Divine Interruptions

It’s December. And things are gonna get busy. And that’s good. I have some wonderful things planned on my calendar for this month. Lots of church activities, most of my children coming home for the holidays, parades, and decorating, and parties.

            Of course we have extra Advent and Christmas worships services planned in the two churches I serve as well. December is busy.

            But in all the business and caroling and coming and going this month, don’t miss the people. Jesus never did, even when things got crazy busy in His life. People are the reason He came in the first place, so people were always at the core of what He did.

            This intentional people focus carried over (at least initially) into the earliest ministries of the apostles. One of my favorite healing stories in the Bible is found in Acts 3:1-10. The story is that Peter and John were going to the temple at 3PM (a designated time of prayer) and they come upon a man who is lame laying at one of temple gates begging for money. He had the modern day equivalent of his cardboard sign with his ailments listed, and Styrofoam cup for change to be dropped in. And the people kept passing by, maybe a few dropped a coin into his cup. This was his life, day in day out, day after day. Laying there because he couldn’t get up. Laying outside the temple because he wasn’t allowed to go in. Laying there asking for money because that’s what he thought he needed. Laying at a gate called “Beautiful”, even though his situation in life was far from it.

            And then “one day” (verse 1) everything changed. One day that seemed like it would be just like any other day. Just another day of begging from people as they were headed into the temple. Just another day of being carried to the temple, then being carried back home. But this “one day” would be like no other day.

            “Peter looked straight at him, as did John” (3:4). I love that intentionality, Peter and John looked at him. Maybe you’re thinking, ‘well, of course they did, they saw him so they had to look at him’. But I wonder how often we over look other people. Maybe it’s not even intentional, though at times I believe we do choose to look away from the cardboard holding-Styrofoam cup beggars that we walk by. Jesus always saw the people, seeing their needs, and having compassion on them in love. And so Peter and John really “sees” this unnamed man at the temple gate. And they stop. While all the other people stroll on by, Peter and John stop and look straight at him. I love this because it’s an interruption to what Peter and John had scheduled. They’re on their way to church. Most people I know don’t want any interruptions in life, especially when they’re on their way to church (usually because they’re already running late!).

            Be aware of the divine interruptions God gives you this month.

            And so after offering this man healing in the name of Jesus, Peter took “him by the right hand and helped him up” (3:7).

            I know that it was the healing work of Jesus that allowed this man to walk again. But Peter helped him up, and then after being helped up, “the man’s feet and ankles became strong” (3:7).

            This month maybe we can look for the interruptions in our regularly scheduled activities as opportunities rather than distractions. Perhaps we could focus on seeing all the people as Jesus sees us, and when a divine interruption presents itself, maybe we could help someone up by reaching out our hand and taking their hand in ours. I think that’s a beautiful image of what the church is called to be, an image of who we are called to be; trusting God, looking for opportunities to share His love and grace, and helping others up who don’t even know that they can stand on their own yet.

I watched a grave digger at work today

I watched a grave digger at work today.

            I have seen many graves dug over the years, but today I stood on the front steps of Asbury United Methodist Church as I watched this man work. He was meticulous, and careful.

            I watched as he set the chairs in place, taking the time to sit in several of them, for just a few seconds each, but long enough to get a feel for the chair and the view that proceeded from it. I wondered if he thought about the people who would sit in those chairs in a few hours. It seemed as if he did.

            I watched a grave digger at work today.

            I watched him set out the small pieces of green “carpet” around the grave and covering the large pile of dirt that would later fill the hole that he had dug. He would place a piece of the carpet and then step back and survey the angle, walking around the tent that covered the chairs to see his work from different angles.

            I watched a grave digger at work today.

            As he moved his truck away from the grave site he pulled in behind some trees, a place out of the way, and out of sight for the family that would be arriving. The machines and equipment that he used hidden behind the trees that lined the graveyard.

            And then one last time he walked around the grave he had prepared, the tent he had placed, the chairs he had set up, and the green carpet he had paid down. He stood and took it all in as I watched him from the steps of the church. It was probably only seconds, but seemed like such a long time. I wondered if he was praying for the people that would stand around the tent he had placed, for those who would sit in the chairs he had set up, for the one who would lie in the grave he had dug. It seemed as if he did.

            He was finished with his work for now. When the funeral home arrives it will be my turn. I will walk in front of the casket as it is brought into the church. I will walk in front of it as it is taken back out, and then one last time as it is carried by friends and family up to the place prepared by this man that I had been watching work.

            I don’t know him. But I am thankful for him. For the care that he took in his preparations, for so many little things he had done that no one else would even notice, or would have just taken for granted.

            When I shared this my wife, Heather, she reminded me of what the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Colossae, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24)

            I am thankful that I watched a grave digger today.  And I am thankful for all the ways that we have an opportunity to care for each other in this life. Whether it is those who assist in the birthing process, those who care for us throughout our lives, those who walk with us into the valley of death, or those who dig the grave for the final earthly resting place of our physical bodies, it is a tangible reminder for me that when we do these things, we are reflecting the God who is Emmanuel, always with us.

            I pray today that I can be the servant that this man is. We all have a part to do in this life, and parts to do for one another. Sometimes maybe it is in seen and appreciated, or perhaps it will be a necessary deed that is taken for granted or overlooked. But every deed we do for another is important, if it is done in love and for the glory of God.

            Some people might dig graves because that is their job. But maybe there are some who dig graves because they are doing something incredibly beautiful for a family facing the mystery of death, and because they are doing the Lord’s work. May we all be so faithful.