“…we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” – Paul, in II Corinthians 4:18
This verse is a good reminder not to get stressed out about temporary things by thinking of them as if they were permanent. This is where a lot of anxiety and anguish comes from. We can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, so we feel like the darkness is going to go on forever. But faith helps us to see the bigger picture, which is the eternal picture. Life is full of things that are temporary. That credit card in your pocket has an expiration date. Every political office-holder is temporary, no matter who he or she is – including the President. Even pastors are temporary; all of us ultimately are interim pastors. Jesus is the only permanent high priest. And so it is with all our hardships. Paul had these types of things in mind when he gave voice to his experiences of hardship in II Corinthians 4:7-15. There he meditated on his sufferings in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Life is full of moments like these. The challenge is to let the Holy Spirit lift our minds above this changeful world and into the calm eternity where God dwells. We who are Christians see it all through the lens of Jesus’ cross and resurrection. We know that whatever dark valley we’re going through, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. If God is for us who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). The opposing powers will never have the final victory, and the resurrection of Jesus is a sign of this. They killed Him, but they still couldn’t find a way to stop Him. And this shapes the way we look at the whole of life: The outer nature wastes away, while the inner nature is always being renewed (II Corinthians 4:16). What we suffer right now is but a light momentary affliction compared to an eternal weight of glory (4:17). We fix our gaze on what is unseen and eternal (4:18). If we were to fix it on our problems, we might become depressed. Likewise, if Paul had fixed his focus on his hardships he would’ve been depressed too. Though his own testimony speaks of being shipwrecked, subjected to repeated violence, enduring sleeplessness, hunger, and multiplied dangers (11:23-27) – he didn’t focus on that. He fixed his gaze on Christ – and the Bible tells us that we can do the same. It gives us a sense of the eternal. This summer I learned how to paddleboard for the first time. My fifteen-year-old niece gave me some pointers to help get me started. I was real shaky at first. It’s like learning to ride a bike in that it requires concentration to gain a sense of balance. You take some falls while you’re learning – though it’s good that you’re hitting the water instead of concrete. But you can’t really start to focus on the scenery until you get used to it. You have to focus on one yard at a time, with the water that’s right in front of you, the oar that’s in your hand, and the position of your feet. As you develop skill and balance you can start to enjoy the scenery more. Then you have a bigger sense of where you are in water, and you can really enjoy the experience. Life is like that as well. Too often we get frustrated because we’re forced to fix our gaze on our present struggles with the minutiae of life. We need to see the big picture, and our faith helps us to do that. This is why Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. God bless you, Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church of Oroville
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“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
- Paul, in II Corinthians 3:17 Since the Bible speaks of freedom, it’s good to think comparatively of some of the kinds of captivity people find themselves in these days…
Paul described the experience of the Holy Spirit as an earnest or an early deposit (II Corinthians 5:5, Ephesians 1:13-14). We have such a great inheritance coming; what we’ve experienced so far is just a start. Think of the free taste samples you can get at an ice cream store. So it is with our collective experiences of God. The Holy Spirit is our foretaste of the much greater inheritance that is to come, which marks our full freedom. Hence the line of the hymn: “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine; O what a foretaste of glory divine!” Sometimes Christian freedom is misunderstood. I remember a fellow who said to me years ago, “My church lets me believe whatever I want to believe. I can do whatever I want to do.” He hardly ever went to church at all; his faith had little importance in his life. To me, this is the opposite of what Christian freedom is about: It’s not an excuse for irresponsibility, but a call to responsibility. Several times Paul compares it to seeing things more clearly (in II Corinthians 3:12-4:6). Our experiences of God, our insights from the scriptures, and our faith-relationship with Jesus Christ – these all grant us a new perspective. We can see ourselves and the world around us with a better understanding. We don’t have to be hindered by things that would keep us from being all that God would have us to be. We are set free from captivity. God bless you. Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church of Oroville, California Several years back I read Whitebread Protestants by Daniel Sack. Sack is a religion scholar who surveys the historical relationship between American Protestantism and food. The book explores several different categories: 1) The Lord’s Supper; 2) church suppers and potluck dinners; 3) food outreach ministries, such as food pantries and soup kitchens; and 4) global famine relief efforts. Each of these areas has absorbed a significant amount of time and energy in American church life. Often kitchens are the busiest places in any given church building. And sometimes the characters there are the most defining personalities in the church – often even more so than that of the pastor.
I thought of this as I was studying Romans 14:17 recently, where Paul writes: “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” What we do with food goes directly back to the life and teaching of Jesus, who dined with sinners and tax collectors (Mark 2:13-17), fed thousands of people (John 6:1-14), and commanded His followers to feed the hungry (Matthew 25:31-46). So why does the Bible here say that the Kingdom of God does not consist of food or drink? There are a couple important things to remember…
Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church of Oroville Something I know both from reading the Bible and from life experience is this: Faith is a potent, powerful thing.
Jesus said that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains (in Matthew 17:20). Jesus demonstrated this by casting out demons that had been tormenting people for decades, by feeding the masses with multiplied provisions, by healing people who were sick beyond recovery, and in a host of other things. Personally, I’ve been amazed when I’ve seen divine power play itself out. Prayers are answered, astounding things happen, and I think to myself, “This could only be from God.” I like the descriptor some have used in calling these kinds of things "God sightings". Sometimes in reading the Bible you also get the sense that this great power needs to be managed carefully. In some ways it’s like electricity: It can do wonderful things - from lighting the streets, to cooling our homes, to powering our computers. But if you don't handle it right it can kill you. This isn’t a perfect illustration, but it came to mind with a recent reading of Leviticus 10:1-3. Aaron and his four sons (Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar) had all just been ordained to the priesthood (back in Leviticus 8:10-13). It was different from ordained clergy today, but it was still very exciting. They would be serving a mediating role between God and the people of Israel; it was a function within the realm of divine power. It was a high point of their lives. But suddenly two of Aaron's four sons were killed by the altar fire. What went wrong? They appear to have been careless in carrying out their priestly duties (10:1-2); they may have also been drunk while they were doing it (10:8-9). Either way, what followed was a series of warnings in the interest of saving lives – repeatedly emphasizing the risk of death (in 10:6-8). We’re in a different time of history now. The New Testament teaches us that in Christ there’s a priesthood of all believers (I Peter 2:9). There’s no middle-man. We can all go directly to God, since Jesus alone is our high priest (Hebrews 8:1-7). But there are some implications for Christian living today that come from this part of history. One is with our common regard for life. Over the last several months we have been easing out of the pandemic, praise the Lord. The development and availability of vaccines has been a wonderful answer to prayer. But we’re not out of the woods yet. The new delta variant of the coronavirus is still a concern, and we should not be careless. Protecting the lives of the people around us is a huge priority. As it was in Moses’ and Aaron’s time, this may require us tending to some annoying scruples. But we need to do these things if it’s going to protect lives. It’s all a part of being faithful to what God calls us to do. A second implication comes with how we honor the holiness and glory of God. Often what’s more significant than the faith/life experience is how it gets interpreted. In Leviticus 10:3 Moses interpreted the tragedy with an emphasis on God, upholding His holiness/glory before both the clergy and the laity. I doubt God will zap any of us dead for some kind of sacrilege, but this still applies to those times when we feel God’s honor is being brought under contempt. I grow weary of people who say, “Christianity is under attack! We need a tough politician who’s going to defend Christianity!” Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican or something else, if you think that God needs a politician to defend Him, then your god is too small. God is well and capable of upholding His honor for Himself. Our focus is to bring honor to Him in our lives – in worship, learning, witness, service, and prayer. This is why we regularly pray the petition in the Lord’s prayer: “Hallowed be thy name” (in Matthew 6:9, Luke 11:2). God bless you. Andrew McHenry, Pastor – First Congregational Church of Oroville A question to ponder: Which command of Jesus is most resonant for you?
Jesus said lots of things, not all of which were commands. And since all of the scripture is inspired, we should value all of it in some way or another. But it’s interesting how different types of Christians have their preferences. For example…
A good example is found in Jeremiah 8:7: “Even the stork in the heavens knows its times; and the turtledove, swallow, and crane observe the time of their coming; but my people do not know the ordinance of the Lord.” These birds somehow know their needs; they can migrate thousands of miles to meet them. Jeremiah used this fact to point to our need for the scriptures. There’s a popular expression: “Dusty Bibles lead to dirty lives.” Jeremiah preached somewhere around 600 B.C., and his audience objected to his critique in Jeremiah 8:8a. The Israelites of old had access to the scriptures (which they called “the law of Lord”). They saw this as part of their heritage of being God’s chosen people. They were proud of the wisdom it gave them. It’s definitely a blessed thing when God reveals something to you, but it’s more important that you do something with it. It’s not enough to have a Bible. It’s not enough even to memorize it. It needs to be interpreted correctly so that it brings life, not destruction. This is why Jeremiah was critical of the scribes (in 8:8b) for their role as (mis)interpreters of scripture. The end effect of their teaching was so contrary to God’s intent that it amounted to an outright denial of it: “…they have rejected the word of the Lord” (8:9). This came as part of his larger critique of their shallow religion that was mixed with idolatry (8:19b), with the use of theodicy as a deflection from their own responsibility (in 8:14 – which means that they were blaming God for problems that went back to their own bad choices.) All of this came in a time of great national change. Many of Jeremiah’s prophecies are seen as anticipating the downfall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. He described the coming conquest in very graphic terms – with both literal and image descriptions (e.g. 8:10a,16-17). He was sharply critical of the nation’s self-destructive behaviors, which included dishonesty (8:5, 9:3), stubborn unrepentance (8:12, 9:6), greed (8:10b), and schemery (9:8). There were times the prophet was so frustrated with the people that he wanted to leave them all behind (9:2). But he certainly didn’t delight in their destruction either. The difference between an angry hell-fire-and-brimstone preacher and a godly pastor is a genuine love for the people. This is why Jeremiah found himself grieving, lamenting, and weeping for the people and their situation (in 8:18-21,9:1). Jeremiah spoke a lot about missed opportunities. God is always putting opportunities before us to be obedient, to make things better, to be faithful, and to bear good fruit (8:13,20). The nation was going through something like a failed harvest, which was a powerful image at the time. (Today if the farmers have a bad year, the economy suffers. Back then it meant that people would starve to death.) His most famous line references healing medicines: “Is there no balm in Gilead?” (8:22). Since Gilead was famous for its medicinal products, that would be like saying “Are there no slot machines in Vegas?” The medicine is available; healing is possible. This is the fact inspired famous Christian spiritual that points to Jesus: “There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul / There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole.” Jesus comes to bring healing. Jesus died for our sins on the cross. Jesus rose from the dead and lives forevermore. Jesus is promised to return. And Jesus tells us to look at the birds. He tells us not to worry, but to be faithful. He tells us to seek the Kingdom, and everything else will be added unto us (in Matthew 6:25-33 – another one of His memorable commands). God’s word is something we need because it can inspire us to be faithful. But ultimately it’s the wonderful grace of Jesus that saves us. God bless you, Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
- Acts 1:6-11 I remember learning something important in a high school speech class: The teacher emphasized the difference between hearing and listening. There are lots of things we hear audibly that we don’ t really process. Sometimes I think this is why Jesus repeated said repeatedly, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” It’s a phrase repeated seven times in the synoptic gospels (Matthew 11:15, 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8, 14:35). Part of what limits our ability to understand sometimes is excessive familiarity. And I say this with some hesitation, since I really believe in the practice of memorizing scripture. But scriptures can become so familiar that the words become rote to us. You can think of how this happens with the Lord’s Prayer or the 23rd Psalm. The Great Commission has this tendency among evangelicals, and especially the Matthean version (in Matthew 28:19-20). It says we’re to go and make disciples of all nations. We’re to baptize and teach people to obey what Jesus taught. These words are so familiar to me they can bounce right off my ears. It can come to a point where you’ve heard something so often it becomes like the wallpaper in your house. It’s just there. One possible solution to all this is to study the variations that exist between the four gospels. The one is Matthew is the best-known, but the versions in Luke and John and (for some arguably) in Mark are equally canonical. And I say that today because in Acts 1:7-8 we hear another variation of the Great Commission that gives the setting for the ascension. Think of it this way: The “famous last words” that someone speaks are often thought to be the really important – worth chronicling for the ages. There are some well-known examples… “I’m losing it.” – Frank Sinatra “Swing low, sweet chariot.” – Harriet Tubman “Lord help my poor soul.” – Edgar Allan Poe Let’s look closely at Jesus’ famous last words. They’re not His last word of all, but they are the last words He gave before He ascended into heaven:
And it’s interesting to me that His ascension carried the focus of His disciples who were watching. Think of this in relation to your own life and sense of focus: What distracts you? What really keeps you from focusing on Jesus? Keep in mind that the definition of idolatry is anything that is less than God being put in the place of God. This can be done with lots of things – good and bad: money, alcohol, romance, cars, careers, addictions, etc. Of course not all of these things are bad things – but they certainly can be bad if they distract us from our faith in Christ. Some people see this as problematic. The Marxist critique of religion famously says that heavenly hopes become an opiate of the people. They’re so focused on the afterlife that they don’t deal with the real problems we’re facing on this side of eternity. And there’s some truth to this. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was the one who coined the phrase, “Some people are so heavenly-minded they are no earthly good”. That being true, it’s also important to see how a heavenly-focus empowers people for living in this world. Recently I’ve been reading Joni Eareckson Tada’s book on heaven. She’s the well-known Christian speaker and author who suffered a diving accident when she was 17 and became a quadriplegic. I have sometimes thought that if I were ever stuck with her lot in life, I would be so depressed. But she’s out there doing paintings and speaking and writing books. And a key motivator for her, I sense, is that she anticipates a day in heaven when she’ll be fully embodied. No more wheelchairs, medical appointments, and hardships – full mobility. This is because she knows that our current existence is but a small fraction of eternity. Our home is in heaven, and Jesus goes there to prepare a place for us. So we keep the focus on Jesus. And part of the continuous focus on Him is how it shifts our focus here on the ground. Notice how in the Ascension there’s a shift for the disciples from looking upward to looking outward. Jesus is taken behind the cloud. The angels afterwards seem to imply that we shouldn’t keep looking up (though Jesus will return some day), but we should look out, where His commission stands to be fulfilled. Of course this doesn’t mean we’re all alone. I’m reminded of another scripture that speaks of a cloud; Hebrews 12:1 says this: “…since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” The image of a cloud is a key there – and it tells us something about our loved ones who’ve departed from this side of eternity. It’s like they’re in a crowd cheering us on in an athletic event. The fact that they’re obscured from our sight does not mean they’re not there. They are the witnesses that surround us. And it’s true that way with Jesus, but even more so. Christ has ascended, but not in a way where He’s abandoned us. The promise in His Great Commission of power from on high reminds us that we’re empowered for what He calls us to. I like this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.” This is what helps us shift our focus from the sky to the ground. Our power comes from above, but our task is right here on earth – taking the Christian influence from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, to the ends of the earth. There was a time for the disciples to be looking up. That time changed. The time came for them to look outward. And that time is now. We have heard the Great Commission with our ears. We know that we’re empowered, and we know we have a job to do. And now, with our eyes, we look out at the world around us. And it’s a world that needs a witness to Jesus – now more than ever. What with all the death and suffering that’s out there – it’s needed. But we’re not alone for the task; we are empowered. Christ is present, and the Holy Spirit is with us. Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church One thing that modern religious consumers crave is certainty. It can feel very comforting. You feel like you know what’s really going on. But sometimes it becomes deceptive. A false sense of certainty will keep people away from the truths they really need to hear.
This came to mind when I was studying the empty tomb narrative in the gospel of Luke. Luke 24:6-8 includes the angelic figures telling the women this: “’Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words…” Notice the role that memory plays in this. There was a great quote from Fred Craddock in his seminary textbook on preaching: "So much of a pejorative nature has been said and written about reflection as hindsight or understanding which comes too late that it is difficult for many to appreciate it as a learning posture. But the fact is, the Bible is a product of reflection. Its portraits of Jesus are offered after a time of remembering and experiencing what was *really* going on. The disciples did not understand at the time, say the Evangelists, but after the resurrection they remembered." Think of what a powerful thing memory is. Learning comes by way of hindsight; it doesn’t always happen right away. This is true with preaching, with lessons from parents, and with other life experiences. In this case, the women had heard Jesus speak before in anticipation of the violence, rejection, and death that He would suffer (in Luke 9:22,44-45; 18:31-34) – but it didn’t really register at the time. It’s just like it was for me in my driver’s education class in high school. So much of driving is intuitive and experiential that you don’t really learn it well from studying the books. The same is true in other parts of life: Christian teaching and engagement isn’t just for the present moment. This is a hard thing to grasp in a culture that values short-term and immediate results. But we’re in it for the long haul. Look at how it played out in Luke 24:9-12: “…returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.” Mercy Oduyoye, a Methodist theologian from Ghana, once wrote: "...without women's participation the transformation of human society towards justice, peace and compassion will not happen, because it takes women to insist that hierarchical and periphery/centre paradigms should give way to caring community." Amen! The experiences of women should not be devalued. They have a great capacity for initiating godly change. Jesus’ disciples were initially dismissive of their report from the empty tomb. But notice how things changed when Peter got curious and went to look for himself. This is how great change comes about: There’s initially a false sense of certainty in a collective mindset, but it just takes one person to start questioning and investigating. Then the old certainty is left behind and others come on board. What was the driving force for Peter? At least one part of it was curiosity. In the Bible curiosity is a good thing. Exploring, learning, and discovery are life assets (e.g., Proverbs 25:1-5). That’s why I’m glad to be in a church tradition that elevates academic learning. There have been so many colleges and universities through the years that have been founded by Congregationalists. Curiosity drives learning, which shapes conviction. And it's the truth that makes us free. God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry First Congregational Church When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”
- Matthew 26:20-25 I love a good holiday meal. It’s so much fun when everyone gets together, when there’s good food to share, a ball game on TV, visiting relatives, etc. And I think of that whenever the Passover comes up in scripture. The Passover was to the Jews in Jesus’ time all that Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the 4th of July are to us. It was religious holiday that celebrated national independence – going back to the book of Exodus when God liberated the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Like the holidays of our time, there were traveling relatives, big meals, and an atmosphere of festivity. There were lots of happy holiday feelings. All of this made for some irony when Jesus said that one of the disciples would betray Him (26:20-21). This doesn’t make for happy family talk around the dinner table. And it was troubling because it was internal. It’s hard enough for churches to face the enemies and pressures that come from the outside. It’s even harder when there are self-sabotaging behaviors. Warren Harding, America’s President from 1921 through most of 1923, was quoted as saying that his enemies he could handle; it was his friends who hurt him the most. He presided over one of the most scandal-ridden administrations in American history. The truth sometimes is hard to handle, but you need to face the truth – and Jesus is all about the truth, which is why He spoke it. And the Bible said it created some distress among His disciples (26:22). If faith is all about encouragement and love and positive emotions, why on earth did Jesus do this? It makes me think of a couple things…
So Jesus didn’t immediately alleviate the distress His disciples were in. The holiday meal pattern in those days was to have common bowls of food where it was taken by hand. It was a shared food supply. The disciples shared a common life together in everything they did. Jesus spoke to this when He said “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me is the one who will betray me” (26:23). When you get into relationships with people you end up making yourself vulnerable, because you’ve opened yourself up. And that’s why betrayal hurts so much when it happens. Matthew 26:14-16 previously indicated that Judas was bribed into his betrayal; the other gospel accounts say that Satan entered into him. But really these two things are closely related. Financial corruption and dark spiritual influences go hand-in-hand. Yet in Matthew 26:25 we find that Judas took the same tone as the rest of the disciples did: “Surely not I”. But there’s a key literary distinction in how Judas addressed Jesus: He called Him “Rabbi”; the other disciples called Him “Lord” (in 26:22). This tells us something about the difference. Betrayers want to keep Jesus as a safe distance – seeing Him as an inspiring teacher, but not much more than that – certainly not getting all on-board when it comes to following Him. Submitting to Jesus’ lordship is a more radical thing that just considering Him an interesting teacher. So this would give betrayers more room to do whatever they want to do, even if it means ignoring Jesus – or turning against Him eventually. But the ball is always in our court. Jesus responded to Judas (in 26:25b) by just going back to what he has said. Judas didn’t have to do the things that He did because our God is not a deterministic God. We can make our choices – whether they be of faith or by rejection, good or bad. And the good news of the gospel is that Jesus took a path that was cut out for our own good. “The Son of Man goes as it is written of Him…” (26:24a). The “Son of Man” is a messianic title that’s taken from the book of Daniel. And the way it’s written of Him sets up a paradox: The betrayal of Jesus was certainly sinful, but in spite of that God’s plans will never be thwarted. We don’t want to interpret the gospels as to make a hero out of Judas Iscariot; and yet the salvific death of Jesus was absolutely necessary – because we all need a savior. We all suffer from the common problem of sin. And on Good Friday we remember that when we were in the distress of our sins, Jesus died at the right time for us. And so Judas gets the words of woe (in 26:24b): “…woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” Those are harsh words, but we have to remember that in the gospels the antithesis of a woe is a beatitude; that’s a genre that Jesus used which He borrowed from the Old Testament. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Judas made his choice. He took money, seemingly opting for a lesser-value inheritance. But there were others that night at the holiday meal who called Him Lord – and indeed He was the Lord of their life. Perhaps we can join them in that feeling of distress – being aware of our weaknesses and prone to vulnerability: “Lead us not into the time of trial, but deliver us from the evil one.” But this distress is good if it points us to the cross of Jesus. Jesus was a man who was seized by history because He was ultimately seized by our sins – and His death is redeeming for all those who call Him Lord. This is why we live with a sense of trust that sets us free from distress. God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry - First Congregational Church There’s so much anger out there these days, and I really think that part of problem is in our politics. People rely on them for entertainment. And politicians have discovered how to use this to their advantage by getting people mad. If they can get you mad enough, they can get you to vote for the person they want you to (or more often, vote against the person they want you to hate). And they can get you to give money to their cause. Anger motivates, and it gets these short-term results in elections and dollars. But we need to consider also: What are the long-term consequences of stirring up all this anger and rage? Right now we’re in a period of history that has riots, mobs, mass shootings, and a host of other things. There’s a great collective amount of rage out there – and it’s not good for any of us.
It’s been interesting in recent months to look at the book of Acts in the Bible. Stephen was a man who knew what it was like to encounter this kind of collective rage. He emerged as leader in feeding ministry (in Acts 6:1-6), and came to be at the center of a controversy at Jerusalem temple (in 6:8-15). Given a chance to speak, he gave a passionate speech that surveyed Old Testament history (7:2-50), culminating in an invective against his accusers (7:51-53) where he charged them with attacking the very leaders that God had been sending. The mob reacted in an angry passion (7:54), and turned violent beyond all reach of reason (7:57-8). How should Christians respond in these kinds of situations? There are several things to remember…
God bless you, Andrew McHenry, Pastor – First Congregational Church “So the Lord answered his supplication for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.”
– II Samuel 24:25b These words go back to somewhere around 980 B.C., toward the end of David’s reign. It’s interesting that all these years later, we’re yearning for a similar outcome here in America. 70,000 people had died in Israel from their plague (24:15). In our case, we have now passed the 500,000 mark in early 2021 and the numbers are still climbing. It’s a great tragedy; every single loss is significant. There are people I’ve known who’ve been very dear to me who have been taken by the COVID virus, and I know it’s a similar thing for others in our congregation and community. The Bible doesn’t give a step-by-step blueprint for ending a pandemic, but we do see a historical pattern that’s worthy of emulation as we face similar times. I see several things at the very end of II Samuel that make for good application today…
I’m hopeful that, likewise, we’ll come to the point where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve certainly been through some tough times. But either way, we can thank God that He was not content to leave us in our brokenness. He sent His son, Jesus, to live among us – back in a time when the world was as bad as it’s ever been. Jesus came amidst hunger, and He found a way to feed the masses. He came amidst sickness, and He found ways to bring healing. And He came amidst violence, and He experienced the worst of it for the sake of our sins when He was killed on the cross. But then, of course, He rose up from the grave. And that, my friends, is a sign for all of us in our ultimate victory over death. With God’s help, we will find a way to make it through these tough times. God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry – First Congregational Church |
Andrew McHenryI am a husband, a Congregational pastor, and a native Kansan currently living in Thermalito, California. In the past I have also been a prison chaplain and a youth pastor. Interests include reading, railroads, prog rock, KU, and the KC Royals. Archives
March 2024
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