COVID-19 DON'T PANIC!!!!

C.S. Lewis’ essay entitled Is Progress Possible? Willing Slaves of the Welfare State, has much to say and is very relevant today to address the COVID-19 panic.  This essay can be found in his book God in the Dock, which is basically the English way to say God on trial.

Note that this essay was written in 1958 and during that time one big fear of society was the destruction of the world by atomic bombs.  I want to focus primarily on the first part of this essay as he begins it by writing the following.

            Now I care far more how humanity lives than how long  Progress, for me, means increasing goodness and happiness of individual lives.  For the species, as for each man, mere longevity seems to me a contemptible ideal.

            I therefore go even further than C.P. Snow in removing the H-bomb from the centre of the picture.  Like him, I am not certain whether if it killed one-third of us (the one-third I belong to), this would be a bad thing for the remainder; like him, I don’t think it will kill us all.  But suppose it did?  As a Christian I take it for granted that human history will some day end; and I am offering Omniscience no advise as to the best date for that consummation.  I am more concerned by what the Bomb is doing already.

            One meets young people who make the threat of it a reason for poisoning every pleasure and evading every duty in the present.  Didn’t they know that, Bomb or no Bomb, all men die (many in horrible ways)?  There’s no good moping and sulking about it.

He goes on in his essay to say basically the government will use a desperate need real or apparent, to seize more power by claiming the ability to relieve this desperate need.  And we in our desperate need will gladly sell our selves by doing whatever to be saved.  Once we have done that the government will then do whatever they want “in our best interests”.

This is happening even now.  Make no bones about it the restrictions that have been put in place to “stop or slow” the spread of the virus are no mere suggestions but have the full force and baking of the government behind it.  Governor Newsom has already mentioned using the National Guard to enforce quarantine, of course in the best interest of the citizens.

As we obey these current restrictions we must do so with a tremendous amount of skepticism and criticism.  We must understand that power always corrupts and that those who rule are always corrupted by it even if they believe they are acting in our best interests. If we simply accept that the governments actions are reasonable and necessary it will be that much easier for them to impose restrictions just as draconian or more so at the next perceived threat.

Some may interpret my words while obeying the government (albeit under duress), as callous and insensitive to those who are most vulnerable to complications from this virus.  By no means am I callous or insensitive to those most vulnerable.  I am very cautious when it comes to those whose immune systems are compromised.  I get a flu shot every year not because it is especially effective at keeping me from getting the flu, but because it is effective at keeping me from spreading it.  I don’t do visits if I am feeling under the weather at all, for fear of giving something to those whose immune systems are not as robust.  Those who have compromised immune systems could suffer severely if I gave them a cold. We must realize first that our vulnerable population is vulnerable to all viruses and infections.  A simple cold for us could cause a life threatening illness in those whose immune systems are compromised.

First off don’t panic.  COVID-19 is a real virus and it can lead to complications that can lead to death.  But as Christians what is that to us?  We have no fear of death for we have the promise of resurrection with Jesus as the first fruits.  Now this doesn’t mean we should seek death nor does it mean we should be cavalier in our precautions to prevent the spread of any disease.   

What it means is we should not panic!  We should not fear!  We should look at the chaos around us and radiate a sense of calm and peace, the calm and peace that we receive through our Lord and Savior, the peace that passes all understanding.  Which is one of the reasons I am resistant to canceling church I don't want to contribute to the panic but instead give hope.  However, I also don't want to contribute to the spread of the virus.  There in lies mine and our churches dilemma how do we spread hope and peace to a world that is panicking and yet also not contribute to the spread of the virus.

Use common sense, wash your hands, cover your mouth and turn away when you cough or sneeze, sanitize surfaces, stay home if you are feeling ill or under the weather or have been exposed to any illness, but above all else don’t panic!  Remember what Peter writes in 1 Peter 3 verse 14 and following.

    

1 Peter 3:14-17

But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear;b do not be frightened."c  15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.  

NIV

COVID-19 My Response as a Pastor in a Rural Community

I am sure that my comments here will make some people incredulous, or even down right angry and or offended.  Some will probably label me as reckless or uncaring.  To which I will reply c’est la vie.

We live in an age in which the promise of technology to make us more connected and bring us closer together has not lived up to it’s hype.  In fact some studies show that people feel more isolated then ever before.  I believe what it has given us is a freedom and sense of license to say anything we want and excuse us from making real personal connections by allowing us to say I have thousands of friends on Facebook and twice as many followers on Twitter and Instagram.

COVID-19 has caused mass panic and fear.  I am in no way a medical expert, but I say with reasonable confidence that the medical community doesn’t even know what it doesn’t know about COVID-19 yet. The virus is too new and what they don’t know is much greater then what they do know. 

We are afraid because our medical community has failed us in being able to inform us completely and fully about this new “threat” and offer us a cure.  The government is afraid.  The medical community is afraid.  Reason has been supplanted by fear and panic.  Listening to the news one would think it is the apocalypse, that the pale horse in Revelation has been unleashed upon us.

Paul reminds us of this in Romans 8 verses 15-17, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.” (Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.)

As believers in Christ we have nothing to fear.  Not even death.  Now this is by no means to say that we should actively seek death or go out and live life with no caution.  What it is to say is that we have no fear.  Even death should not make us fear.

Now that I have reminded us that we do not have a spirit that makes us slaves to fear, let me remind us that we are brothers and sisters, a faith community.  Our faith is built upon relationships, our relationship to God through Jesus His Son and our relationships to one another.  Virtual meetings are no substitute for strengthening our relationships.  Gathering together to worship is more then hearing the word preached, it is more then singing hymns together and praying together.  It is about being present together physically.

It is my belief that now more then ever is a time that we as believers should be gathering together to worship, to pray, to fellowship and encourage one another.  This does not mean that we should do so without caution.  We should take the same measures that we do any other time.  Wash our hands frequently, cover our mouths and turn our head when we sneeze and cough, stay home when we are ill or have been exposed to illness, these things we learned in kindergarten and often times need reminding of them.  I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I have used the restroom in public places and seen men not wash their hands afterwards.

That said I do not believe that as a church we should stop meeting.  I believe that Satan is using this virus and the panic the news media is stirring up to strike at the heart of our faith communities, to drive us into greater isolation in which he can sow more seeds of fear and despair. 

My daughter Hannah said we could easily spread out more at church creating that “zone” of isolation and still meeting together.  I have thought about preaching several times on Sundays to be in compliance with the proclamation from the Governor concerning gatherings of more then 10 people.  My son Joshua told of a local pastor who is doing just that.

Later this evening we are meeting for Bible study in which we will discuss what to do about church.  My thought and plan for now is to open the doors of church this Sunday to whoever will come and I plan to continue doing that until I can no longer do so.

Same Sex Marriage

I was doing some thinking about the SCOTUS ruling on same sex marriage and I was doing some research on the causes of homosexuality.  There is no real consensus and all kinds of speculation and theory’s as to the cause.  One of the articles I read by Mark Joseph Stern in Slate magazine Born This Way? talked about some new research that suggested that men that had older biological brothers were more likely to be gay.  Stern was highly concerned with this research as the findings if proven would suggest that homosexuality at least in men was a birth defect.

            But if it’s a birth defect, as Blanchard’s work tacitly suggests, then being gay is something that can—and presumably should—be fixed.

            That’s a toxic view, and one that must be abandoned. We might not yet understand the exact biological mechanisms underlying sexual orientation, but we will one day soon. And if, at that point, homosexuality is seen as a disorder, the next step will be a search for a cure. That would be a tragedy—for society and for science. There’s nothing wrong with being gay: You know it; I know it; the Supreme Court knows it. But so long as large swaths of the country believe otherwise—places where homophobic families still ostracize their gay sons and brothers—any research into its biological origins is fraught with peril for the cause of gay rights.

What if it is discovered that homosexuality is indeed a birth defect?  The mere fact that he believes pursing this research further is wrong shows that at least Stern isn’t really concerned with understanding what homosexuality is and what may or may not cause it.  The main problem as I see it is that no one really wants to have an open and honest discussion about homosexuality or sin in general for that matter.  I believe that people are born with same sex attraction.  Just as people are born predisposed to all kinds of sin.  What differentiates us from the animals is that we can restrain ourselves from acting upon our desires.  No one excuses thieves, liars, rapists, or murders or pedophiles, for acting upon their urges.  Of course the argument is that homosexuality doesn’t hurt anyone.
I base my belief that acting upon homosexuality is a sin from Genesis 2:18-24

            18 The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

            19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.

            But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

            23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."

            24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. (NIV)

There was no suitable helper found for Adam until God created woman.  Men and woman are designed by God to compliment each other and they have a unique relationship bond that they may form called marriage.  No other type of relationship has this bond nor can be considered to have this bond.

Of course there are those that will then argue about David and Abraham and many others who had multiple wives. And then they will bring in all kinds of other scripter blah, blah, blah, blah.  However they neglect one key scripture passage prior to all the other passages.

It too comes from Genesis, right after the creation account Genesis 3:1-5 records the fall of men and women.

            Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

            2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"

            4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (NIV)

There is the promise and the temptation, “…you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  And as soon as Adam and Eve ate they realized the huge mistake they had made.  But of course by then it was too late the damage was done, sin had entered into the world and we knew good and evil, or had a somewhat vague sense of what it was.  The only problem is we were unable to choose good over evil.

After the fall every aspect of human kind is suspect.  Even our ability to judge what is right and wrong is suspect.  Of course no one likes to hear this.  No one likes to hear that we are evil, that we are on the, “Highway to hell” to borrow a phrase from AC/DC.  No one wants to hear how we are all sinners and all have fallen short of the glory of God.

No what we want to hear is that there is no sin, there is only that which is right for each of us.  Live and let live.  We want to hear that God loves everyone and that He won’t send anyone to Hell or we want to hear that there is no God and so we can eat drink and be merry.  The truth though, is that we are sinful broken creatures, incapable of choosing what is right.  That is why God sent His Son Jesus to die for us so that we could exit off the “Highway to Hell” and take the narrow road that leads to life.

Now does this mean that if you are homosexual you are going to hell?  No just like lying doesn’t send you to hell either.  (I knew and older guy once who whenever he thought you were lying would say, “Don’t lie or you’ll go to hell.”)  What sends you to hell is a refusal to believe in Jesus Christ as your lord and savior and follow Him.

Lord is a key concept in our faith ad belief.  Paul uses the word slave to Christ.  Another word we don’t like because of the negative connotations.  But slave is really a good word to use if we are going to follow Christ on the narrow path that leads to life.  Once we surrender to Jesus we belong to Him just as a slave belongs to his or her master.  Our will is no longer our own, we no longer have a choice in our destiny.  Paul also writes that we die to our old sinful self and become a new creation.

The argument for same sex marriage is all about selfish interests, “it’s about what I want, what makes me happy, I deserve to be happy, I deserve to have what I want.”  People will argue biology and point to the animal kingdom and how primates practice homosexuality and some other animals.  I’ve been to the zoo primates throw their excrement at people too, that doesn’t seem like a ringing endorsement to me.  There are also many animals that mate heterosexually once for life but those who defend same sex marriage always conveniently forget to mention that.

There are a lot of studies going on trying to figure out homosexuality and a great many of our other  behaviors.  Science loves complicated answers and theories and they reject the simplest explanation as irrational but I’ve found that often times the simplest explanation turns out to be the correct one.  Much of our behavior occurs because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

So I will continue to consider myself a sinner saved by Grace and strive to follow and obey my Master Jesus to the best of my ability.  I will continue to consider acting upon homosexual desires a sin just as I consider infidelity and sex outside of marriage a sin, and pornography a sin and every other activity that does not bring glory and honor to God a sin.  I will also continue to do my best to demonstrate the love of God through His Son Jesus.  It won’t be easy in the new landscape because I know that my position will be labeled as hate speech and I will be labeled as an intolerant bigot.  And the day is probably approaching when they will try and send me to be reeducated by calling it some kind of sensitivity training because I am insensitive to the feelings of others. 

I took the Chromebook Plunge...and I'm glad I did.

A couple of weeks ago I took the plunge and purchased a Chromebook.  I had been contemplating it for some months.  Part of the problem I had is that I view computers like many young men view cars.  The bigger and the faster the better.  Well maybe not bigger but I like as much ram, cores, and gigs as I can get for my money.  With few exceptions, Chromebooks are not known for any of that.  Sure there are a few i3 and I think even an i5 quad core Chromebooks but for the most part they are dual core at most some are even single core affairs with 2 gigs of ram and occasionally 4 gigs.

So I began researching Chromebooks and I came to the revelation that most of their processing happens in the cloud, I also came across the Google desktop app that allows you to remotely connect to any computer via the World Wide Web.  Then I realized what a Chromebook really was, it is a remote terminal.  With that in mind, I realized that I didn’t need Porsche specs and performance, performance was primarily based upon my internet connection speed.

Still I’m a performance minded guy and I wanted the biggest bang for my buck.  First, I decided I wanted to spend under $200.  In addition, I don’t consider $199 to be under $200.  I figured if I was going to spend over $200, I should just get another laptop, which is what I didn’t want.  Therefore, I limited my search to under $200.

In that price range, there are quite a few choices.  However, you are limited to 2gig of ram, and 16gig hard drive and really no iCore chips.  As I looked, the Asus C300MA-DB01 came to the surface.  It has 2 gig of ram, 16 gig hard drive and one of the faster dual core Intel Celeron chips at 2.16 GHz.  It also has a 13.3” screen it is the only non refurbished Chromebook with that large of a screen I could find.  It also has gigabyte wifi, and with a computer terminal it's usefulness all boils down to it's connection speed and reliability. The fact that we aren't at gigabyte internet connections also makes it relevant for sometime in the futures.

In the end that is the one, I went with the larger screen and faster wireless adapter along with being the least expensive at the time sealed the deal.

Am I glad that I purchased a Chromebook?  The answer is yes.  Aside from a few form factor issues, like the stupid Mac style touchpad that doesn’t have separate buttons and no separate number pad I am very happy with the experience and the particular Chromebook I purchased.

The main reason I purchased a Chromebook is twofold.  First, I have started driving bus full time on Wednesday’s, which keeps me out of the office and cuts down on my ability to do paper and office work.  Second, I have decided to not be in the office as much and do more visiting of shut-ins.  However, the nature of North East Iowa is that I spend a lot of time on the road.  The Chromebook is lightweight and a lot more portable then my laptop and allows me to do working lunches.  I also have taken to bringing it with me on shopping excursions with my wife.

I have one great advantage over others who may be considering purchasing a Chromebook.  I have an Android phone with unlimited data.  What that means is that I can create a wireless hotspot without incurring extra charges on my phone plan and so in places I cannot get free wireless I can create my own hotspot, which is a lot faster most of the time anyway.

Since I can connect remotely to my desktop I can still used any of my desktop programs such as my Bible software and even word.  In fact, I began this blog on my Chromebook in MS Word on my laptop.

Should you get a Chromebook?  That depends.  If all you do is check email, surf the internet, write letters, and have no need to run any Windows or even Apple based programs then I would suggest that a Chromebook is all you need.  Now I haven’t tired the Google cloud print yet so I don’t know how easy that it is but it is probably fairly straight forward as setting up the remote desktop app was.

If you still need to run Windows or Apple based programs but need to be out in the field quite often then I would highly recommend a Chromebook over the Ultrabooks.  Mainly because of price.  Let’s face it if you damage your sub $200 computer sure you will be miffed and annoyed but if you damage your $1000+ Ultrabooks your really going to be upset and if you are going to drop that kind of cash on a computer and you want portability look at a high end laptop you will get a whole lot more bang for your buck.  Ultrabooks are Chevy Aveos at Porsche prices.  If you are going to pay for a Porsche, you might as well get one.

The Audacity of the Extrovert

I’ve mentioned it before but just in case you have forgoten I’m an introvert.  And one thing that introverts enjoy is quiet.  We are often content to sit quietly even in the company of a friend or loved one.  It is enough for us to be in your presence we don’t necessarily need conversation. 

I came in to drive bus this morning like I always do and I exchanged the pleasantries, listened to some of the conversation and joined in when I wanted to and thought I had something to add to the conversation.  As the drivers trickled out I continued to sit there as I am one of the last ones to leave.  Finally it was just two of us.

I was perfectly content to sit quietly gazing out the window and contemplating the deep mysteries of life.  Okay so I was more likely day dreaming but still I was content to sit there quietly.  I enjoy the quiet time before getting on the bus with noisy kids and frankly why do we encourage kids to be extroverts?  But that is a rant er blog for another day. 

So I’m sitting quietly in the break room and I did think I should leave because this last bus driver is an extrovert and apparently an extrovert that cannot stand silence all thought that seems to be the case with most of them.  But then I thought I don’t want to appear rude.  Then the conversation began.

“What do you think of my moose boots?”  at least that’s what I think she said as I was not waiting with baited breath for her to speak but in serious contemplation of life, the universe and everything.

I replied, “Huh?  What?”

She then pulled her leg out from under the table and said, “How do you like my genuine something something Minnesota Moose and Beaver boot.”  I think again I wasn't really listening and can't say for sure but then I some how got drug into a long one sided conversation about her socks that don’t fit, and a missing glove and someone disappearing that can repair Moose and Beaver boots, I think. 

Finally it was time to depart and I was able to extricate myself from this conversation because it was time to leave.  As I was walking out to my bus and on my route it occurred to me that I need a shirt that reads, “Don’t talk to me!  I’m not rude just an introvert.”

Then I thought why are all our social norms and general courtesies based upon extrovert’s preferences?   Why is it considered rude if I don’t respond to a greeting from a stranger?  Why am I considered anti-social if I don’t want to talk to you?  Why would it have been rude to get up and leave while the last bus driver was talking to me?

Then it hit me that most of our social customs are dictated by extroverts, foisted upon us introverts.  Probably because we are pretty good at pretending to greet, listen and acknowledge you while completely ignoring you.

I remember seeing a video of a woman out walking in New York and being spoken to all day long.  Some of the greetings where just hello, good day ect.  Some where inappropriate.  I remember that there were many comments berating the woman for ignoring the pleasant normal social greetings and lots of people complaining about the article complaining that a woman couldn’t walk down the street without being harassed.  I thought about that and I thought to myself why shouldn’t I be able to walk down any street without feeling obligated to engage in any kind of social interaction with people.  Why should anyone feel obligated to respond to a greeting especially one from a stranger?  The reason is because the extroverts have foisted our system of social norms and courtesies upon us.

Now what would be rude is if you greeted me on the street and I told you to get lost or something to that effect.  But to ignore you is to be true to my self.  So extroverts if you are hurt, offended, or just think it’s wrong when someone ignores your greeting, perhaps you need to seek professional help to deal with your low self esteem issues or something.

So if you see me and wave and I don’t wave back and say hi or acknowledge you in some way, it’s not because I don’t like you.  It’s because I was deep in thought contemplating the mysteries of the universe and almost had all the world’s problems solved but your intrusion caused me to loose the answer, or I was trying to remember what my wife told me to pick up at the store.

The Case for Acquaintances on Facebook or Why I only have 89 Facebook friends.

You might not realize it but I’m an introvert.  You might wonder why I’m pastor then if I’m an introvert?  Because I was called and that is a discussion for another day. 

Many people assume that introverts don’t like people.  This is not true.  Introverts just don’t like a large group of people all at once.  We like people but only a few at a time.  After all how many people can you give your attention to at once?  I find more then a couple taxes my concentration skills.  Perhaps some of this has to do with my ADD.  I will let the professionals ponder and research that one.

As an introvert friendship is a highly prized gift.  It is not something given and received on a lark.  Now don’t get me wrong I don’t think you need to be a friend of someone to like that person.  I know lots of people that I like that I don’t really consider a friend.

I can hear your audible gasps of shock and abhorrence at that last statement.  I think the age of Facebook has diluted our understanding of the word friend and even the idea of what a friend is.

This blog was sparked by a friend request that I got recently.  I get them rather frequently.  It’s usually a request from someone I have never heard from before.  This particular person had over 300 Facebook friends.  Most of these types of requests that I receive the person has several 100 “friends.”  I often think, “Seriously you have that many friends?”  I wouldn’t know what to do with that many friends how can a person have any kind of meaningful interaction with that many friends?

Facebook says I have 89 friends but the truth is that correcting for family that number is probably closer to 9 or 10.  Now don’t get me wrong I like all the people that I’m “friends” with but be honest if you are “friends” with me on Facebook it’s highly unlikely that you know my birthday, my wedding anniversary, my first job, my high school.  We’ve probably never done anything socially and probably the only reason that we are friends on Facebook is because of one two reasons.  One you are a Facebook friend collector and send a friend request to ever suggestion that Facebook offers you or two because I happen to be the pastor at FBC.

Now don’t misconstrue what I write here to believe that I dislike you or don’t want to be your friend.  Don’t take offense, let your emotions go for a minute take a deep breath and let the logic kick in and answer this question?  Would you invite me to your birthday party?  Now before you answer know this, if you invite me the only gift you might receive from me is the pleasure of my company.  Knowing that, would you still invite me to your birthday party?

Probably not, and here is a list of 10 reasons why:

One is because you may be a kid in our youth group and that would just be creepy. 

Two you may be a friend of my children’s and have “friend requested” me because of that fact and then it would just be creepy to invite me to your birthday party. 

Three the idea of having a pastor attend your birthday party would really put a damper on your party. 

Four you just “friend requested” me out of politeness and really can’t stand me.  If you "unfriend" me it won't hurt my feelings. 

Five you don’t really know me and so you are unsure of weather or not you would be able to stand me let alone like me. 

Six you don’t really know me and are afraid I would suck all the fun out of your party.  

Seven you don’t know me and are secretly afraid I would purloin all your well deserved attention.  Okay maybe this one is only in my dreams but you never know.

Eight looking at my Facebook page you realize that the only thing we have in common is that we are both homo sapiens .

Nine you are afraid that I might reciprocate and invite you to my birthday party and then you would feel obligated to attend, after I had attended yours, and then we would be involved in this reciprocal friendship that you really didn’t want because the truth is you were just trying to rack up Facebook friends so you could have more friends then your friends have.

Ten we are not really friends but acquaintances. 

This is by no means an unabridged list and feel free to come up with your own reasons for not inviting me to a birthday party or any party.  Oh and for the record I don’t really like parties, because I’m an introvert and I don’t like large crowds not because I don’t like you, but I do like white wedding cake and Minsky’s pizza.

So the next time Facebook suggests a friend, STOP take a breathe and count to ten.  Then think, then answer the following questions and take the appropriate action.

Have you ever met this person in the real world?  No?  Don’t send them a request.  Yes? Read on

How have you met this person?

            It’s my friend’s parents.  You can ask your friend’s parents they like to keep tabs on their children and their children’s friends.

            It’s my boss.  Yes?  Probably no your boss puts up with you because you make him money they don’t want to see your 3000 selfies with you and the dog, cat, hamster or your 300 best buddies.

            It’s a coworker.

                        Do you like said coworker? No? Don’t send them a request. Yes? Send them a    request.

            It’s a classmate.  See coworker above.

            It’s my teacher.  Do you really want your teacher to know that the reason you didn’t get your assignment done is that you were too busy taking selfies with you and the dog?

            It’s a friend of a friend.  But have you ever met this person?

            Do you like this person.  No?  Don’t send them a request.  Yes?  Send them a request.

Do you talk to this person outside of Facebook?  Yes?  Send them a request.  No?  Read on.

            Why do you not talk to this person outside of Facebook?

                        We were really close friends and they moved to Albuquerque. Send them a request pronto.

                        They are mean to me.  Do I really need to tell you not to send them a request?

                        We don’t have any classes together and eat at different lunches and we don’t drive.  Send a  request.

Hopefully this will help you in understanding the difference between an acquaintance and a friend and will stop your excessive friend requests on Facebook.  It might also explain to you why you have sent me a request but I haven’t responded.  I like you, I think you are a nice person but we just aren’t friends you don’t really want to see all my selfies with my aunt Agnes and her poodle and I don’t want to see all your weird face selfies.  And that’s okay this way we don’t have to get each other birthday cards or pay for the extra food the other would eat at our parties.

Oh and one more thing this isn’t some secret way to get invited to more birthday parties or parties in general.  I really truly don’t care for parties one or two a year is plenty I don't think I could handle 89 parties.

Lord, If You Had Been Here

FBC 9-15-13 John 11:17-35 “Lord, If You Had Been Here…”

As many of you are aware our community suffered a terrible tragedy last Tuesday, when Alex Potratz died of injuries he sustained when he lost control of his truck.  For many of us this has been a tragedy that has struck too close to home.  We have children close to Alex’s age, we knew Alex or his parents or even his grandparents and other relatives.  But one overarching thing that we know for sure is that a parent burying their child is wrong.  It’s not the way it’s supposed to be.  The death of a loved one is hard enough when that person has lived a long life, and sometimes it is made easier when the person has suffered for awhile.  When my grandfather died in March of this year that was and still is a difficult memory.  But my grandfather was almost 92 years old, he had lived a rich full life and been able to serve the Lord for many, many years.  While his death was sudden and no less tragic it was not as traumatic as the death of a 17 year-old young man.

When someone dies there are always lots of scriptures that come to mind.  Psalm 23, as Pastor Lundala shared Tuesday night at the candlelight vigil, Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  I Corinthians 15 vs. 12 through the end of the chapter Paul’s elegant description of the resurrection and there are many more.  But in situations such as these, in times when someone so young has died, especially suddenly and under such tragic conditions, I often think of this passage in John.

I didn’t read all of the passage this morning but I want to refresh your memory.  In the first part of chapter 11 we are told several things first that Lazarus is sick, that his sister Mary was the one that poured the perfume on Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair and that Jesus loved Lazarus.  Now Lazarus is sick enough that his sisters send word to Jesus about Lazarus and how sick he is.  But Jesus waits 2 days after he gets the news before he goes to see Lazarus.  When Jesus finally arrives Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days.  I’m not quite sure exactly where Jesus was when he got the news but it does seem clear that Jesus probably couldn’t have arrived before Lazarus died even if He left immediately upon hearing the news.  However, Jesus doesn’t leave immediately, He waits.

Martha greets Jesus first and what are the first words out of Martha’s mouth?  “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.”  This scripture came to mind when I first heard the news of Alex’s tragic death.  It’s words that I have thought myself years ago when a 9 year old girl was abducted in front of her house in the community that Armourdale Baptist, the church that Yolanda and I grew up in, is located.  The vehicle and license plate were immediately known as a neighbor chased the vehicle down for several blocks, unfortunately the perpetrator escaped and Pamela Butler was tragically killed.

Some people are hesitant to view Martha and later Mary’s utterance of the same words as a complaint.  But when they come to my mind they are a complaint.  True they are also an expression of regret and faith in Jesus and God, but they are also a complaint.  I know that many people were praying for Alex, I know from what coach Jazz said at the candlelight vigil and a brief visit with Alex’s aunt before the home coming game Friday, that Alex had made a decision to follow Jesus.  So I know that Alex was a child of God, precious and beloved by Him.  I know that the people praying for him were praying for his recovery.  And so I know that at least for me there is a complaint in those words. “Lord, if You had been there… or my complaint is a slight modification, “Lord, if You had intervened, if You had healed Alex, then he would not have died and we would not be grieving but praising.”  Now before you gasp thinking I’m in danger of being struck down by lightening.  My expression of that complaint just as Martha and Mary’s expression of that complaint does not negate my faith, it doesn’t mean that I don’t believe or somehow no longer believe.  In fact it is exactly the opposite, it is a sign of my deep faith.  Just as it is a sign of Martha and Mary’s deep faith.

If you have a complaint that you want answered, that you want to be rectified, who do you complain too?  You complain to the person who can satisfy your complaint.  There are those who mean well who will say in regards to this tragedy, “God has a plan,” or it’s, “God’s will we just don’t see and understand it.”  They may say something like this to Alex’s family, “God won’t give you more then you can handle.”  And I know that they mean well but sometimes when I hear that I just want to smack them upside the face and say, “God won’t give you more then you can handle.”  And just so you know that saying is a perversion of 1 Corinthians 10:13 which actually reads, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”  So Paul is talking about temptation not talking about the tragedies and hardships that we might face in life.

So Martha and Mary are lodging a complaint with Jesus when they say, “Lord, if you had been here…”  And you notice what is Jesus’ response?  Does He rebuke them?  Does He say, “It’s God’s will, it is for God’s purpose that I delayed”?  No Jesus cries.  Jesus, the Son of God, God in the flesh, the one who has come to save us, who will defeat death once and for all, Jesus the one who will return with the Army of heaven to destroy Satan and put an end to evil once and for all, Jesus the one who knows what He will do, who is going to bring Lazarus back from the dead, in answer to Martha and Mary’s complaint, He weeps.

Jesus empathizes with Martha and Mary, He feels what they feel, He loved and knew Lazarus too, He understands what Lazarus’ death means for Martha and Mary and He enters into their pain fully and completely, experiencing it with them and offering them the comfort of heaven.  All of that He does before He brings Lazarus back to life.

I want you also to consider that Martha has faith in Jesus, she believes even as she complains that God will do whatever Jesus’ asks she also knows that she will see Lazarus again.  However, that knowledge, faith and belief does nothing to stop her feelings, to keep her from expressing her grief and complaint of how things have turned out thus far.

I know that in times like this we want to know why?  Why did God let this happen?  Why didn’t God heal Alex?  Why, why, why, Lord, if you had healed him, Lord, if you hadn’t let him get in an accident, Lord, if, if, if…”  I don’t know why this tragedy occurred, I’m not even sure that when it is all said and done that there is a reason.  That doesn’t mean God isn’t in control, it doesn’t mean that He doesn’t have a plan, what it means is that we are fallen creations, and we live in a fallen world that has refused to accept and follow God’s plan and as a result, painful and terrible things happen still.

This is what I do know.  Alex had a strong Christian faith and because of that his absence from us means his presence with the Lord.  I know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.  I know that God is faithful and compassionate and even now He is pouring His spirit upon and wrapping His love and compassion around those who are mourning the death of Alex.  And I know that in Christ Jesus there is hope, even in death there is hope for Jesus has conquered death.  Jesus died and was raised to life and we have the promise of God Himself that whoever believes in Jesus will not die but have everlasting life and so while we can voice our complaint and grief over the death of Alex, we can be confident knowing that for everyone who believes in Jesus death is not the end but only the dark tunnel we pass through to spend eternity with Jesus.  My prayer and hope is that each of you know Jesus and that you will not grieve for Alex as people who have no hope but simply grieve that it will be a while before you can see Him again.