WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:01.760 Well, are we ready for the season now? 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:03.919 We got Thanksgiving done. 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:05.839 Are you ready? 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:06.719 Right. 00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:08.320 Oh, it's exciting. 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:12.240 You know, Home Depot can finally put up all their Christmas stuff. 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:14.320 I know they've been waiting. 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:15.599 Right? 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:17.839 We can start playing Christmas music. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:20.000 I know everybody's been holding off. 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:22.000 You know, but it is interesting. 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:33.200 We get into this season with so much levity and so much lightness and all those songs that we enjoy, the foods we enjoy, the presents and the gift giving. 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:35.520 And it's such a great season. 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:45.200 And then we get to the Christian calendar, and all of a sudden we get Noah and flooding and wiping out the earth. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:46.320 Right? 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:53.200 We get two women who are grinding meal and one gets taken and one does not get taken. 00:00:53.439 --> 00:01:03.119 And then the owner who has to prepare for the thieves who will come in the night and take his stuff. 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:06.400 You ready to make a pie now? 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:07.760 Right? 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.400 You're ready to go put the Christmas lights up? 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:16.799 This is uh, you know, this is how we get you ready for Christmas here in the Christian church. 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:26.719 We get you all excited by talking about the time in Genesis in which God wiped out most of everybody on the earth. 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:27.439 Right? 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:32.719 It just sometimes you wonder when you're getting into this Christian calendar. 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:36.799 The story to me actually, it reminds me of a story in my own life. 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:41.760 For a while, I was appointed out in Texas outside Austin. 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:53.280 And I don't know how many of you have experience with Texas, maybe experience even over a long period of time where you were able to experience a Texas rainstorm. 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:57.200 Have you ever been in a Texas rainstorm? 00:01:57.519 --> 00:01:57.840 Right? 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:05.040 The kind where the water is just if you happen to be driving, it feels like your car is gonna cave in. 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:07.280 It's coming down so hard. 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:16.400 When you're uh uh um in your house, you're a little nervous that it might be too much water for your roof to hold everything up. 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:20.479 Has anybody been in that kind of situation, Texas or otherwise, right? 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:23.360 A few of us, you know what I'm talking about, right? 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:30.639 So I remember when we were living out in Texas, and it was one night where the kids had gone to sleep. 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:33.199 Uh, I was actually up in bed as well. 00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:35.439 Brenda wasn't ready to go to bed, I guess. 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:46.479 She was downstairs watching TV, and all of a sudden, on a thunderstorm night, we get the loudest boom I've ever heard. 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:47.439 Right? 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:52.319 And we're jumping out of bed as quick as I can jump out of bed, right? 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:56.639 Because you know something's going, something's gone wrong at this point. 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:58.319 It was that kind of boom. 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:00.319 And the storm was already running. 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:05.039 So you're already half ready for whatever the heck might happen, right? 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:06.800 Or what might be happening. 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:13.039 Now, for me, I go to bed and you know, some very uh familiar clothes will call them. 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:20.080 So I had to get, you know, some pants on and uh get myself ready to be able to go, what the heck's happening in our house? 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:20.639 Right? 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:23.599 And I come downstairs and we're talking to each other. 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:25.360 We're like, this is this was crazy. 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:29.520 And then of course we start smelling gas, right? 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:36.159 And we're like, okay, well, I'm not a genius, but I know that's not good. 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:37.199 Right? 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:44.719 You're smelling gas in your house, and you're thinking this isn't something we ought to be uh experiencing or believing in. 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:46.639 I I think the power went out, right? 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:49.520 The whole smoke alarms went out. 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:51.280 It was it was quite a night. 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:54.639 Meanwhile, it the rain didn't stop with that, right? 00:03:54.800 --> 00:03:59.599 The rain was continuing to run, but we're thinking we've gotta get we gotta get out of this house, right? 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:02.960 So we go over and neighbors are two houses over, right? 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:08.080 But that's a trip when it's had rain in Texas rain, right? 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:14.960 And there's lightning and thunderstorm and all of this is going on, and you're but you but you're thinking, well, it's gas going on. 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:17.279 We learned a bit about my daughter as well. 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:22.560 She must have been five or so at that time, and um, she slept through it. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:26.720 So we thought, all right, well, you're safe if things go wrong. 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:29.920 You're gonna sleep through whatever the heck happens, right? 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:34.879 So I end up picking her up, we carry her across, we get over, and we kind of huddle over there. 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:36.560 The gas people show up. 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:45.680 Uh, they did the simplest thing, which it's you know, when you're a young dad and don't know simple things, just turned off the gas at the oven, and and that pretty much solved it. 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:51.279 And we were able to go back home, and you know, and things started getting back in in order. 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:56.560 But what we learned was that lightning had hit the house. 00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:10.879 It had actually hit our house, and and uh the only like recognizable damage turned out to be that gas line that undid there and and then was blowing into the house. 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:19.199 But lightning hit our house, and clearly we were not fully ready for such an experience. 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:41.360 So when I read this passage today about Noah being the way we uh uh teach ourselves about being prepared, about the women, some getting taken, some not getting taken, you know, and the boss needing to be aware of themes, so we better be ready. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:43.600 I think of that story. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:53.040 And I'm telling you, when I think of that story, my next thought is boy, am I much more ready for Advent now? 00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:58.480 Christmas may as well come today because I'm ready. 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:02.160 I don't know if you feel the same way reading this passage. 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:06.879 It just takes me into this weird space of what are we thinking? 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:11.360 How is this how is this getting us ready? 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:18.160 How is this inspiring us to prepare for the coming of the birth of Christ? 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:28.160 You know, that our as Christians are evidence of of God's true and deep love for us in the flesh here amongst us. 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:32.319 How does that get us ready for that? 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:37.360 How does that even teach us about getting ready? 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:43.040 But after that, I started thinking and remembering another story from my past. 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:53.360 Some of you know I did a lot of youth ministry uh before I switched into the big kid ministry here with the the big churches. 00:06:53.600 --> 00:07:01.120 You know, I was uh running around uh uh with young people, kind of like Nancy, only I was a little more sane. 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:03.519 I didn't do the crazy things she did. 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:07.759 I will never do a mystery night. 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:09.680 This is my commitment. 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:13.839 Yeah, oh, a mystery week. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:14.959 I'm out. 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:25.120 But I remember as a uh youth uh pastor, youth director in the churches, we would go and do the summer camps. 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:25.680 Right. 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:30.079 And for us, we live down near the lazy W United Methodist camp down there. 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:33.120 I think from here you might be going to Wrightwood. 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:37.759 Probably used to go to Colby, uh, but uh we don't go to Colby anymore. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:43.600 If you go to Colby, that road that scared you to death, yeah, we don't drive that road anymore. 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:46.399 So you don't go to Colby anymore. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:56.560 But I was at summer camp, and I remember being in uh a family group, which is what we called the small discussion groups that you would be in when you were at summer camp, right? 00:07:56.639 --> 00:08:12.720 An opportunity to process whatever lessons or theme was going on, and you'd have usually two leaders and then some kids, and then it was just it was kind of the group that you got a little more intimate with, along with your cabin over the course of the week. 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:27.360 And I remember I was paired off with uh a friend of mine, Vicky Richards, and uh we felt like we were a pretty good teaming of people that we thought we'd done enough camps and and had good heart for all of these kids. 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:30.720 But uh secretly, what I knew is I'm kind of a nut. 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:33.200 I'm mostly there to entertain everybody. 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:39.679 That's my main job when I'm at summer camp is to make sure it's fun, not like here. 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:53.840 And we were doing closing night, and on closing night, uh we recognized that one of our kids was having a really emotional time. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:59.440 It was a weighted time, and his head was down, and he was kind of feeling the weight of things. 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:16.159 Some of you who've been on this kind of experience might have had a a similar story in your life of just that the poignance of the moment, you know, God's presence weighing so heavy, you're just feeling the emotions, and and he's feeling it. 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:22.799 And my good friend Vicky Richards says, Go talk to him. 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:26.080 Go over, he needs somebody right now. 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:30.720 And I'm like, who, you know, well, I'm a funny guy. 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:32.320 Am I gonna go talk to him? 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:36.080 What am I bringing to to this to this party, as it were? 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:40.559 But you don't go against Vicky Richards. 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:46.080 So I got up and I went over and I talked to him, and we really had a good moment. 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:48.879 And I was able to be kind of helpful to him. 00:09:49.039 --> 00:10:07.120 I like to use the words now in my life, that I was able to be God's instrument, be able to speak the words that God would have spoken to him, that Jesus would have spoken to him in a way that uh there was some inspiration, there was some comfort, there was some healing that was able to happen. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:11.279 I I got to be, I got to be that that guy. 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:24.639 I think of that story because I I don't necessarily look at uh at myself in that time and say, you know, I really was uh ready. 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:27.519 I made myself ready. 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:29.600 You know, I I don't know that I could claim that. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:32.720 You can hear it in the way I tell the story, right? 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:37.759 Vicky had to goose me along to get over and do that. 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:49.120 So in some ways, I don't know that I really felt like uh uh I was a ready person, but I was in the right place. 00:10:51.039 --> 00:11:12.320 I was where I knew I had seen God's presence, I had felt God's strength, I had seen and experienced opportunities to be in that that space where I got to be that love, where I got to experience that love, where I got to to to know what it feels like to be part of what makes this world a blessing. 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:18.559 A blessing to me, a blessing to those that I'm able to engage. 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:24.720 I knew enough to get myself to that camp. 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:33.679 And I wonder if this is a little bit of what Jesus is trying to get across with this passage. 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:53.600 We don't always know when the opportunity to be an instrument of God's love, when the opportunity to get to experience God's living presence amongst us, with us, we don't know when that's coming. 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:59.759 It might happen now, it might happen later today, it might not happen for a week. 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:07.759 We don't really know all the ways that God is going to be working through this. 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:28.080 But you know, to be in that space where we actually get that opportunity and to see it coming and to be able to live into it, I think is what Jesus might be pointing to here. 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:36.799 In this context, I look at that metaphor of these two women who are grinding meal together. 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:42.000 One of them gets taken by God and one of them does not. 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:52.720 We hear that story and we're thinking, oh, it's some sort of rapture kind of thing where one gets to be with God and one gets to be somewhere else that we all don't want to be. 00:12:54.720 --> 00:13:11.600 But when I look at it through this new lens, this lens that says, you know, God's God's offering opportunities for us all the time to have that experience, to be that experience for other people. 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:18.799 And sometimes we're ready for it, and sometimes we're not. 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:23.440 Just like the two women who are grinding a meal. 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:45.039 So as we enter into this Advent season, as as we start getting ready for this coming Christmas Eve in which we we're gonna celebrate the living presence of God in this on this earth, the evidence of God's deep, deep love for us. 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:57.840 I'm wondering if we're going to see the opportunity, see the signs of what God is doing, of where Christ is real. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:02.480 Are we gonna see these opportunities over this season? 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:05.200 Or are we gonna miss it? 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:24.960 Let's hope we see those signs and see those opportunities and that we're able to live into it and that the birth of Christ becomes something as meaningful as it can be for us, life changing in deep, deep ways. 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:26.080 Amen.