On Troubled Hearts

On Troubled Hearts

One of the most famous interactions that Jesus had with His disciples was on the last night that He was alive on earth prior to the crucifixion. The setting is in the Upper Room, where Jesus gives his “farewell address”  at his last supper with his disciples. He has

• washed his disciples’ feet and has explained to them what this means (13:1-20). 

• said that Judas would betray Him and Judas has slipped out into the night (13:21-30).

• told his disciples that he will be with them only a little while longer, and that where he is going, they cannot come (13:33).

• predicted Peter’s imminent denial (13:36-38).

So I understand why the disciples are “troubled” (which I think is a massive understatement–I think they were coming unglued). Jesus is leaving, Judas is off to the Jewish authorities to rat out their location and their spokesperson is going to bail. So Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me” (14:1). He calls them back to their relationship and assures that He is not abandoning them.As He speaks of His ascension to the Father, Jesus assures his disciples that this is also their destination.  But His illustration is fascinating to me. 

WARNING: SANCTIFIED IMAGINATION

Jesus says there are many rooms in his Father’s house, and He goes to prepare a place for them, so that they will be with him and dwell with him in his intimate relationship with the Father (14:2-3). Multiple sources describe the custom among first century Jews of the bride joining the groom’s family. Literally, not just symbolically. They would move in.

After the proposal (or rather the brokering of the betrothal) the groom begins to prepare a bridal chamber. He is building an addition–a room–on his father’s house. This process traditionally took a year or more (the length of time being dictated by the groom’s father). When the place was complete, the groom would return and fetch his bride. The bride would not know the day or hour of her fiancee’s return–it depended on the father’s timing–but the groom’s arrival was usually announced with a trumpet call and a shout so the bride had some forewarning. She would then proceed–some legends say that the groom’s attendants would carry her on her bed through the village to the house of the groom’s father where the wedding would take place. The wedding itself (mostly family in attendance) transitioned to the wedding feast (attended by much larger numbers) which could a night, a week or more. The transition was marked by the bride and the groom entering into the room that the groom had built to consummate their marriage.

The biblical references are amazing to me. The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25) seems to reference the groom going to get the bride per the custom. D.A. Carson in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary describes the setting this way: “Normally the bridegroom with some close friends left his home to go to the bride’s home, where there were various ceremonies, followed by a procession through the streets – after nightfall – to his home. The ten virgins may be bridesmaids who have been assisting the bride; and they expect to meet the groom as he comes from the bride’s house…Everyone in the procession was expected to carry his or her own torch (a stick with a rag or an oil lamp). Those without a torch would be assumed to be party crashers or even brigands. The festivities, which might last several days, would formally get under way at the groom’s house.”

Jesus changed water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana (John 2) so the celebration is both endorsed and facilitated with miracle. But the most impacting comparison to me is that Jesus is the groom, the bride is the church.  He will one day come back for His bride (1 Thess 4:16) with a shout and a trumpet. In the meantime, He prepared a place for us through His death on the cross. 

That is why the disciples didn’t have to be troubled. That is why death does not send us into irretrievable despair. He has prepared a room for His bride. He will return to show us the way (which confuses a literal Thomas in 14:4). He wants directions, a map, a GPS turn-by-turn direction. Jesus responds by saying that he himself is the way: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (14:6).

This statement by Jesus is a promise, a word of comfort to his disciples. Jesus himself is all they need; there is no need to panic, no need to search desperately for a secret map. Jesus adds, “If you know me, you will know my Father also” (14:7a). The conditional phrase in Greek is a condition of fact, meaning that the condition is understood to be true: “If you know me (and you do), you will know my father also.” So that there can be no misunderstanding, Jesus adds, “From now on, you do know him and have seen him” (14:7b). 

In anxiety, despair, death, confusion or doubt, the relationship with Jesus is what centers our future. 

 On Sheep Without a Shepherd (reflections during a summer sabbatical)

And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” 1 Kings 22:17

So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; Ezekiel 34:5

For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. Zechariah 10:2

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36

When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. Mark 6:34

I have thought and prayed a lot about leadership. We had a series on Jesus as our shepherd, building on David's Psalm 23. (Hence the cartoon from Gary Larson). 

My church is in the process of seeking the leader who will shepherd the church following my retirement. My Bible reading plan has taken me through the Kings and the prophets who followed David and Solomon, but who preceded the Exile.  The well-known pattern of “good king/bad king” in the Southern Kingdom of Judah and the pattern of all bad kings in the Northern Kingdom of Israel is a referendum and judgment on poor leadership–defined by refusing to rely exclusively on God for making decisions.  One of the most poignant and prophetic statements in the book of Joshua is when God tells him to “be strong and courageous” by following God closely and faithfully (“do not turn to the right or to the left”). Then God adds the promise that He will always be with this leader of a nation. Only 200 years from the time when King David, the people were leaderless (1 Kings 22). And it would only get worse.

The honesty of the biblical record continues to astound me. Hosea’s prophecy summarized the poor leadership of the men who were supposed to be shepherds. By the time of his prophecy, the people had intellectual but not personal knowledge of God. They broke all of the 10 commandments, lacked faithfulness and love, worshiped false gods, and put their trust for the future of their nation into alliances with earthly powers. Hosea said, “they lived many days without king or prince” (3:4) – without any leader who would lead them back to God. Most of the prophets had a particularly harsh word for leaders and even other prophets who speak their own ideas, abuse their power and allow injustice. Micah said that the sun would set on such leaders (3:6). God has shown us what He requires in leadership–to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God (6:8).  

Only Hezekiah and Josiah led the people away from the worship of false gods and that is the point of my musings.  Hezekiah led Judah to numerous reforms. The historian spends 3 chapters (2 Chronicles 29-31 telling of the aggressive actions Hezekiah took to turn the nation back to Yahweh. Josiah was Hezekiah’s great grandson and 2 Chronicles 34-35 describes his aggressive reforms. Hezekiah and Josiah were not infallible. Both had pride issues, but by and large, they led Judah back to God.

The remarkable thing to me is what happened between these two kings.  If a generation is about 20 years, the reforms of Josiah are less than a century after the reforms of Hezekiah.  It seems incredible how fast the nation becomes corrupt.  Josiah’s actions included rediscovering God’s Word, smashing the altars and idols to pagan gods, getting rid of anything in the temple that didn’t honor Yahweh, eliminating prostitution in the temple, and even destroyed altars that the people had built to sacrifice their own children by fire.  When leaders drift away from brokenness, dependence, humility, and attention to God’s word, the people follow. And it can happen in an instant. 

And it can happen today.  As I write this (Summer 2024), our nation is in an election year, with an apparent choice between two very flawed leaders. Almost every day, another report comes of a pastor or religious leader who has committed some immoral act. Like Josiah having to reckon with a shortage of priests (2 Chronicles 29:34), we have a shortage of pastors. Barna research found that well over half of pastors are questioning their call to ministry. When we pastors/leaders turn our heads to the right or to the left from following our Good Shepherd, we become poor shepherds to people. Disappointment, disillusionment, church hurt, and even abuse follow and the people who follow us abandon their faith.  Sadly, many leave not because they feel like God let them down, but because a human has failed spiritually.  

In the New Testament, Jesus looks to the eternal application.  He is fond of the relationship between sheep and shepherds (John 10) as a way of describing the dependence on the shepherd by the sheep. He is the Good Shepherd, the ultimate leader, motivated by compassion (Matthew 9:36). The Good Shepherd is our leader and our teacher (Mark 6:34). Paul understood it when he confidently said to the church “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). 

I am flawed.  I look back on the 66 and a half years of my life and see the many times I have turned to the right or to the left. Gratefully, the honest of the Bible also tells of the failings of even a man as great as King David.  I have been given a privilege of leadership. But I renew my awareness that all of my strength and courage and wisdom and understanding and discernment comes from following closely behind the Good Shepherd.

On Dolphins and Reassurance

 

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 

                1 Timothy 6:17-18

It's been awhile since I visited my blog and much has happened. As I write, it is May of 2024 and the past 12 months have been eventful. I have had a few of what I call "spirit disrupters," those events or relationships that make you go to God and say, "what is going on right now?" 

I intended to retire in 2023, but I postponed retirement in order to guide my church through the changes in the Southern Baptist Convention that may result in DBC (and me as well) not being Southern Baptist. Spirit disrupter.  In July of 2023, I needed an ablation to return my afibbing heart back to rhythm. Spirit disrupter.  In August of 2023, my son Aaron died tragically from a drug overdose. Major spirit disrupter. In May of 2024, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Spirit disrupter.  

I may write on some of those things as retirement (eventually) will give me more time to reflect. This morning, however, God spoke to my disrupted spirit. Again. Like he did four and a half decades ago.  Through a dolphin.

In summer 1980, I was the youth minister at the Rowland Hills Baptist Church in Georgia. I was at camp with my youth group at St. Simons Island.  I was freshly graduated from college with a business degree that I expected would allow me to travel the world, make lots of money, and volunteer my leftover time to God and His church. 

God had thrown a wrench into my plans in that I didn't have any peace with anything but ministry. I had been a little frustrated in my job search -- no "real" offers had come my way. I was a 22 year old part-time youth minister and somehow a group of parents had entrusted me to drive a school bus with their kids down to the Atlantic coast. One morning, I was having a quiet time with my spirit completely disrupted. I knew what I wanted to do and I was beginning to realize what I was called to do. In my perception, one (business) involved prosperity and the other (ministry) involved poverty. 

I was reading in 1 Timothy 6 and I came across these two verses: 

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 

                1 Timothy 6:17-18

About the time I finished reading them, I looked up and saw a bottlenose dolphin roll over in the marsh. It was a simple thing, but a confirmation that God had riches I knew nothing about. Nobody else saw the dolphin.  No cell phone existed to capture the picture. It was just for me to enjoy. God provides things for our enjoyment, sometimes to remind us of His greatness, His playfulness, His intimate understanding of who we are. It confirmed my calling to ministry.

Flash forward to 2024. I am again on the Atlantic coast, this time to officiate a wedding in Fernandina Beach, Florida. A family in our church has allowed me to stay in their home and the back of the house is on the marsh. I walked out this morning for some prayer time and to again give all my spirit disrupters to God. I glanced up and guess what? A bottlenose dolphin rolling over in the marsh. Nobody to see it but me. Unusual in such shallow water. But there for me to richly enjoy. There to confirm that I am still called to ministry and despite a really hard year, God still guards my heart.

Thank you Father for using a dolphin to again remind me that You've got this.