When It Seems So Dark, And Hard To See God – The Moon Is Always Round

I’m writing in the fourth week of Michigan’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” directives in the COVID-19 pandemic.  There have been some deaths in our congregation and I can’t sit with the family.  There is COVID in an area care facility, and I can only speak with my congregation members by phone.  Nationally, this afternoon there were over 860,000 cases and more than 46,350 deaths.  I can hardly imagine what this virus will do among the poor in Third World nations.

The night seems so dark, and it seems so hard to see God.  But the moon is always round.

I’m reminded of a powerful children’s book by that title.  It is the true story of a dad helping his two-year-old son (and himself, and me) understand the stillborn death of his expected sister. 

“When I waited at the hospital to meet my little sister .  .  .  and we left without her, I asked, ‘Why, Daddy?’  And he replied, ‘I don’t know why.  But the moon is always round.”

 The situation is different for me right now, but the message is just as timely, and just as powerful.

My thanks to publisher New Growth Press and for the Gibson family for letting us into their lives during this COVID time to let Ben – now old enough to read – read the book for us, and let us look over his shoulder at the illustrations.  CLICK HERE to do that, or click on the image above.  

I first stumbled on this story by way of this video: Dad Jonny Gibson – also a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary I Philadelphia – gives the backstory on their family’s circumstances.  CLICK HERE for that story. 

And to get a mother's perspective, I recommend Jackie Gibson's post Why We Need a Children's Book on Death by CLICKING HERE.

The book is available in the Harderwyk Church Library when we are all able to get back together.  Thank you Deb Whitbeck for having this great book available to all of us for check out.  CLICK HERE to reserve it.

Finally, you can order this book for yourself. It is worth having, for yourself, for neighbors for family.  It’s a book with profound theological substance presented in an understandable and unforgettable manner.  Here are three different sources:

• New Growth Press - CLICK HERE
• Amazon - CLICK HERE
• Westminster Theological Seminary Bookstore - CLICK HERE

"Loving Your Neighbor" From Six Feet Away

I’ve said clearly and will continue to say: “It is NOT fear of disease that motivates our social distancing and not gathering for worship on Sunday mornings.  It is love of our neighbor that keeps us apart.”  (CLICK HERE and begin at 9:30 to hear this in our "Celebration Easter Sunrise Service")  Let me explain further:

• The practice of maintaining a safe distance is presently the best-known way to slow the spread of this virus, maintain the health of all and protect vulnerable populations.  By not gathering – for church and otherwise – we are practicing the best medical response that we currently have for keeping people well and alive.  That is what loving your neighbor looks like in this circumstance.
• Fear – whether of death or disease or otherwise - is never a Gospel motivation for our response to the challenges of life.  Meditate on I John 4:18 if you find yourself facing fear as a motivation in your life.  There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 
• Wise Choices – Those with known risks – age, chronic respiratory conditions, diabetes, etc. – act wisely when they take even further precautions to avoid infection.  That is stewardship of life, and again need not be motivated by fear.  The Book of Proverbs is filled with this sort of "wisdom-for-living."  Those with lower risk factors are in a position to serve and support those with higher risks.  That is wisdom and gospel expressed in our current situation.
• Good News!  Unlike many other religions and worldviews, Christians are not tied to a building, a style, a time or the like when it comes to worshipping God. (John 4:23-24) What matters for this is the work of the Holy Spirit – Who gathers two or three (Matthew 18:20), Who inspires the Written Word (II Timothy 3:16) and Who meets us in the sacrament (Matthew 26:26).  I was particularly struck this Easter that as we at Harderwyk were dispersed and separate in gatherings of worship, there were many, many other fellow believers around the world who were just as dispersed and separate for different reasons – Pastor Wang Yi imprisoned in China, believers in secret in Iran, senior saints in our own community who are bed-ridden or otherwise incapacitated, to name just a few.  I will be the first one back in the building when we can once again gather and lift our voices to God.  But reopening the building does not mean the church has not been meeting.
• Added April 23 - 7 Ways To Love Thy Neighbor In A Pandemic - I came across this helpful listing of other potential ways to think about Loving Our Neighbors in this time.  Let it stimulate your thinking and prayers.  CLICK HERE

I get a bit miffed when the 3% of churches and pastors who are rejecting precautions and gathering get higher profile than the 97% who are taking the precautions.  More often than not, these people represent something other than Gospel-centered, historic Christian faith.

• Several of these jokers are not Christians in any historical meaning of the faith.  Over the years, I’ve actually had contact with some of them or their movement.
• One is Rodney Howard-Browne (Pastor of The River at Tampa Bay Church – CLICK HERE) with whom I had experience while pastoring in Mt Pleasant, MI in the ‘90’s.  He was a scoundrel then, and I see he continues in that behavior.  If you are interested, when we can get out, let’s get a cup of coffee and I’ll share my recollections!
• Tony Spell and his Life Tabernacle Church outside of Baton Rouge, LA is connected to a regional movement that departed from the historic Christian faith in 1916.  They reject core Christian beliefs like the Trinity and salvation by grace.  The movement has an ongoing history of political power play in rural Louisiana.  This church fits the dictionary definition of a “cult,” not a Christian Church.  News media refer to Life Tabernacle as a megachurch, but that refers only to the number of seats filled on Sunday, not the substance of their beliefs and motivations.  There are so many stories here, it will take a lunch if you want to hear them.
• Note the focus on “our rights” that marks the conversations of pastors that continue to lead their churches to meet.  This is a political statement, not a faith statement.  Unless of course, their faith is ultimately in their political stance.  I am willing to cooperate with local, state and federal government directives regarding public health.  But the final motivation for our not gathering on Sunday is not government directing my life, it is Jesus calling me to love my neighbor.  My support for duly-placed authorities as Paul writes about (Romans 13) is based on respect for God’s final sovereignty and love of neighbor for the common good, not surrender to any demand of any human government.  There is room to respectfully disagree with various policies and directives in pursuit of the common good, but the principle for the believer is the same:  Jesus is Lord, and He empowers me to lay down my life for the needs of others.
• And then there are the ones who say that their “faith” will keep them safe from the virus.  This is using faith as a “means” to get a particular outcome. ie. “My faith is strong/true/good enough for me to get good health in exchange.”  This is faith in (my!) faith, and not faith in Jesus.  CLICK HERE for a sad and ironic story of what this leads to.

I'll say it again:

“It is NOT fear of disease that motivates our social distancing and not gathering for worship on Sunday mornings.  It is love of our neighbor that keeps us apart.” 

Mary Magdalene, John Prine and the Surprise of the Empty Tomb

In my "Easter Sunday COVID Homily" I look at John 20:1-2 and try to point out that no one – despite all that Jesus had said while He was with them – expected that Jesus would actually rise from the dead on the third day.  Mary Magdalene showed up at the tomb to do her work, not because of any hope that Jesus would be raised to life as He had said.  “The Hurt of Her Circumstances Overshadowed even the Hope of God’s Promise Until She Saw the Risen Jesus and heard Him call her name.”  That kind of abandonment is so painfully real that it hurts us to look at it.  And impacts us in a similar way when it is our own pain.

I was a student intern with the NC Prison system in 1974 mostly processing papers for vets who had come back from Viet Nam with a heroin addiction, committed a crime and were jailed.  I had heard John Prine’s song Sam Stone, but was suddenly seeing it in the eyes of vets sitting across the table from me.  “With a purple heart and a monkey on his back .  .  .  . There’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes.  Jesus Christ died for nothing I suppose.  .  .  .”  If  you don’t know the song, you may want to give a listen, but be warned, in typical John Prine fashion, it is a hard reality - https://youtu.be/Sl9ZkYViEIs 

John Prine captured - and those vets lived - the same hopeless abandonment that clouded Mary’s heart and mind when she saw Jesus and thought He was the Gardner.  (John 20:15)  I’m really praying that the Holy Spirit would move on hearts and minds in everything we do this week at Harderwyk.  From Thursday's Maundy Thursday Online Service on through to our online Easter morning offerings, I am praying that the Spirit would awaken people to hear their name spoken by the Risen Jesus, just like Mary did that first Easter morning.  

It has been a Holy Week like no other in my experience.  During the time, I am thankful to be a part of all the effort, gifting and prayer that has gone in for these next few days by those I share ministry with.

I’ll be missing John Prine who passed away from complications with COVID-19 this week as well – and praying that he too came to hear Jesus call his name and to realize that Jesus did, in fact, die for something and that He is risen.

The Tomb is Empty!  He is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!!!

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CLICK HERE to hear my homily as part of our Easter Sunday Worship for Easter 2020.

CLICK HERE to hear a more in-depth (You understand that "in-depth" is how preachers say "longer!") presentation as part of our "Celebration Easter Sunrise Service," a special video done by Harderwyk's Celebration team.  It's a more classic or traditional setting for Easter with organ, brass, hymns and sermon like we do each week in "Celebration,"  the particular worshipping community that I serve at Harderwyk.  The sermon starts at about 24:30.

Thank You Dr. King - Reflections on his "Letter From a Birmingham Jail"

I’d like to encourage you to invest 30-45 minutes and read for yourself, an annotated version of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter From A Birmingham Jail.”  CLICK HERE to do that on the recent posting on TheGospelCoalition.org site by Justin Taylor that includes Dr King’s text with brief annotations for historical context and the letter that Dr. King is himself responding to. Reading it is well worth the time and a good habit to go “right to the source” on important matters of cultural conversation. 

A few years ago, after I referred to Dr. King in a sermon and read a long quote from one of his sermons in my own, three African American students in our congregation – two in high school and one in college - engaged me after the service.  They were surprised that Dr. King was a pastor.  “Wasn’t he an ‘activist?’” they asked.  Well, yes and no.  Dr. King was certainly an activist.  But he was first a Christian pastor.  He was recognized, trained and ordained in his Baptist tradition.  He preached sermons several times a week.  He baptized, performed weddings, buried, counseled and led a community of Christ-followers.  He was a “jr.” because his own father – a pastor himself – was so taken by that other Martin Luther that he legally changed his own name from Michael to Martin Luther, and passed it on to his son.

I was in third grade when Dr. King wrote the letter, but recall reading it in high school, college and several times since, including once again this week.  It continues to guide, inspire and amaze me.  Some brief reflections – but don’t let these replace you reading it for yourself.

It strikes me as a deeply Christian statement.

Discerning between “just” and “unjust” laws, and then how to respond to injustice are all based on the Scriptures that show me the Gospel of God’s grace.  His love for those who have opposed him and those who have disappointed him, is clear and reflects the love shown to all by Jesus.

For example, here are two paragraphs from Dr. King's "Letter"

"One may ask: 'How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?' The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that 'an unjust law is no law at all.'"

"A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of Harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law." (These paragraphs were added to my original post on January 12, 2023)

I hear the rhythms and passion of the African-American church.

I am thankful again to have been welcomed and loved across the years of my own ministry by brothers and sisters from Holllygrove, New Orleans to Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Alexandria, LA.  I see the breadth, depth, height and width of the Savior’s love more clearly because you have shown it to me.  Thank you.

I am amazed at the breadth of historical, literary and theological allusions.

You will hear more references to Socrates, St Augustine, the Declaration of Independence, Reinhold Niebuhr and others in this one letter than in an entire week on any 24-hour news channel.  Don’t waste 168 hours counting, just read Dr King’s letter a second time.

When was the last time we heard/spoke political discourse like this?

The letter was written 57 years ago.  My how things have changed.

I’m aware of Dr. King’s moral failings

But more than able to see and separate those from the gold nuggets of his aspirations and vision.  Without minimizing his failings, I will also not lose his contributions in other areas.  Like him, I’m a sinner pointing my people to a Risen Savior.

Andrew Brunson - Looking Back On His Experience In A Turkish Jail

I’m not one to consider the minor discomforts and disrespects of my life as a believer in the United States as persecution.  But around the world, there are some very different stories for my fellow Christ-followers.

One story that has been close to home for me – and for the people of Celebration – has been that of Andrew Brunson.  Andrew is affiliated with the same denomination as I am – the Evangelical Presbyterian Church – and connected to Christ Community Church in Montreat, NC where my wife and I worshiped for several years and continue to have close friends.

Andrew and his wife Norine were arrested in 2016 when they applied for permanent visas in Turkey, where they had lived and ministered for 23 days.  Turkish authorities released Norine after 13 days, but Andrew remained in prison for a harrowing two years.

Let me use this post to update people on their status:

How Norine Brunson Prayed When Her Husband Was Imprisoned – CLICK HERE

A recently published interview with Norine where she describes the spiritual habits that helped her navigate the imprisonment as a wife, mother and believer.

Andrew Brunson Speaks to the EPC General Assembly – CLICK HERE

This is a stirring presentation by Andrew at our General Assembly in June of 2019.  It’s an hour long, so you need to plan for that time, but truly inspiring.  

Q & A With The Brunsons – CLICK HERE

Andrew and Norine Brunson are interviewed at the same June, 2019 General Assembly.  This is a more relaxed setting with Q & A that runs for 1:27:00.  Again, plan for the time, but it is a good investment of time to connect with this very ordinary couple who found themselves in an extraordinary situation.  

It's One Or The Other: Gospel of Grace vs. Prosperity Gospel

We spent the final Sundays of August in Paul's closing to the Book of Philippians - verses 10-19.  It was no surprise that we had good interaction in the Q &A that followed those services on the "Prosperity Gospel" (PG)  In light of that, I thought I'd share some interesting recent resources from TheGospelCoalition.org website.

As I said in both sermons, the PG perspective is like the water a fish swims in: it's all around us and can have an unnoticed influence on us all.  Believers do well to cultivate a discerning heart and mind with regard to it, because "PG" is just a modern expression of what Paul would call a Different Gospel (2 Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:6) which is really no gospel at all!

You can begin to sense you are in "PG" territory whenever you begin thinking of "Faith" as if it were a tool that you use to get what you decide for yourself you want - even if what you want has a Scriptural proof-text.  Often, it boils down to an "if/then" statement like: If I say/do/believe "this" enough, then God is obligated to respond with "that" for me.

You are deeper in to the territory when you feel like you are not receiving what you should from God because of a lack in your faith and so need to exercise more of whatever it is that you are lacking.  As this goes on, if you continue to "not receive because of your lack" you get depressed, and - perhaps even worse - if you should receive that it is that you are "believing God for," there begins to be a self-righteous pride that creeps in.  Bad stuff either way.

And very different from Paul who is able to face any circumstance -  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want (Philippians 4:12-13) - because has placed his trust in the finished work of Jesus, and not in himself and the strength of his own faith.  Paul lives as he does - with contentment and generosity - not because he has "enough faith" to get what he wants out of God, but because he is content to receive whatever Jesus has for him in this moment.

The interesting thread that runs through these three resources is a pastor named Costi Hinn.  His uncle, Benny Hinn, is a high profile figure in Prosperity Gospel circles and Costi actually worked with him for years.  Then Costi came to understand the Gospel of God's Grace  and eventually left the "family business."  He now leads Redeemer Bible Church in Gilbert, Arizona

How Benny Hinn’s Nephew Rejected the Prosperity Gospel - CLICK HERE

This a review of Costi Hinn's book  God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel: How Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies

Costi Hinn Exposes the Most Abusive Kind of False Teaching Today - CLICK HERE

If you like to listen, this is a 40 minute interview podcast with Costi and Gospel Coalition editor Collin Hansen.  Much of the conversation revolves around Costi's book, as well as further resources from other writers

God, Thank You I’m Not Like Those Prosperity Preachers - CLICK HERE

This is a helpful post by Costi himself that is helpful on responding to friends and family - ane ourselves - who are influenced by Prosperity Gospel thinking.

Praying As Bullets Fly

Like many people, I find myself struggling to cope with the sadness and horror of what now seems commonplace: mass shootings in the United States.  Our son was a student at Virginia Tech and on campus though not involved during the shooting there in 2007, so the pace and regularity of these events strikes us close to home.

I feel the same press to "Do Something, ANYTHING!" and  "do more than pray!" so I do have a number of legal and cultural steps I would like to see implemented.  But I do continue to know that prayer by God's people is an important part of the turn-around need to "fix" our national sickness.  Here are some prayer resources that have helped me:

Grieving The Tragedies in El Paso and Dayton - Click Here

From Heavenward - the Daily Prayer Post of Scotty Smith on Sunday, August 4
As Providence would have it, Mary Lynn and I were driving through Dayton, OH on our way home less than 18 hours after the shooting there.  There was an eerie sense of normalcy as we drove the sign directing people to the "Oregon District" - typically a local, social hotspot, but on that day a crime scene.

I’m a Shooting Survivor. If You’re Going to Pray for Us, Here’s How. - CLICK HERE

Posted August 4 on the Christianity Today site immediately following the El Paso and Dayton shootings. Talk about timely!  Author Taylor Schumann is a writer, shooting survivor, and contributor to the forthcoming book If I Don’t Make It, I Love You: Survivors in the Aftermath of School Shootings. She lives with her husband and son in Charleston, South Carolina.

Emanuel - The Untold Story of the Victims and Survivors of the Charleston Church Shooting

This is a critically important documentary that was developed in part with NBA star Stephen Curry’s initiative.  The film was publicly available for two days on the anniversary of the shooting this summer.  Mary Lynn and I saw it and were deeply, deeply moved as well as informed.  CLICK HERE for website.  At this point, the DVD is waiting to be released - CLICK HERE for pre-order - but I can whet your appetite with the trailer:

Emanuel – The Untold Story of the Victims and Survivors of the Charleston Church Shooting