when the roll is called up yonder your name will be on the roll.  MARY in big bold letters will proclaim you have arrived!  Now what do you think of that?”

I think I need to shout, “Joy to the World.”  Then do a happy dance.

“I have given you a few talents.  I expect you to use them!  BUT the talents you received did not include singing or dancing.”

Okay.  Okay.  I received your blessed assurance loud and clear.  How about if I make a quiet joyful noise and shuffle my feet?

“Deal.  Now go give thanks and spread some wonderful words of life.  Just write them, not sing them.”

AND ALL THE PEOPLE SAID AMEN!

NAME THAT TUNE

Google Music Quizzes and you will find:  Name That Tune, Beetles Song Quiz, Find The Song Title Quiz, and Can You Finish These 60’s Song Titles Quiz.  So here we go…

FIND THAT HYMN

Traditional and Contemporary

Some faith journeys begin at birth, because the person spent their life growing up in Jesus.  Some faith journeys begin slowly, but are built on the church’s one foundation.  Some faith journeys take a lifetime before a person becomes gracefully broken.

My journey?  My parents did not attend church, but they sent us kids off to church with a smile.  Truth be told, the only reason I went was because I was made to go.  Although I did not go down to the river, I was baptized and joined the church.  I was such a good little Christian.  I went to church.  I went to Sunday School.  I listened to the old church choir sing “To God Be the Glory.”  Finally, I remembered my grandmother, a woman who read her Bible and believed the good news, had told me to take time to be Holy. 

Take time?  Be Holy?  God is a mighty fortress, I tried to find time for a sweet hour of prayer, and I had told Jesus, “I believe.”  Was I missing something?

Even then, I needed someone to remind me who I am, so I had just a little talk with Jesus.

“Mary, are ye able to understand that I just want you?”

Why me, Lord?  I ….

“You are what?  Afraid?  My child, do not be afraid.  Fear is a liar and will make you doubt yourself and me.  Take a minute to just breathe.  My Son did not remain on the old rugged cross and because he lives, it is a glorious day and, in my eyes, you are flawless!”

That’s it?  I only need to believe, to confess and to trust and obey?  I only need to say, “Here I am” and ….

“I do expect you to grow your faith, share your faith, help others …but yes, when the roll is called up yonder your name will be on the roll.  MARY in big bold letters will proclaim you have arrived!  Now what do you think of that?”

I think I need to shout, “Joy to the World.”  Then do a happy dance.

“I have given you a few talents.  I expect you to use them!  BUT the talents you received did not include singing or dancing.”

Okay.  Okay.  I received your blessed assurance loud and clear.  How about if I make a quiet joyful noise and shuffle my feet?

“Deal.  Now go give thanks and spread some wonderful words of life.  Just write them not sing them.”

AND ALL THE PEOPLE SAID AMEN!

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There are 34 songs.  The answer sheet will post Wednesday, March 11, 2020