Anyone Out There?
This summer will remain in my mind’s memory file as a trying one.
I watched a friend’s family continue to spin out of control, and the husband feeling powerless to change its trajectory.
I stood in grief with many others saying goodbye, for now, to a remarkable young man.
Entropy proves itself again true as my body slowly slows from a lively sprint to more of a wobbly jog.
The growing polarization in our nation and community looks more and more like flashing warning lights of an oncoming calamity.
My list could continue, and so could yours. Sitting with friends recently, one of us made the comment that “every family has its stories.” Stories of lives lived imperfectly in a world tilted just a bit off top dead center. Stories that too often carry more questions than answers. Stories of yes, but not quite. In the face of hard realities, questions come like accusers assaulting faith.
Where is God in all this?
For me, one of the most honest questions in all the Bible comes from John the baptizer recorded in Matt. 11. He did all he could to be faithful to God and the message he was given, and his reward? He finds himself in a dungeon, facing a pretty certain deadline. He had consistently spoken God's message to whomever would listen and showcased Jesus to all after he boldly declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
But his circumstances now shake his confidence, and he sends his guys to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we look for someone else?”
Max Lucado has a good thought in one of his books along these lines, “Clouds of doubt come when the warm, moist air of our expectations meet the cold air of God’s silence.” John’s vision of how it should go was swept away in that dank cell beneath a palace of an evil man. And who could blame him. How many times have we launched into a new venture we were sure was in line with God's agenda, only to be frustrated or completely derailed. When our prayers for success or healing or rescue are met with God seeming to ignore our situation.
We say (maybe under our breath), "Are you really, really God, or should I look for someone else?"
When Jesus heard from John's disciples, he gave them a message back to John:
"Go and tell John what you see and hear—that the blind are recovering their sight, cripples are walking again, lepers are being healed, the deaf hear, the dead brought to life, and the good news is being given to all those in need. And happy is the one who never loses his faith in me."
We aren't told John's reaction to the Jesus-text the guys brought back, but I wonder if, there in the cell that held little hope, John didn't crack a wry smile. What Jesus was saying was that there was so much more at work than what can be seen from a dungeon peephole. The Kingdom had come. Insidious and quiet it was growing and the signs were out on the fringes, in lives lost now found, in hope and trust that God knows what he is doing. John heard that to trust Jesus would bring true joy as he journeyed through and not around his troubles. Added to this is the by-faith-confidence that God uses all of life in the kingdom plan he holds close.
How does that play in your heart? When you feel alone, or betrayed, or sidelined, or wounded. This place of faith demands from us a tenacious grip on the goodness of God and that we can walk through ours, just as John walked through his. Jesus surely could have swept in to rescue John and crushed Herod, but instead he allowed life to take its course. He said, in essence, "Look nowhere else, the evidence is all around you. Stay with me." And I would bet John got the message.
Look around you. The fingerprints of God are all over our world, even as you and I huddle at times like John in our own dungeons, wondering. Ask the question John had and hear the answer given to him. Jesus didn't chastise John for asking, but he challenged him to look up and out from his situation and see all that God is up to. So much more.
John's dungeon wasn't made cozy and bright, and Herod's plan was not averted. But I believe John was changed in there in the dark by the message from Jesus. Freed from wondering if Jesus was really in control, he could face his future.
Now it is our turn to trust. And happy is the one who never loses faith in (him). Jesus is with us, always in every moment of any given day.
Music for the week
Jokes are good for the moment, and if you pay attention, can deliver a message along the way. Enjoy!
A poor vagabond, traveling a country road in England, tired and hungry, came to a roadside inn with a sign reading: "George and the Dragon."
He knocked gently on the door, and the innkeeper's wife stuck her head out a window.
"Could ye spare some victuals?" he asked politely.
The woman glanced at his shabby clothes and obviously poor condition. "No!" she said rather sternly.
"Could I just have a pint of ale?"
"No!" she said again.
"Could I at least sleep in your stable?"
"No!" by this time she was fairly shouting.
The vagabond said, "Might I please — "
"What now?" the woman interrupted impatiently.
"D'ye suppose," he asked, "I might have a word with George?"
__________
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of Root Beer and started his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie.
He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer.
Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy? "He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? God's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"
Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked," Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However, before his son responded, he added," You know, he's much younger than I expected."