January 2017

Introduction

We are coming up on the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation, where Christianity had to take a long, hard look at itself and figure out where it needed to get back to the core message of Jesus. We, as Presbyterians, are part of that 500-year-old experiment.

During the Reformation, there were five slogans used to capture how the Reformers differed from the Catholic Church at the time. There were five things they thought needed to be focused on. Five ways the church needed to go back to the basics instead of adding stuff on.

These were the five “sola’s”, which is Latin for “alone.” Today we’re looking at the slogan, “sola scriptura,” or “Scripture Alone!”

Matthew 5:17-18

¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

Hebrews 4:12

¹²Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Who’s Right?

Here’s a quick question for you. What color is the carpet in this sanctuary? What would you call that color? I heard a few say “pink.” But you’re wrong. I say that color is weathered salmon, and there’s nothing you can say to convince me otherwise. Do you know how I know I’m right? Because I have a microphone and you don’t. Case closed.

Is that a good way to settle arguments? Based on who’s loudest? Or who has the better title in front of their name? Maybe we should decide it based on who’s taller. Or my preferred method: feats of strength like rock tossing.

When we have disagreements in the church, how do we settle those? When I say we need to go left to be faithful to Jesus, and you say that we need to go right to be faithful to Jesus, how do we know who’s correct?

Scripture vs Church

Every generation has its theological debates. We have our own. But the debates 500 years ago at the time of the Reformation were a little special, because they weren’t just about content. They were about process. They didn’t just debate their problems, they debated HOW to solve problems. And that still applies 500 years later.

There were two basic sides in this debate. In one corner you had the Catholic Church, which at the time was THE church in Europe. And they said that the Church in general, and the Pope in particular, had the authority to decide what was right.

In the other corner you had the Reformers, who said that you could only discover what was right by studying Scripture.

So you have Scripture Alone versus Scripture AND the Church’s teachings. That may sound like splitting hairs, but after 1500 years, the Church had accumulated some strange teachings that weren’t in the Bible.

The biggest problem, according to the Reformers, was the sale of Indulgences. They were a bit complicated theologically, but in effect they allowed you to buy forgiveness from the Church instead of having to actually change your heart or change your life in any way. If you weren’t good enough to follow Jesus, you could just buy your Christian membership card instead. No sweat.

And they turned out to be great fundraisers. In fact St. Peter’s Basilica was built with the sale of these indulgences across Europe. But that rose the ire of many, including the original Reformer Martin Luther, who wrote, “Why does not the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?” That’s how theologians do smack talk, by the way.

And as Luther considered the injustice of these indulgences, and as he considered the way the church was justifying their sale and use, he decided that the Church couldn’t just make up stuff that wasn’t in the Bible. The Bible ALONE was the source of knowledge about who God is, as revealed in Jesus Christ. Nothing outside of that should be allowed.

Hot Button Theology

Let me bring this into today. Later this year I’m going to lead a class where we discuss hot button theology together. So, for example, when we talk about guns, we’ll see that God is depicted as wielding a sword, that Jesus made his disciples get a few swords before he was betrayed, BUT we also see that at the end of time swords are turned into plows, and when Jesus was betrayed he didn’t want his followers to use those swords.

So when we say Scripture Alone, that means our answer to things like gun ownership, the use of force in self-defence, or is it morally OK to kill while in the military, those answers should be shaped by what the Bible says, not just the family you grew up in, not just your personal experiences, not just your personal opinions. It is very rare for us to actually do this. Usually we find a couple of Bible verses that support our existing opinion and ignore the rest. But that’s not what the Reformers were about.

And our text from Hebrews today, does this sound like the Bible should just confirm whatever you already believe: “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” That doesn’t sound like a rubber stamp to me. That sounds like the Bible is meant to challenge us. It is meant to change our thoughts. It is meant to shape our hearts.

Expectations

So before the Reformation, Christians were expected to attend church regularly, feel guilty, and hopefully buy their way out of a few sins. Pretty easy. But AFTER the Reformation Christians were expected to start reading the Bible for themselves. To start understanding Scripture on their own, not just taking the priest’s word for it. This seems like a downgrade to me. It means I have less authority and you have more work to do. We both lost in this, right?

Well here are two possible challenges for you. As Presbyterians, we believe that we know who God is through Scripture Alone. Nothing else has ultimate authority. The Bible outranks our thoughts, outranks our emotions, outranks our culture, outranks our history, outranks everything else. That’s what Scripture Alone means.

So how well do you know it? If it is the source of truth, if it reveals who God truly is, if it is the way you know God’s will for your life, how often are you reading it on your own? If you are praying for God to give you guidance right now, are you reading what he already told us? If you are debating a major decision, are you checking with the words of the creator of the universe?

It may sound strange, but if you commit to reading what God has already said, I guarantee he will say things to you personally. This is the primary way God reaches into your life. But it takes your time. If you want guidance from God, this is how you get it. If you don’t know what to read, search for a reading plan or devotional online. I use something called the Life Journal reading plan. Or just read the parts near where our sermon is. Or just go through the Gospel of Mark. Start somewhere. Over time, God will speak to you.

Commit to reading the Bible regularly – that’s the first challenge.

But let me pause here and tell you about my experience reading Scripture regularly. I have always had a problem with Bible reading plans: I am a perfectionist. So every time I start a reading plan, I start with gusto, reading every assigned chapter. But then I miss a day or two, and I feel like I have to go back and read what I missed so that every box is checked, every “I” is dotted, every “T” is crossed. And eventually that overwhelmed me every single time, and so I would stop reading at all for a while.

All that changed when I went to the Hawaii Leadership Practicum, and the leader, Wayne Cordeiro, asked me what I was trying to prove with that. He said, “Will Jesus love you more because you read all five chapters instead of just one? Will Jesus love you less because you skipped a day or two?” Of course not! If you miss a few days, you miss a few days. Just skip them. And if you read a few verses and find that you have an insight or a word from God, stop there! You don’t have to keep reading just to keep reading. God already spoke to you! Stop trying to earn God’s love through your commitment to your Bible reading plan.

That’s what I needed to hear. And it has kept me regularly reading Scripture and journaling since 2012. Before that I had never made it more than a few months of journaling. And if you look at my journal entries, there are gaps. There’s a one month gap in there. There’s a two month gap in there. There’s a THREE month gap in there. But I kept coming back. And I didn’t do three months’ worth of reading when I came back, I just picked up on the right day and kept going. If you take up the challenge to read your Bible and reflect on it regularly, don’t try to show Jesus how committed you are. Just take it as it comes. If you skip a day, you skip a day. Just keep coming back. That’s more important to you and to Jesus than checking all the boxes on the reading list.

Challenging Beliefs

If you’re already doing that, here’s another challenge. Take something you care about deeply. Something where you have a strong opinion about what’s right. Maybe that’s about the right way to live. Or something in our society. Or something to do with social justice. Something you care about.

Do you know what the Bible says about that? You may know a few verses that AGREE with you, but are there any other Bible verses that put a different spin on it? How would you even find out what the Bible says about it?

For those who attended my class on Understanding the Bible, they already know what I’m about to say. Because I showed them how to use the most powerful Bible study tool ever invented. A tool that most of you already know how to use. I speak, of course, of Google.

Here’s your challenge. Go to Google and type in “what does the Bible say about …” and put your topic in there. In the first few hits you’re just about guaranteed to get a few articles that give someone else’s opinion, and then you’ll see something from openbible.info. And that site is just a list of all the Bible verses about that topic – no more thoughts than that. It’s a great reference! If you know how to turn on a computer, go to the web browser, and type in “what does the Bible say about …”, then you have no excuse for not knowing what the Bible says about a topic that you care about.

Give it a shot. If you have trouble figuring out what the Bible MEANS when you read what it says, that’s fair enough. That’s where I can help, or a Bible study can help, or talking to respected friends can help. But it only takes a few seconds to find out what the Bible says about a topic. No excuses in the 21^st century.

Summary

Sisters and brothers, we believe that the Bible is THE way that God reveals who he is. If this were the Olympics, the Bible would have the gold, silver, and bronze medals. Every other way of knowing who God is can’t even make the podium.

If you want to hear from God, read what he has already said. Reading the Bible is the primary way that God speaks to us today. If you want guidance, read the Bible. If you want clarity, read the Bible. If you want direction, read the Bible. God will speak. No guarantees on whether you’ll like what you hear, but God will speak. Sometimes it even takes a while, but God will speak.

Are you ready to listen?

Introduction

This week I want to look at something that is very relevant to our church – how should we interact with the least and the lost? When someone in our community is in need, what should we do as a church and what should we do as individuals? When someone who has had a hard life comes to our door, what should we do?

This is relevant now ESPECIALLY because of what we’ve seen since we started the free community dinner. We have been very intentional about making the community dinner focused. It’s designed for the hungry and the lonely in our community – not just for people with no home and no money, it might be someone who barely has a home or they’re in school or they’re barely making ends meet. And it’s designed to communicate value – real plates for real people, not disposable plates for disposable people. And finally it’s designed to be personal – someone is at the table to talk with you.

Notice what I DIDN’T say – evangelism isn’t a part of this free meal. In fact, when Lynda talked with other churches who do this they shared that trying to evangelize will scare everyone off. This meal is about feeding people, helping them feel valued, and providing conversation and relationships.

But after doing that a few times, after we gained a reputation as a safe place to go, guess what happened? Word started spreading. And we have especially seen an uptick in our weekly interactions with the homeless and those who are barely surviving in our community. The least and the lost are coming to our doors more frequently, because we are seen as a place that is safer and kinder than most.

That’s great! But it brings some challenges. When you see a homeless guy out in front of our church, what crosses your mind? Does that make you glad, because we’re making an impact in our community? Or does it make you worried for your own safety? When you hear that we’re helping more people, does that make you glad, or does it make you worried that we’re enabling people or being taken advantage of? How do we help the least and the lost, while also keeping this a safe and effective place for worship and the ministries we do for you, the congregation? I think these are questions worth considering together.

I wanted to pair something from the Old Testament with our New Testament reading we just heard, so here is what God told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 15.

Deuteronomy 15:7-11

⁷If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. ⁸You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be. ⁹Be careful that you do not entertain a mean thought, thinking, “The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,” and therefore view your needy neighbor with hostility and give nothing; your neighbor might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.¹⁰Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. ¹¹Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”

Am I Supposed to Help?

Pop quiz – what was the main point of last week’s sermon? Don’t panic if you can’t remember, no one else remembers either. That’s the pastor’s life for you. By the way, it was an encouragement to “persevere” as you walk down the road you’ve chosen or the road you’re forced to walk down.

Given how quickly sermons fade from memory, I am usually quite enthused to hear when someone puts a sermon into practice. But one time I was a wee bit concerned, actually. It was in my previous church, and a woman told me that a sermon I gave on interacting with the homeless people around us had stuck with her. And she had passed by a homeless man on the road who was walking somewhere. And she said, “I didn’t want to, but your sermon made me pull over and offer him a ride.”

Now part of me was very proud of her to take such a step in her faith. But another part of me was concerned, because it’s probably not a good idea to ALWAYS pull over and offer someone a ride. That could be dangerous. Especially if you’re next to one of those signs that says, “Prison – Do not pick up hitchhikers.” And that got me thinking – how do we exercise both wisdom AND compassion?

I mean, Jesus says in Matthew 5, “Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.” Does that mean that I need to have cash ready for everyone who’s begging at a street corner? If someone comes in from the community and they need three month’s rent to stay in their house, do I need to find a way to pay for that?

In other words, “when am I supposed to help?” Isn’t that really the question at the core of this? “When am I supposed to help?” Do you want to know how to answer that?

Let me tell you how I discovered the answer to that question in my life.

It was many years ago, and I think it was like a Good Friday service or something pretty somber like that. And during a time of silence a guy from the street came into the church, stumbled toward the front. A voice inside told me, “Go to him.” But I stayed in my pew. The man collapsed on the front steps, and stretched his arms out toward the cross, and again the voice said, “Go to him.” But I stayed in my pew. He broke down weeping at the front of the church, and I again felt the direction to go to him. But I stayed in my pew. Finally, someone else got up and went to him, and several people surrounded him with prayer. God found a way to help without me. But I was supposed to help. And I didn’t. That still haunts me.

But that’s when I decided that there’s an easy answer to the question, “should I help?” The answer comes in the form of another question: “has the Holy Spirit told you to help?” At that Good Friday worship service, there were several hundred people. If everyone wanted to help, it would have been impossible. But there were SOME people there who were supposed to help. And luckily some of them listened better than I did.

When I pass by someone begging on the street, I direct the question to God: “should I help?” Sometimes I get a “yes” back, and sometimes I get a “no” back. Now here’s a pro tip: if you always think you get a “no” as your answer, you might not really be hearing from God.

So if you’re wondering if you should help, ask God to tell you. Sometimes he wants you to help this particular person and sometimes he has other people lined up to do it. Ask the Holy Spirit to tell you.

How Should I Help?

So let’s suppose you get a “YES” back from God. You’re supposed to help this person this time. The next question is, “how should I help?”

I mean, Jesus says to give to those who ask, but he doesn’t say you have to give exactly what they’re asking for. Can you give food instead of money? Can you give conversation and a little time? Is there a way to help that you’re comfortable with, even if it’s not exactly what they’re asking for? If you don’t want to give money, can you have power bars in your car? If you don’t want to help one-on-one, can you give to a ministry or an organization that helps?

And here’s the interesting thing, I asked three of the people we see pretty regularly what they would want us to know about helping them. And they had three different answers. One said he wanted to be treated like a person more than anything else. Conversation, respect, kindness, honesty – that’s more valuable than anything else. But another one said that he didn’t want to talk until he knew that he was being taken care of – he’s a little more transactional. And the third was totally different – he said he wanted to know WHY we’re helping – our beliefs, our faith.

So the answer to “how should I help” I think depends on the person. And that, of course, requires getting to know the person a little bit. That doesn’t really apply to a one-time gift on a street corner, but it sure does here at the church.

What About My Safety, or My Family, or My Church?

I think there is one final question to ask. “What about me?”

If it’s getting dark, and you’re coming to a meeting at the church, and you’re the first to arrive, and you see someone pacing by the front door of the church, you might be wondering if it’s safe for you to get out of your car.

Or looking at it from another angle, if you hear that we’re providing food for the hungry and we help someone out who needs gas because they sleep in their car and use it for heat, maybe you’re thinking that you have problems, too. Why are we helping them and not you? Why are we helping them and not your friend in the other pew who can’t pay the rent this month?

Jesus talks about this, too. He says other people will know we are his disciples if we have love for one another. When the early church started, they gave to take care of any needs in their church. The early churches had dedicated people to help take care of those needs, and they called them deacons. And we have the same thing. Our Deacons exist to help the member who can’t pay their rent, or the regular attender who is running out of food, or the person who is sick in the hospital or alone at home. That’s what they do. So when we help someone from the community, we aren’t taking anything away from what we do to help those inside our church.

Now I will admit that safety is a valid concern. You need to feel safe coming into the building. We’re trying to walk a fine line in being welcoming to the community AND a safe place for people of all ages and experiences. We have elementary school kids coming here, we have women who have experienced abuse coming here, we have widows who are coming here alone, we have to take that into account. But I don’t believe Jesus would turn someone away for that reason alone. How can we do both? How can we be a safe place for wounded people AND a welcoming place for people in need? I don’t have a quick answer to that, but that’s what I’m shooting for.

Summary

Sisters and brothers, we heard in our two texts today – in both Old and New Testaments – that God wants us to help the hungry, the thirsty, the lonely, the sick, the prisoners. But God also wants us to help the other people in these pews. We cannot say “no” every time. Part of being Christian is saying “yes” to helping.

If you’re wondering, “am I supposed to help,” ask the Holy Spirit to tell you. But if you get a “no” back every time, you’re probably asking yourself rather than the Holy Spirit. God says “yes” pretty frequently.

If you’re wondering, “how should I help,” try to find something you’re comfortable with AND that meets the other person’s needs. If it’s one of the people we see repeatedly around here, try to get to know them.

Finally, if you’re wondering, “what about me,” or “what about my friend sitting next to me,” remember that we are trying to be a place for safe and effective ministry AND a place that welcomes the hungry and the lonely. We are trying to help you, the friend sitting next to you, AND the person from our community who has nowhere else to go.

We are GOING to see more and more people from our community. And some of them aren’t going to be clean-cut. Some of them aren’t going to be well-groomed. Some of them aren’t even going to have homes. I think that means we’re following in Jesus’ footsteps. But it also brings a few challenges. I hope you are on board. I hope your heart and your mind are willing to engage. Because we can’t do this without you.

Introduction

Well we’re closing the door on the Christmas season today. Today we’re looking at two different texts. We just heard about Jesus’ baptism, which really marked the beginning of his ministry. And our other text today is the last part of the story of Jesus’ birth – the coming of the wise men from the East.

Matthew 2:1-12

¹In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ²asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” ³When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ⁶‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” ⁷Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”

⁹When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

It Takes Time

Here’s a trivia question for you. You might know the answer. When did the United States become an independent country? Any guesses?

Well it turns out, that’s a difficult question to answer. Perhaps you like July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence. That’s fine, but the Revolutionary War didn’t see its last battle until the Siege of Yorktown on September 28, 1781. But then there’s the Treaty of Paris, in which Britain formally recognized our independence. That was signed on September 3, 1783. But, of course, it wasn’t ratified until January 14, 1784.  A simple question, but one with four different answers spanning seven years.

Here’s another way to look at that. July 4, 1776 – that’s when it was DECIDED to seek independence from Britain. And it took five more years of war and then two extra years of diplomacy to get there.

Similarly, the wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking about the birth of the new king. But notice that the text doesn’t call Jesus a baby. He was a baby in the last chapter talking about his birth. Now he’s a child. He’s a toddler, not a baby. The wise men saw the star when Jesus was born. That’s when they DECIDED to visit this new king. It just took two years to get there. And then they had to ask for directions. And then they still had to find the family. Not exactly instant feedback.

And then, they’re not even done after they delivered the gifts. Our text says they were warned in a dream to avoid Herod, so they had to find a new way home. That means it took them about four years from DECISION to COMPLETION of their task.

It reminds me of a story that Donald Miller told in his book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. He decided to paddle across a large lake up in the Northwest, and he was excited as he set out on this adventure. He felt like he was making good time as he paddled away from the shore. Every stroke took him noticeably further from his starting point. But as he reached the middle of the large lake, he started wondering if he was still making any progress. He kept paddling, but he couldn’t see the shore behind him, and he couldn’t see the sands of his destination, either. He seemed to just be paddling without going anywhere. But he persisted. And eventually, the distant shore came into view. It started growing larger. And every stroke took him visibly closer to his goal. His journey was exciting in the beginning because he could see how far he had come. It was exciting at the end as he could see the finish line. But in the middle? It was depressing, anxious, deflating, defeating.

Have you ever had to face a long journey? A difficult path between DECISION and COMPLETION? Fought a long-term illness? Tried to change the dynamics of your marriage? Tried to work your way up the career ladder?

Perseverance

All of these things share one thing in common – they require perseverance. It took perseverance for the wise men to travel two years each direction to give gifts to a foreign king. It took perseverance for the Founding Fathers to win independence from Britain. It took perseverance to paddle across the large lake. Where do you need perseverance?

Many years ago I helped start a church in Austin, and we had small groups that met every week. And the pastor and I tried to have something tangible and impactful each week in the small groups. We wanted people to make the tough decision to let Jesus be lord of every part of their life. But one of the guys in my group complained to me – not because it was too challenging, not because he resisted the commitments required. He complained because he wanted to do ALL of it. He complained that he couldn’t make major life transformations every single week. Some of those changes took time. He needed to focus on one thing until he had it down pat, not make a new major decision every week. He needed time and space to persevere, not a new thing to change and distract him from the decision a week before.

And so this Sunday I’m not going to try to give you some new insight. I’m not going to try to convince you to make a new decision in your life or your faith. I’m just asking – where do you need perseverance? What decision have you made, but you haven’t reached completion yet? Where have you signed the Declaration but still need to fight the war or sign the Treaty? Where do you need conviction rather than convincing?

Maybe that’s a task – like the wise men traveling across the desert. Maybe that’s hope in the midst of despair – sometimes hope is a choice more than a feeling. Maybe that’s keeping a new attitude. Where do you need perseverance? Where do you need the courage to keep walking down the road you already chose to walk down? Or even the road you’re forced to walk down?

Baptism

Maybe it’s worth recognizing that we’re eight days into the New Year, and many of you probably made a resolution just a short while ago. Of course, many of you have already abandoned those same resolutions already. According to a recent survey, only 9% of people actually achieve their New Year’s Resolution each year. If you need perseverance because you haven’t had it so far, well I don’t know if you’re in good company but you’re in a lot of company at least.

But I find two things comforting. First, although only 9% of people achieve their resolutions, the act of explicitly writing down your goal and what you’re going to do about it makes you ten times more likely to do it than if you don’t write it down explicitly. Making A DECISION is better than making NO DECISION.

And the other thing that’s comforting to me is the first text we ready today – the baptism of Jesus.  Because Jesus had made some important decisions. He decided to come down, be born, and live with us. He had been preparing for his public ministry for thirty years. And then he decided to be baptized. That moment marked the beginning of a three-year journey that would culminate in the cross. And knowing where this was all heading, I find it comforting that Jesus needed the reinforcement from the Spirit descending like a dove and the voice from heaven, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

I find that comforting, because it means that when I’m feeling hopeless in the middle of the lake, when I’m feeling like I need a pick-me-up to keep going, when I’m feeling like I need a little reinforcement that I’m on the right road, well that’s what Jesus needed from the Spirit and from the Father at his baptism. If you’ve been walking a tough road and you’re feeling down and wondering if you’re doing the right thing, there’s nothing wrong with you – we’re all like that when we’re on a long journey. If you’re feeling a little defeated but you still think you need to persevere, pray to God for that confirmation, that reinforcement.

What would that look like? How could God show you in some small way that he’s with you and you’re on the right path? How could God show you that you are, in fact, on the wrong path? What would that prayer be for you?

Summary

Sisters and brothers, sometimes we don’t need new information or fresh insight. Sometimes we just need perseverance to walk the road we’re already traveling. Sometimes we just need the courage to stick with what we’ve already decided, or to endure what we’re forced to face. If you’re feeling like the wind is out of your sails, if you’re feeling like you need a little reinforcement from God, remember that Jesus needed that at his baptism, too. And the wise men, walking for two years across the desert, they needed the guidance of that star.

My prayer for all of us is that we have the strength and courage to endure. To persevere. Even in the middle of the desert. Even in the middle of the lake. Keep walking the road. Keep paddling toward the distant shore. For you are God’s son or daughter, you are beloved, and with you God is well pleased. Amen.