Pastor Charles

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 43:19, James 1:2-4,12, Romans 8:18-30, John 16:33

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.  Isaiah 43:19

The Cambridge Dictionary says the wilderness is an area of land that has not been used to grow crops or had towns and roads built on it, especially because it is difficult to live in as result of its extremely cold or hot weather or bad earth:

The word wilderness comes from a Hebrew word Midhbar (מִדְבָּר), which often refers to a wild field where domestic animals may be grazed, and wild animals live, in contrast to cultivated land, hence, sometimes “the pastures of the wilderness” (Joel 1:19–20).

It is, in other words, a locale for intense experiences, of stark need for food and water (Exo 16:1-36), of isolation such as the story of Elijah and the still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13), of danger and divine deliverance in the story of Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 16:1-16), of renewal, of encounters with God in the story of Moses and the burning bush (Exo 3:1-21). The Jews wandered in the wilderness for forty years from Egypt to Canaan. Regardless of the difficulty associated with life in the wilderness of their own time, the Jews persevered until they reached the promised land.

In the New Testament, the Greek word for wilderness is eremos (ἔρημος) which means, an isolated place. The wilderness figures at critical junctures in the life of Jesus. Jesus is baptized by John and then is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness for forty days. The devil is there, but so is the Spirit. “A great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed” (Mark 1:35). This records a search for solitude, for self-discovery, for divine presence, but this process, crucially, seems to require the ambiance of the natural environment.

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God works in mysterious ways.  I truly believe that.  I have witnessed it many times in my life.  Just this Tuesday morning I was on call for the over night hospital chaplain, which is something new I’m doing for the church and community. At 5am I received a call from ICU to visit someone was dying.  They don’t give you a name or anything when they call. When I arrived, I walked into the room nervous, but then I saw a familiar face.  The patient was Tom Walker and his wife Lorene was sitting beside the bed in shock.  She recognized me and that brought her a lot of comfort because I was not just some chaplain but I am her pastor.  That was the first time I have been called in.  What are the chances that it happened to be family associated with our church? 

God works in mysterious ways.  We don’t always understand His ways, but the last thing we ever want to do is stand in the way of His plans. In our lesson for today we have a continuation from last week’s text.  Peter and John had just healed a man who had been born lame. 

You try to do something nice for a guy. Try to proclaim the gospel and pronounce healing and forgiveness over him and what do they do? They bring you to court. 

Being only weeks removed from the death of their beloved Jesus, the experience must have been somewhat overwhelming for Peter and John.  After all, this was the very place where the rulers, elders, and chief priests brought Jesus to stand trial.  In fact, some of the very same people who tried Jesus then were now presiding over their examination.  They must have wondered if their fate would be the same for them as it was for Christ. Read more…