WEBVTT 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:38.639 Let's be God. 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:41.520 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:48.319 Let's pray together. 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:49.520 Almighty God. 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:53.520 All the time. 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:07.599 And we're looking at the highly day. 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:22.879 Almighty and everlasting God, Christ, you have revealed your glory among the nations. 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:31.120 Preserve the works of your mercy that your church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your name. 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:37.759 Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:43.519 As you be exceeded, our children are invited to the children's church in the back of the Mr. 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:44.160 Calvinist. 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:53.600 A reading from Exodus. 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:03.439 But you have not let me know what you have said with me. 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:09.279 You have said, I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight. 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:17.360 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your way, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:24.399 Consider too that this nation is your people, he said, My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:30.240 He said to him, If your presence will not go, do not carry us out from here. 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:37.600 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, and I your people, unless you go with us. 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:44.000 In this way we shall be distinct, I and your people from every people on the face of the earth. 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:52.959 The Lord said to Moses, I will do the very thing that you have asked, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you my name. 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:56.079 Moses said, Show me your glory, I pray. 00:06:56.240 --> 00:07:10.079 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name of the Lord, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:15.439 But he said, You cannot see my face, for no one shall see me and live. 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:28.399 And the Lord continued, See, there is a place by me where you should stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft on the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:35.279 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:37.040 The word of the Lord. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:53.199 The Lord is sovereign. 00:07:57.040 --> 00:07:58.879 The Lord is great in Zion. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:06.079 Let them confess the name of the Lord, which is great and awesome. 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:07.439 The Lord is all. 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:30.800 Moses and Aaron among your priests, and Samuel among those who will call upon your name. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:37.679 You spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud. 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:33.120 Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy, to the Church of the Thessalonians and God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:35.360 Grace to you and peace. 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:49.840 We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father, your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:09:50.240 --> 00:10:08.399 For we know, brothers and sisters, beloved by God, and He has chosen you because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also with power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction, just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:23.039 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Anica. 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:36.799 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaea, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:51.279 And how you turned to God for life, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead. 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:50.480 The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:59.519 So they sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are sincere and teach the way of God in accordance with truth. 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:04.480 Show deference to no one, for you do not regard people with partiality. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:06.799 Tell us then what you think. 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:10.559 Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not? 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:16.559 The Jews, as aware of their malice, said, Why are you putting me to the test of hypocrites? 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:18.399 Show me the coin used for the tax. 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:23.759 And they brought him a denarius, and then he said to them, Whose head is this and whose title? 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:25.600 And they answered, the emperors. 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:33.759 And then he said to them, Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperors, and to God the things that are gods. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:37.840 And they heard this, they were amazed, and they left him and went away. 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:41.039 The gospel of the Lord. 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:20.480 But just to set the scene maybe a little bit better, I wanted you to remember this is holy week. 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:24.639 So this discourse is happening in the Jerusalem Temple. 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:29.279 And you probably know on Palm Sunday, Jesus goes in and drives out the money changers, right? 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:30.720 This is like a well-known story. 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:34.639 And but not everybody recognizes what the money changers were doing. 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:40.000 You know, there's one of those ten words that says no graven images. 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:44.559 Well, that especially applied to the Jerusalem temple. 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:51.440 So when people went up there to conduct business, they couldn't rent coins that had pictures on them. 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:55.679 They needed to go to the money changer, who would change the denarius. 00:15:55.759 --> 00:16:03.519 That's like a day's wage, probably the coin we're talking about in this story, for a coin of pure silver, no image. 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:17.039 Because graven images are idolaters, particularly this one, the denarius, likely, is either depicting Tiberius Caesar or his predecessor Augustus Caesar. 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:28.240 The coin reads, the title, Jesus refers to something like Tiberius Caesar, and then on the bottom this interesting phrase, Pontifus Maximus. 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:33.039 You don't have to be a crack at Latin. 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:38.720 You know Maximus means like the big one, and Pontiff, maybe you recognize as the Pope in Rome. 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:40.960 The Pontiff is the high priest. 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:49.120 So the point says Tiberius is not only the emperor, he's also the high priest. 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:53.679 And the August one, he is a deity himself. 00:16:54.399 --> 00:17:01.679 Now, this was an interesting exchange because the Pharisees and the Herodians in this story, as you know, are not trying to learn anything. 00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:06.319 They're trying to trick Jesus into, you know, sort of a double bind, right? 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:10.559 Say yes, and you're a bad guy, say no, and you're a rebel. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:13.519 And so Jesus calls them hypocrites for the following reason. 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:17.440 He says, show me the coin, which they shouldn't have. 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:22.319 You shouldn't have that coin up on the Temple Mount, because that's idolatrous. 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:24.720 You're breaking the ten words. 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:28.640 So they pull one out, now they look bad, right? 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:31.119 Because they've got this bad money. 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:38.720 And the coin says, the emperor is God and the high priest, and Jesus says this rather interesting thing, doesn't he? 00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:42.319 Give to the emperor and the high priest what belongs to him. 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:47.200 But give to God what belongs to God. 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:49.680 I like that song. 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:50.799 I hope you've enjoyed it. 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:52.480 Is it lawful to pay taxes? 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:53.839 Isn't that great? 00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:59.519 Yeah, we usually complain about it, but honestly, like when our taxes are well spent, we appreciate it, right? 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:00.640 That tends to be the issue. 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:03.359 Not whether we should collect them, but what do we do with them. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:09.359 And I think that's probably not a bad frame for thinking about the stewardship invitation that we get once again. 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:16.720 Stewardship, not just of our money, but honestly, as we think about who belongs to whom and what belongs to what, that's always the question. 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:28.720 So, I as we talked about the last couple of weeks, belonging's a funny thing, whereas in general, we're happy to say everything belongs to God, but then we make our own decisions, don't we, at the end of the day? 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:31.839 And usually we make them according to like what we think is best. 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:34.400 And I'm not saying that's necessarily wrong. 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:43.599 I mean, I'm gonna go out and do that today, but I think it is interesting to think about a little bit more about belonging to God and what stewardship of belonging looks like. 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:51.599 So, um thing to suggest, if we do indeed all belong to God, do we kind of agree on that point, by the way? 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:54.480 It's not that controversial, is it? 00:18:55.200 --> 00:19:02.319 What's great is that if we belong to God, uh, good news for you, you will always belong to God no matter what you do. 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:06.559 There's no way really not to belong to God, is there? 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:13.039 I mean, just logically speaking, who else is there to belong to? 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:18.400 Which might just mean that your neighbor also belongs to God. 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:27.119 And it might also mean that your neighbor, therefore, belongs to you, as you'll hear next week. 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:34.559 But maybe we should just split the script a little bit because it's belonging to, maybe not as that helpful as belonging with. 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:38.240 This is the language that Moses uses. 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:45.200 Moses says, God, you just set us free, and I want you to go with us so we can be a unique people to the earth. 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:50.240 Don't stay here on the mountain and do stuff for us. 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:57.440 I want you to come with us. 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:04.079 Now, if I'm honest, I like to pray that God will do things for me. 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:07.440 I want God to do stuff for me. 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:15.200 And if you come in with a problem, I really would like to do something for you. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.920 And I know I said this, it is obeyings. 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:24.400 We love to do for other people. 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:27.680 Just don't try to do something for us, right? 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:30.960 That's the spirituality many of us inhabit. 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:33.920 Because that comes with doing stuff for people. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:39.359 But I hope you'll consider a different stewardship about doing stuff with folk. 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:44.880 I mean at the end of the day, what did God do for you? 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:51.839 Well, the thing God did, right, is took this whole thing that we're worried about, like sin and unworthiness. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:54.480 God did that for you, so you don't gotta worry about it. 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:55.759 Like that's already happened. 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:57.759 You're gonna hear it in the Eucharistic prayer. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:20:58.640 The old one. 00:20:58.720 --> 00:20:59.759 This isn't a new idea. 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:09.279 This comes right out of the 28th prayer book, so this is like a 95-year-old idea that Jesus made a perfect sacrifice for some of the world. 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:11.440 No, it's gonna say for the whole world. 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:13.119 God did that for you. 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:17.759 The point of that is so that now God can be with you. 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:22.960 If you're like me, you might rather God did stuff for you than be with you. 00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:27.440 Because at the end of the day, when Jesus left the earth, there's still hungry folk. 00:21:28.319 --> 00:21:30.559 There's still people who are sick and suffering. 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:39.039 And sometimes we get confused about that, but God's decided not to solve those problems for us. 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:42.880 I was interviewing Charlie Bolden a little bit. 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:47.519 There's a couple nods. 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:50.960 Charlie Bolden's an interesting guy because he'll just tell you right what he's thinking. 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:53.839 Um, I guess when you're the heaven asset, you can't, right? 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:55.039 So uh he did. 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:59.359 He said, you know, a lot of times we pray to God to fix our stuff, and God says, you fix it. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:02.880 Which is really interesting, isn't it? 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:09.039 Sometimes, a lot of times, I get upset that God doesn't answer my prayer because I'm asking God to fix my problems. 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:14.319 Or even more insidious, I'm asking God to fix my neighbor. 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:17.039 Well, because they're wrong. 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:19.759 I know that because they don't think like me. 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:29.759 And this spirituality of fixing, I just think it's darn poor stewardship. 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:30.720 I do. 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:37.039 And I think it's a spirituality that I am so immersed in that I almost don't know how to do it any other way. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.319 Let's think about the mystery of our faith, and maybe this works better at Christmas time. 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:47.359 How did God decide to be with us? 00:22:47.599 --> 00:22:49.519 Well, to be born in a staple. 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:52.880 How did God decide to be with us to be hungry? 00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:56.559 To be lonely, to die abandoned by folk. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:58.240 God decided to do that. 00:22:58.559 --> 00:23:02.000 That's how God said, I'll be with you. 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:12.319 Honestly, a lot of our relationships, especially when we think about caring for people in whom we see a need, because they're not like us. 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:14.640 That means they're needy because they're not like me. 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:17.519 Comes from a spirituality of doing four. 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:23.440 And it comes from this idea, right, that God is the great fixer in heaven who came to just fix all this stuff up. 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:29.359 And it comes from this other idea that everybody else in the world, and sometimes us too, right, are broken people. 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:31.759 We are broken. 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:34.480 I will fix you when you're broken. 00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:38.079 It's just not actually the gospel. 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:44.640 It's what I want to do. 00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:50.720 And that's really different to what God has chosen to do. 00:23:50.880 --> 00:23:52.240 So let me give you a truth. 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:54.160 You all have brokenness in you. 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:57.839 All of you have brokenness in your lives, and that doesn't mean you're broken. 00:23:58.079 --> 00:23:59.440 Those are different things. 00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:04.880 Being broken and having brokenness are different things. 00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:13.839 Often it is, so my spiritual director tells me, that God is actually trying to break us open. 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:18.960 And we're so scared that God is trying to break us apart that we resist. 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:23.759 You ever been broken open and you sure thought you were being broken apart? 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:27.759 A lot of resistance, a lot of fear. 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:44.559 No, perhaps instead, God has chosen to be with us, and here's a stewardship piece: God invites us in our stewardship to be with one another, which is a lot harder than being for somebody else. 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:46.799 So, let me tell you two stories. 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:48.400 I don't want to belabor the point. 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:49.759 The first one, perhaps you've heard. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:55.680 Once upon a time, I used to take youth to do youth group missions, and let's just be honest, it's called mission tourism. 00:24:55.839 --> 00:24:57.680 I don't even want to call it something other than that. 00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:01.279 It's a tourist trip with a particular kind of tourist activity. 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:05.359 And we had wise people who told us the work is the excuse. 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:08.319 There's wisdom in that. 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:17.599 The work is the excuse to get to know somebody you would never else get to know who you probably think less of based on the way that they live. 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:22.160 So there we were in Appalachia fixing a lady's trailer, and we were giving her a new kitchen. 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:25.279 And let me tell you, I know how to do stuff for people. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:28.160 So she had some countertop problems. 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:33.279 I was gonna give her a new countertop, I was gonna tile it, and I didn't have a tile saw. 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:39.839 So this was working really great until I got a space this wide and there was no tile to fit that. 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:44.559 So I used a masonry blade and I tried to undo that. 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:47.440 You need a web, you need a web blade, right? 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:49.599 Ultimately I got this great idea. 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:52.160 You know, the tile is the best counter, it's gonna be dirty. 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:58.640 I was really giving this lady a good standard of living by giving her a tile countertop instead of a laminate one. 00:25:59.599 --> 00:26:04.480 I decided I was gonna make a pretty mosaic and a tile by breaking tiles with a hammer on my own down. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:12.000 And I said, you know, to the lady, hey, we're gonna make this mosaic, it's gonna be an art piece, like these are the best possible countertops. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:13.359 And I believed this, what I was saying. 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:17.519 I did, I did, and actually I'd still tell you, it's better than anything else we could have done. 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:20.880 Given her sealed tile countertops, right? 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:24.079 I said, it's gonna be okay, it's gonna be great, it's just gonna be okay with you. 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:28.400 And she said to me, just do whatever you do in your own house. 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:34.400 I mean, I've got stainless steel countertops in my house. 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:35.519 That's what I'd do. 00:26:35.599 --> 00:26:36.319 I'd do that. 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:44.880 Or, you know, I would get quartz because, hey, unlike granite, it doesn't chip and it's got a low ugly stone thing, got really good longevity, right? 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:46.880 Do what you do in your own house. 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:51.920 Well, sorry, the countertop would be worth more than the trailer if I did that. 00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:56.880 I was a little disarmed by that. 00:26:56.960 --> 00:27:03.200 So look, I did a great job, and then what I realized is the lady was actually calling me to the point of the gospel. 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:06.480 She wanted me to do that for her. 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:12.400 We were gonna leave, and we were gonna be gone, and her life was gonna be what it was. 00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:14.880 Living on the margins. 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:20.319 Without insurance, low income, no real job prospects. 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:21.920 I mean, we're talking about Appalachia. 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:23.519 Have you been there before? 00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:26.960 There's a reason there's despair, there's not hope. 00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:28.720 Do what you do at your house. 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:31.359 Well, shoot, I'd go get a different degree. 00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:33.279 That's what I'd do. 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:38.079 Or I'd call in a favor from a friend who had assets so that I could get a short term home. 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:39.039 That's what I'd do at my house. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:41.279 She didn't have those people in her life. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:42.799 Didn't have that. 00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:51.839 Well, at the end of the day, I thought I was giving her a great house, and really what she wanted is somebody to treat her like a human being. 00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:55.599 She wanted somebody to be with her. 00:27:55.839 --> 00:27:59.039 Because there wasn't anybody looked like me being with her. 00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:00.319 I blew it. 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:03.920 I'm just going to tell you, I blew it because I thought about that countertop way too much. 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:07.599 I'm glad I gave her the countertop. 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:08.960 I want to be clear. 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:14.880 I missed a chance that working for people is really an excuse to be with them. 00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:18.559 We had a great party yesterday. 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:19.039 We did. 00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:19.920 It was a great party. 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:22.319 And by the way, let me warn you, I don't have a good conclusion. 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:27.599 I'm just going to tell you a problem we don't talk about because we don't know the answer to it, but I'm just going to tell you a problem. 00:28:27.680 --> 00:28:28.640 Is that okay? 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:30.960 So maybe I shouldn't do this. 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:32.640 We had a great party yesterday. 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:33.519 It really was good. 00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:40.160 There was great weather, it was a good spirit, it was really inclusive, and there was a guy who was resource poor who came to the party. 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:43.039 And he asked if he could have a lunch, and we gave it to him, right? 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:44.559 And he enjoyed the day with us. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:46.319 People talked to him, they were super kind. 00:28:46.400 --> 00:28:49.519 And we came to the end of the day and he said, I need to ask you a question. 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:51.920 Can you get me a place to stay tonight? 00:28:55.440 --> 00:29:02.720 So, look, my brain went right in to fix it, but I told him to say a truth, which I want to make sure you hear. 00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:06.880 There is no place in Clear Lake that does that. 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:11.119 There's no shelter, there's no transitional living, none of that. 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:12.160 I mean, what did we say? 00:29:12.319 --> 00:29:16.640 Hey, if you really want that, you're gonna have to go downtown. 00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:18.480 That's where they had that. 00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:20.400 Like I maybe would go to Star of Hope. 00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:22.319 That's 25 miles away, right? 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:24.400 And it's two o'clock. 00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:28.559 And look, I don't I don't want to ruin the story. 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:30.160 I got the guy a hotel night. 00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:31.599 I got him a night at a hotel. 00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:32.319 I did. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:34.160 That's how I fixed that problem. 00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:36.960 Except he's gonna have that problem tonight, too, you know? 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:39.440 So what did I fix? 00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:40.720 About nothing. 00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:49.920 And sometimes I'll tell you, people come to me as a priest and they want to think, and the fixes, the fix is meeting your need for today, because that's all I can do. 00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:57.519 Because I don't have a place to send you, I don't have job training, I don't know how to meaningfully actually fix what I think is broken in your life. 00:29:57.599 --> 00:30:04.079 I just know, I don't mean it as hard as it sounds, I know how to get you somewhere else for now. 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:14.400 This is a thing that we struggle with, and I'm using an extreme example, right? 00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:20.480 Because sometimes we get people asking us for hands up or hands out, and we don't know what to do. 00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:26.240 And look, like Humpty Dumpty's, we don't know how to put Humpty Humpty together back here because there's not places you can go. 00:30:26.319 --> 00:30:34.559 Like we just don't have resources, and we don't have agencies, and what does it mean to add a bridge out of poverty instead of one night in a hotel when tomorrow where are you gonna go? 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:50.319 And I'll tell you, sometimes I really like to go so much into fix-it mode that I forget that I have an opportunity to be with somebody, to be with somebody. 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:55.759 And you know, it can be really disappointing to be with somebody when we can't fix the brokenness we perceive. 00:30:57.119 --> 00:31:04.000 But yeah, this guy got to come to a great party and hopefully enjoy himself with people who were open and accepting. 00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:08.079 And I'll actually tell you, that's probably more valuable than the night at the hotel that he also got. 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:10.319 I I think that. 00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:11.920 I actually think that. 00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:24.400 Sometimes, honestly, when our friends come to us with a problem, we think they're broken, and here we are. 00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:26.000 It's our job to fix them. 00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:33.200 Instead of maybe they're asking us to do this old thing that God decided to do that would be unique among the nations. 00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:34.960 That's what Moses says. 00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:36.880 To be with them. 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:44.480 Yeah, but listening to somebody's discomfort and not doing anything about it, I mean, wow, that doesn't seem very Christian. 00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:48.799 I'm not broken. 00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:52.160 I got lots of brokenness in me. 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:54.480 You can't fix me. 00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:57.039 You can't. 00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:00.640 Hell, if you could, you'd have done it already, right? 00:32:00.799 --> 00:32:03.200 You've had eight years to fix me and I'm still me. 00:32:06.160 --> 00:32:14.319 But sometimes, sometimes, I think we get the steward adaptationship right and we say, I'm not threatened by your pain. 00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:14.880 I'm not. 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:16.720 I actually can be with it. 00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:18.880 I don't have to make it even go away. 00:32:18.960 --> 00:32:21.440 I can actually just sort of be with it. 00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:24.079 I don't even have to take it home with me. 00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:26.240 I can be with it for now. 00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:33.599 I don't know what the fix is. 00:32:33.920 --> 00:32:35.839 See, I don't know what the fix is. 00:32:36.160 --> 00:32:38.240 I just know more often than not. 00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:40.160 That's what I think about. 00:32:40.799 --> 00:32:42.720 That's what I've been trained to think about. 00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:45.920 If my child has a problem, how do I fix it? 00:32:46.160 --> 00:32:48.640 Instead of, how do I be with that? 00:32:49.359 --> 00:32:51.279 Somebody votes differently from me. 00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:53.200 I really want to fix that. 00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:57.279 I don't even know how to be with it. 00:32:57.759 --> 00:33:01.759 I don't know how to be with people who think that school vouchers are a great idea. 00:33:01.839 --> 00:33:03.440 I don't know how to do that. 00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:06.640 I've heard the arguments, I don't know how to do that. 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:10.160 So I choose not to be with them because I don't know how. 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:15.759 Then maybe part of the stewardship we're being invited is to think about it's okay if you don't know how. 00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:18.720 Do it. 00:33:20.480 --> 00:33:21.440 Be with them. 00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:25.279 Being with somebody doesn't mean I gotta go where you go. 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:27.839 At the end of the day, we can go our different ways. 00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:30.400 The question is, did I spend time to be with you? 00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:33.759 I didn't send somebody out into stability yesterday. 00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:34.240 I didn't. 00:33:34.319 --> 00:33:35.759 I don't know how to do that. 00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:40.640 I hope that that man left with the gifts you gave him, and I mean that. 00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:42.799 I'm pointing around the room because you did that. 00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:47.200 You said, here's food we can give, here is conversation, here's welcome. 00:33:47.359 --> 00:33:51.519 Have a seat here, enjoy yourself with us. 00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:55.599 Yeah, maybe it'd be better if we got a college degree. 00:33:55.680 --> 00:33:56.640 I don't know. 00:33:56.960 --> 00:33:58.640 I don't know how to do that. 00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:01.759 I know that poor people are people. 00:34:03.359 --> 00:34:05.839 I usually forget it, but I know it. 00:34:06.079 --> 00:34:09.519 I know that people struggling with mental illness are still people. 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:11.119 I often forget it. 00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:17.119 And I think this whole bit about who is the pontiff Maximus? 00:34:18.079 --> 00:34:19.280 Who is it really? 00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:22.719 Usually it's me. 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:25.920 But isn't it supposed to be God? 00:34:26.320 --> 00:34:28.000 Isn't it supposed to be God? 00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:31.360 Now, this Moses story does one other thing that's really helpful for me. 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:32.639 I know I just gave you a jumble. 00:34:32.800 --> 00:34:34.400 I didn't really give you a coherent thought. 00:34:34.559 --> 00:34:36.559 But I warned you I was going to do that, right? 00:34:36.800 --> 00:34:38.639 It's another bit about show me your glory. 00:34:38.719 --> 00:34:39.840 This is a Moses moment, right? 00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:42.320 Show me your glory, and God says, you can't see my face. 00:34:42.800 --> 00:34:43.599 You know this, right? 00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:45.760 What happens when you see God's face? 00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:50.880 Well, you die, except Moses has been talking face to face with God for 40 days, right? 00:34:50.960 --> 00:34:52.639 So it's an interesting thing. 00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:56.000 Uh and ultimately Moses gets to look at God's back, right? 00:34:56.639 --> 00:35:03.519 Well, last year when I was on sabbatical, I was in a canyon in the middle of Utah, and it started to get really, really windy. 00:35:03.599 --> 00:35:07.679 I mean like 40 mile an hour gusts, and there was sand down there and it was going everywhere. 00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:17.440 It was in our food, it was in our hair, you know, like you put sunscreen on, and you could like scratch behind your ear, and it was like all orange because of all this wind, right? 00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:20.400 And so uh it was still gusting through the night. 00:35:20.480 --> 00:35:27.039 And fortunately, I found this rock that I hid myself behind, so that the wind was giving me a little bit of respite. 00:35:27.199 --> 00:35:31.760 And then I thought, oh my gosh, this is just like Moses, because how do you look at the face of the wind? 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:34.960 I'm not even sure that's possible to look at the face of the wind. 00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:36.079 And where does it start? 00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:36.719 I don't know. 00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:40.639 So there it was blowing by me, and I thought, oh, oh, like maybe this is it, right? 00:35:40.800 --> 00:35:42.159 Because the wind is the breath of God. 00:35:42.320 --> 00:35:43.679 Like that's what spirit means. 00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:49.039 It means breath, and God's spirit is blowing through, and boy, we don't often know where it's going. 00:35:49.199 --> 00:35:52.639 Uh, so maybe we're just asked to follow it where it goes. 00:35:53.280 --> 00:35:55.039 And there's this interesting thing, right? 00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:58.480 Like, I'm looking back on my life and my own spiritual journey. 00:35:58.639 --> 00:36:03.119 I'm always afraid when right now I know exactly what God wants me to do. 00:36:03.440 --> 00:36:05.679 I'm really afraid when people say that. 00:36:05.920 --> 00:36:10.320 When I look back, it's pretty clear that God was active in my life in some interesting ways. 00:36:10.559 --> 00:36:13.599 I see it looking at God's back. 00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:17.280 Because I don't exactly know where God's front is going. 00:36:17.679 --> 00:36:25.360 But I wonder if we aren't called to do it a little more often than we normally do, is to actually just follow where God's going. 00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:28.559 Instead of trying to head God off. 00:36:29.360 --> 00:36:31.119 I love heading God off. 00:36:31.599 --> 00:36:32.239 I do. 00:36:32.639 --> 00:36:38.559 God, I've got such great ideas, and these are the people you should love, and these are the policies that you should work to change, right? 00:36:38.800 --> 00:36:40.719 Do this for us. 00:36:43.440 --> 00:36:47.440 And this is, I think, the stewardship we're being invited to consider again. 00:36:47.760 --> 00:36:49.599 What can we do with each other? 00:36:50.800 --> 00:36:52.639 What can we do with each other? 00:36:52.880 --> 00:36:54.480 I mean, at the end of the day, right? 00:36:54.719 --> 00:36:57.760 God's greatest desire seems to be, I can't understand why. 00:36:57.840 --> 00:36:59.840 I don't even like being with myself sometimes. 00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:02.639 God really would like to be with me. 00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:12.719 God would like to be with Beth and with Jim and with Tim and Glaciella, and God would love it if we'd say, God, I don't know why you enjoy it, I'm glad you do. 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:15.840 And that's such a wild idea. 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:19.840 I want to share it with some other folks that don't know that's what you want to do. 00:37:22.159 --> 00:37:27.119 I don't know how we share that for people, but I think we can do it with them. 00:37:27.360 --> 00:37:29.039 I think we could do it with them. 00:37:30.639 --> 00:37:33.039 Maybe that takes money sometimes. 00:37:33.360 --> 00:37:35.039 Maybe that takes time. 00:37:35.599 --> 00:37:38.800 It probably just takes a lot of compassion and helpfulness. 00:37:39.679 --> 00:37:49.920 So, look, it takes pledges to make this thing happen, that's fine, but really what I want us to think about is the spirituality, what kind of stewards we are. 00:37:50.159 --> 00:37:58.880 And as Jim said, you know, so well a couple weeks ago, what praise are you gonna give God when you meet the stranger? 00:37:59.679 --> 00:38:02.960 What praise are you gonna give God when you fix the countertop? 00:38:03.679 --> 00:38:08.559 How would we choose to praise God when the person at work is difficult to be around again? 00:38:09.199 --> 00:38:12.960 How will we be with difficult people? 00:38:14.400 --> 00:38:20.639 I think maybe that's really, like Jim said, in different words, about all the stewardship we got in us. 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:26.719 And let's not neglect the most important and the person in the room. 00:38:26.960 --> 00:38:28.719 How will we be with ourselves? 00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:30.960 How will we be with ourselves? 00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:35.920 Because as we all know, you can't get what you don't have. 00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:41.920 So I'm all over the place as a priest, right? 00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:47.440 But I think God is all over the place too, asking us to say, what does it mean like to be with one another? 00:38:47.599 --> 00:38:49.440 That's the stewardship we're called to do. 00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:12.880 We believe in one God. 00:40:15.519 --> 00:40:36.320 We've got two or two or five, we have 12 products, we can hold back to the top of church, we acknowledge one of the factors that we can get, we look for the retroaction, analyze the world. 00:40:57.119 --> 00:41:00.960 With all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the Lord. 00:41:02.079 --> 00:41:15.519 I ask your prayers for God's people throughout the world, for all people and ministers, for the priests in our community, for our bishops Andy, Hector, Jeff, and Kay, and the diocesan cycle of prayer, St. 00:41:15.679 --> 00:41:17.280