1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:03,040 A reading from the prophet Isaiah. 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:10,320 Thus says the Lord keep justice and do righteousness, for soon 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:14,400 my salvation will come, and my righteousness will be revealed. 4 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:19,200 Blessed is the man who does this, and the Son of Man who 5 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:23,440 holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and 6 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,720 keeps his hand from doing any evil. 7 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:31,000 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, 8 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,400 The Lord will surely separate me from his people. 9 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,840 Let not the eunuchs say, Behold, I am a dry tree. 10 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:44,760 For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, 11 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,760 who choose the things that please me, who hold fast to my 12 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:51,360 covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a 13 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,680 monument and a name better than sons and daughters. 14 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,480 I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. 15 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,640 And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to 16 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,040 minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and be His 17 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,520 servants. Everyone who keeps the Sabbath 18 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,400 and does not profane it, and holds fast My covenant. 19 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:19,200 These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful 20 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:23,560 in My House of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their 21 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:29,280 sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be 22 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,920 called a House of prayer for all peoples. 23 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:39,240 The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares I 24 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:43,280 will gather yet others to Him besides those already gathered 25 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,640 the word of the. Lord, would you pray with me? 26 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,600 Lord, in order to bring ourselves to you, we need your 27 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:53,520 power, your forgiveness, your grace. 28 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:55,680 We need your vision and your heart. 29 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,400 Lord, everything that we need as a church comes from you. 30 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:01,360 So we pray now, Lord, that the living God would dwell in our 31 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:03,520 midst. As we open the words of the 32 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:06,800 prophet Isaiah, to whom you spoke so many years ago, let 33 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,039 them be words for us, for Emmanuel Anglican for Chicago in 34 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:13,000 2026. We pray this in the name of the 35 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,160 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. 36 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,560 Please be seated and good morning. 37 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:25,360 If I haven't met you yet, my name is Father Aaron Damiani and 38 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:29,600 I'm just glad to be journeying through this season with you. 39 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:37,280 In Lent, the 40 days plus preceding Easter, we're in a 40 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:42,920 five week series called Shine our Spiritual Beacon Call, Shine 41 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:46,560 our Spiritual Beacon Call. And we're going to be looking at 42 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:50,880 the chapters of Isaiah, Isaiah chapters 56 all the way through 43 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,520 chapter 60. And this particular series marks 44 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,520 the midpoint of what we've called Arise. 45 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,800 And Arise is like a two year journey that we're on as a 46 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:05,680 church to really prepare for and begin to commit ourselves to 47 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,200 this calling we have in Chicago to be a spiritual beacon. 48 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,120 We want to make sure that the message of Christ and the and 49 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,400 the beauty and the glory of Christ is known to as many 50 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:20,200 people in Chicago as possible through and beyond our church. 51 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:24,160 And that's why we're in this two year series, this two year 52 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,840 commitment. There is going to be a 53 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,480 culmination of this particular sermon series. 54 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:36,200 It's going to culminate after five weeks on March 22nd, I 55 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,400 guess the 5th Sunday from now, but one month from now where we 56 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,640 commit ourselves financially to this vision. 57 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,920 And some of us have been here from the start of Arise and it's 58 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,240 an opportunity for us to recommit for the next 10 months 59 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,120 to being a part of this for praying, giving to and 60 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:58,040 participating in this vision. Some of us have joined Emanuel 61 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,240 since we started Arise at the end of 2024. 62 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:05,600 And, and you might feel called, you'll be invited to, to join in 63 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,040 and make a new commitment for the next 10 months. 64 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:11,520 And then some of us since starting have seen God do 65 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:13,920 something in our lives or we, there's an increase of faith. 66 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,920 We have more faith, potentially more finances to commit to this 67 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,720 vision. And there will be an opportunity 68 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,400 to increase our vision and see God provide for us. 69 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,600 And even now, my invitation to you is just to open your hearts 70 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:30,880 up to the Lord and say, Lord, how do you want me to 71 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,120 participate in a rise? What are you asking of me? 72 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:38,040 And what would be a joy to give and to commit to? 73 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,440 Well, here in the next few weeks, in the Sundays of Lent, 74 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:46,480 just about this calling and about this vision. 75 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:48,880 And so you can even begin to pray like, is this a vision that 76 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:54,000 I feel to be a part of? Well, I don't know if you've 77 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:55,760 been watching the Winter Olympics. 78 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,040 I, I hope you've been able to catch some of the games. 79 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,840 I've been enjoying them. One of the most inspiring parts 80 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:04,960 of the Olympic Games is the beginning of the Olympics. 81 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:09,200 And this is when the runner carrying the Olympic torch, 82 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:12,600 carrying one of the torches, runs in to the Coliseum, to the 83 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,920 central Coliseum where all of the nations have gathered to 84 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:17,440 mark the beginning of the Olympics. 85 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:22,480 And as they enter into the the Coliseum, the crowd cheers and 86 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,880 they run to to the center of the of the Coliseum and light what's 87 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,680 called the cauldron, The Olympic cauldron, which is the central 88 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:35,000 flame, which tells the world the games are on and you're welcome 89 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:37,200 to come and join. What's interesting about that 90 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:40,360 flame, if you trace the the origin of that flame all the way 91 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:41,800 back, like, where does it come from? 92 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:44,640 It actually doesn't come from the runners themselves. 93 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,760 What happens is that the original torch of the flame is 94 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,320 actually lit in Greece, in Olympia, Greece. 95 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,400 And what they've done is they've created a, a mirror, a compact 96 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:00,720 mirror that actually sort of channels the rays of the sun. 97 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:04,600 And that when the first runner dips their torch, as it were, 98 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:08,640 into that mirror, the heat it captured from the sun's rays 99 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:14,800 sets the torch ablaze. And that torch is carried from 1 100 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,160 runner to the next over land and sea, until finally it makes its 101 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:21,440 way into the central cauldron of the Olympic Games. 102 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,440 The runner does not create the flame. 103 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:31,320 The runner carries the flame. What does it mean to be a 104 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:32,920 spiritual beacon, Church friends? 105 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,760 It means that we carry and display the light of Jesus 106 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:39,840 Christ for all of Chicago to see. 107 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:43,800 It means that we're making the gospel, the gospel of Jesus, 108 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,800 personal and tangible and visible to the people of 109 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,400 Chicago. We're not claiming friends to be 110 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:52,800 the source of the light that we're carrying. 111 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,280 That's so much the mistake that people can make is they think 112 00:06:56,280 --> 00:07:00,720 that they are the light rather than that they are stewards of 113 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:03,840 the light who display it for the good of the city. 114 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,200 What could this look like? Well, it could look like a team 115 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,760 of liturgical artists from our church walking into a cinder 116 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:18,080 block prison Chapel and making it beautiful so that the inmates 117 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:22,480 who feel forgotten and unseen can encounter beauty and light 118 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:26,440 when they pray. It could look like a family in 119 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,520 our parish saying yes to fostering, yes to adopting 120 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,440 because they believe that in Jesus they were chosen and they 121 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:35,680 were adopted before the foundations of the world. 122 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:41,040 Could look like 2 Emmanuel Co workers offering to pray for one 123 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,840 of their colleagues who is suffering from a bout of an 124 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:47,520 anxiety attack and seeing the peace of Christ wash over their 125 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:49,840 colleague right in the midst of their crisis. 126 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:56,440 Could look like a living room filled with friends and and 127 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:58,880 neighbors who are spiritual but not religious. 128 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:03,480 The coffee is brewing and the Gospel of John is opened and 129 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,160 people from all walks of life discovering that Jesus Christ is 130 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:13,080 more compelling than they ever imagined or expected could look 131 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,360 like a special needs teacher from Emmanuel who treat treats 132 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:21,000 each student with incredible dignity and care because he sees 133 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,240 that the image of God is born by each individual student. 134 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:28,800 It could look like a business owner who refuses to cut corners 135 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,400 because she values the Father's name and the Father's 136 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:36,159 righteousness more than profits. And then it could look like all 137 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:38,120 of these gifts. Imagine all of these gifts being 138 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,360 brought together in praise and worship to the One who sent them 139 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:44,600 out in the first place, right here, gathering for praise and 140 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:48,120 worship in a way that draws people from our city who want to 141 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,360 know more about the hope that we carry. 142 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,480 Those are just a few of the ways that it could look like for us 143 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:59,080 to carry the light that does not originate with us. 144 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:04,360 But where do we begin? Let's consider in Isaiah 56 the 145 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:07,320 original blueprint for a spiritual beacon. 146 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,760 You can turn to Isaiah 56 in your bulletins or Bibles. 147 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:18,400 You know, Isaiah 56 was was written to to a very particular 148 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:22,160 people and God was calling them. God was calling them to be a 149 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:27,920 light for the nations. They had failed over and over 150 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:29,440 again. These people were called to be a 151 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:33,240 light for the nations and they had laid down their mandate. 152 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,440 And yet God had not given up on them. 153 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:39,840 He was, He was re upping on God's call to Abraham when God 154 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:43,000 said to Abraham, I'm going to bless you and through you all 155 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:45,400 the nations of the world would be blessed. 156 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:49,160 And it's a fresh articulation of that call. 157 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:52,880 The first thing that we're going to see in Isaiah 56 is that a 158 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,080 spiritual beacon welcomes the presence of God. 159 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:02,000 This by a spiritual beacon church welcomes, anticipates, 160 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:04,640 joyfully receives the presence of God. 161 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:09,440 Verse one begins this way. This is what the Lord says. 162 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,400 So Isaiah is listening to God and he's speaking what he hears 163 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:19,080 and the Lord says this preserve justice and do what is right. 164 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:22,520 Preserve justice and do what is right. 165 00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:25,600 And the implication is they weren't doing either one of 166 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:30,760 those things. They were not acting justly, nor 167 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:35,080 were they doing what was right. They were not shining the light 168 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:39,440 that they had been given. For instance, some of them were 169 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,640 oppressing their workers. They were after prophets. 170 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:46,360 Some were worshipping what's called false gods. 171 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:50,480 They had turned that they their hearts were trusting nation 172 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:58,120 States and kings and false like Pagan gods rather than the one 173 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:02,560 true God. What's worse, they were smug. 174 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:06,960 They had this sort of like self-righteous attitude that 175 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:11,440 they were it that they had what it they know they had what they 176 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:16,840 needed and all the while they were ignoring God and they were 177 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:19,440 unprepared for what was just around the corner. 178 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:22,720 In the second-half of verse one, we see God say this. 179 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:27,360 My salvation is coming soon and my righteousness will be 180 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:30,960 revealed. God was on the cusp of revealing 181 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:35,160 His salvation, which is His saving acts that brought His 182 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,800 people through the Red Sea, and He was on the cusp of revealing 183 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:44,240 His righteousness, His Holiness. Now when God reveals Himself, 184 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,480 it's not a one. It's not like watching a movie. 185 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:51,640 It's a conversation where when God reveals Himself, He's going 186 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:53,720 to reveal us too. Something's going to come out of 187 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:55,640 us that maybe we don't even know. 188 00:11:55,680 --> 00:11:57,240 We don't even see. Have you ever been in a 189 00:11:57,240 --> 00:11:59,440 conversation like that? Someone's opening up their 190 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:00,720 heart. You all of a sudden you realize 191 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:02,880 that there's things inside your heart that you need to share 192 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:04,680 with them that you're seeing for the first time. 193 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:08,200 Imagine that, electrified all the way to its NTH degree. 194 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,440 And you realize that as God reveals Himself and His 195 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:14,320 Holiness, one thing that happens is that I reveal myself and my 196 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,200 sinfulness. And it can be a terrifying 197 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:19,800 moment that you don't want to be unprepared for. 198 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:25,520 Now, Isaiah experienced this as a young man early on in his 199 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:28,520 prophetic career. Isaiah had a vision. 200 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:32,040 Now, this is kind of weird. This might not make even make 201 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:34,400 sense. But imagine a young man having a 202 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:37,960 vision, whether in the body or maybe it was a dream, but he 203 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:41,360 finds himself in what's called the heavenly throne room where 204 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:46,320 God exists in his purity. And he describes God as being on 205 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:50,880 a throne high and lifted up. So God's beauty is revealed. 206 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,520 And he says the train of his robe filled the temple. 207 00:12:54,920 --> 00:13:00,240 And and what happened was that as Isaiah, as God revealed his 208 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:04,480 salvation and righteousness to Isaiah, what did Isaiah see? 209 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:13,200 He said, woe to me for I'm a sinful man and I dwell among a 210 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:15,480 sinful people. He realized that he was not 211 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:19,160 ready for God's salvation and righteousness to be revealed. 212 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,840 And he, he described his lips, his lips felt unclean. 213 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:26,320 And I don't know why. Maybe it was because Isaiah was 214 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:28,560 a verbal person. You know, he's a really good 215 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:30,880 writer. But maybe he realized that he 216 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:33,120 had not been honoring God with his words. 217 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:36,760 But anyway, he felt that his lips were unclean. 218 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:41,720 His, his very lips were unworthy to stand in the presence of God. 219 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:48,120 But what happened was this, he didn't just see God's holiness, 220 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:52,080 he actually experienced first hand God's saving power. 221 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:55,680 And it came in the form of, and again, this is maybe a strange 222 00:13:55,680 --> 00:13:59,400 image for some of us, but it was like a, you know, those charcoal 223 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:03,320 briquettes when they're hot, they're kind of glowing. 224 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,200 All right. So he saw an angelic figure take 225 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:12,480 something like that, a a burning coal straight from from the 226 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:16,280 throne room of God and fly down with it all the way to Isaiah 227 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:20,960 and it touched his lips and it burned his lips and it purified 228 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:25,040 him Something and I something in Isaiah felt that he had he had 229 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:28,160 been made right because the, because this creature said, 230 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,600 behold, I touched your lips, you, you know, he had been 231 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:35,120 forgiven, that he had been cleansed and that the that God 232 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:37,440 didn't come to destroy him. God had come to heal him. 233 00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:42,720 So Isaiah knew what he experienced, the whole nation 234 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:45,440 was going to experience, and one day the whole world was going to 235 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:48,160 experience. And what happened was that 236 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:54,880 beyond Isaiah, God didn't just send a burning coal to touch the 237 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:59,560 lips of humankind. God sent his Son Jesus Christ, 238 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:03,960 who is absolutely pure, absolutely sinless, from God's 239 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:08,840 throne room, and He would take on the sins of the world as He 240 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:11,920 hung on the cross. But in so doing he would reveal 241 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:15,800 how sinful we actually are and how loving God actually is. 242 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,840 God's holiness and God's mercy, His salvation and His 243 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:25,240 righteousness meet at the cross. And when anyone comes into the 244 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:29,120 presence of the cross and the Holy Spirit reveals the heart of 245 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:33,160 God, they too can be cleansed. They too can be made right. 246 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,240 And it is a moment that we want to prepare ourselves for. 247 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,240 And that is why we are in a season of repentance. 248 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:43,360 The season of Lent is a time where we welcome the presence of 249 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:48,080 God by confessing our sins, confessing all of the ways that 250 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:51,240 we are not ready for the presence of God, where we are 251 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:54,160 looking at our lives like do we actually love God? 252 00:15:54,960 --> 00:16:00,240 In fact, verse 2, you know, talks about preparing by doing. 253 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:04,440 It's not just in our heads. Verse 2, happy is the person who 254 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:09,920 does this, who does this, the Son of man who holds it fast, 255 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,640 who keeps the Sabbath. Isaiah says speaking on God's 256 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:17,320 behalf without desecrating it and keeps his or her hand from 257 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:23,640 doing any evil. You know, love at some point has 258 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:28,000 go needs to go beyond words. If you want to prepare for the 259 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,120 presence of someone in your life, you're going to change 260 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,840 your life to make room for them and make space for them. 261 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:36,720 And the same is true for God. Jesus said at one point, I've 262 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:41,680 called you friends. Friends are do my commandments 263 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:44,480 and not to say I'll only be friends with you if you do what 264 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:47,960 I want, but like if you're my friend, you'll know what I love 265 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:54,000 and you'll want to do that. You know, God's people at the 266 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:59,000 time were like carrying the torch, but there was no flame in 267 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:00,960 it. But they were like proudly 268 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:04,880 walking around being like, look at this bejeweled, awesome, cool 269 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,319 torch. I'm so religious. 270 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:09,520 I'm so good. I do all the right things. 271 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:11,599 I say all the say all the right things. 272 00:17:11,599 --> 00:17:17,280 I give off a religious vibe. You know, I wear perfume that 273 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:23,760 smells like godliness, but there's no flame in the torch. 274 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:26,520 There's no spirit, there's no life. 275 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,760 You don't actually love God. You just love the religious 276 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,720 life. When you actually looked at 277 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:36,320 like, when you drill down into like, all right, how are you 278 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,520 spending your time? OK, How are you spending your 279 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:40,480 money? OK, How are you treating people 280 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:42,920 when you drill down and be like, let's talk about like the 281 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,480 tangible ways that you're preparing for the presence of a 282 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,920 God. Like, well, I carry around the 283 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:50,880 torch, but I basically do what I want. 284 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:59,120 Happy is the person the Lord says, who does what God 285 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,200 commands. Now, if the presence of God were 286 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:08,120 as immediate to us as it was to Isaiah as a young man, would he 287 00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:12,200 find us prepared? Would there be a flame of love 288 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:14,960 for God in the torch that we carry? 289 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:19,800 Do we love God with what is precious to us? 290 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:24,760 Do we actually love God with our time, which is very precious? 291 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:28,560 Do we actually love God with our money, which is usually tight? 292 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,640 Do we actually love God with our relationships, with our 293 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:36,200 priorities? Is there passion in our heart 294 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:38,960 for the presence of God? Do we love His presence? 295 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:45,960 Do we seek His presence? Would he find the flame in the 296 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,640 torch or would he find us kind of carrying it with a bit of a 297 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:53,400 smug self satisfied? We're on the right side of God. 298 00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:55,080 We're on the right side of history. 299 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:57,520 We're the good guys, not the bad guys. 300 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,120 And we've all found ourselves there, haven't we? 301 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:03,880 We've all had the torch, but no flame. 302 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:09,360 And truth be told, you know, at the end of the day, if the 303 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:12,480 presence of God were to be manifest right here, right now, 304 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:16,760 I don't know if any of us would truly be prepared for what we 305 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:21,720 would encounter. Yet we can still welcome Him 306 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:27,200 with joyful, humble repentance. We can tell the truth about how 307 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:31,040 far we've fallen. We can ask for the flame of the 308 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:34,240 Holy Spirit, which was given on the day of Pentecost to be given 309 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:39,520 to us by grace and not by works. And we can confess our sins, not 310 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,800 just liturgically, but personally and together and 311 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,240 individually. We can confess our need for 312 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:48,920 grace and we can by our power, change our ways. 313 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:51,600 Friends, we can. That's part of repentance is 314 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:55,360 changing our ways. It's, it's, it's, it's the the 315 00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:59,080 tangible ways that we show that there really is a flame of love 316 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:01,240 in our hearts. We're willing to make changes. 317 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:08,120 A spiritual beacon Church loves. Loves the presence of God, seeks 318 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:11,240 the presence of God. You know, he is our greatest 319 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:12,920 treasure. It's the name of our church, 320 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:17,840 Emmanuel, God with us and it if we didn't have the presence of 321 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:20,440 God, we wouldn't have a church. We would have nothing to gather 322 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:23,520 around. Eventually a a torch without a 323 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:28,080 flame would not be enough to gather us. 324 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:32,800 So let us ever devote ourselves to him with our whole heart, our 325 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:38,040 whole mind, our whole strength. But it doesn't stop there. 326 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:40,720 It doesn't stop with welcoming the presence of God, as 327 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,040 important and primary as that is. 328 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:49,160 Isaiah was sent outward with a message, and so we are sent 329 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:53,600 outward with a message as well. The, the, the, the torch is not 330 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,120 meant to stay hidden. A spiritual beacon not only 331 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:59,320 welcomes the presence of God, a spiritual beacon church welcomes 332 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:04,600 the presence of the stranger. There are people who would be 333 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:07,920 new to us, who would be unfamiliar to us, maybe 334 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:12,160 unexpected to us, that the Lord wants to include in our midst. 335 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:16,560 Here's who the Lord has in mind as He spoke to his people. 336 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:21,240 Verse 3, No foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord 337 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,760 should say, the Lord will exclude me from his people. 338 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:29,600 And the eunuch should not say, look, I'm a dried up tree. 339 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:34,480 These are two types of strangers whom no one was expecting to 340 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:38,680 join God's covenant. The foreigner wasn't born into 341 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:43,760 God's family. They don't speak the language, 342 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:48,520 they don't get the inside jokes, they don't They kind of enjoy 343 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:53,240 different kinds of foods and they feel like everyone else is 344 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:57,120 in on the secret. The eunuch had a physical 345 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:02,120 liability keeping them from procreation and and and in their 346 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:08,000 day having a being married and having kids was what it meant to 347 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:12,440 be fully human and so the eunuch people saw them as like less 348 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:15,760 than human. Now notice how deeply the Lord 349 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,520 is aware of the painful story that they are telling 350 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:22,200 themselves. The Lord will exclude me from 351 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:25,280 his people. Or look, I am a dried up tree. 352 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,520 It's worth saying that the Lord knows them well enough to draw 353 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:33,800 out and speak hope into the painful story they're telling 354 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,200 themselves in their heads. You have to know someone really 355 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:40,920 well to know the painful story that's running, cycling through 356 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:44,000 their hearts and heads during the day. 357 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,280 Because the Lord knows it and he, he's like, it's not true. 358 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:55,080 Don't say that. This is how well friends the 359 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:58,160 Lord knows us. This is how well he knows our 360 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:02,240 friends, Co workers, neighbors, classmates that paint. 361 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,680 He knows the painful thoughts and they might go like this. 362 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:12,920 I don't belong here. These people are judging me. 363 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:17,880 I can tell I should leave or I stay busy. 364 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:23,120 I need to stay busy because I'm so lonely and depressed. 365 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:27,960 Or how about this one? I have to be perfect or my life 366 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,400 is an absolute failure. Or what about this? 367 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:35,520 What if my best days are behind me? 368 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:38,800 What if my kids are falling behind? 369 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:42,400 Am I doing enough? I'm probably failing everyone in 370 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:46,760 my life. The Lord doesn't just know those 371 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,520 thoughts, He speaks hope and healing directly into those 372 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,680 thoughts. He interrupts the cycle and 373 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:58,280 actually imagines a future for these outsiders and for us and 374 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:01,440 for the people out of our life where they become the major 375 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,280 stakeholders in His story, in His covenant. 376 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:08,760 Verse 4 is what He says. The Lord says this for the 377 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:12,600 eunuchs who keep my Sabbath and who choose what pleases me and 378 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:16,120 hold firmly to my covenant. I will give them in my house and 379 00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:19,200 within my walls a memorial and a name better than sons and 380 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:22,120 daughters. I will give each of them an 381 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:24,880 everlasting name that will never be cut off. 382 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:29,600 And the Lord can see a future where these eunuchs are first 383 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:35,400 class citizens of his Kingdom and notice that like they're not 384 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:38,800 holding on to some watered down version of the faith. 385 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:42,080 They're not second class citizens. 386 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:46,800 They're described as like grasping the covenant firmly in 387 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:49,880 their hands, like it's the most precious treasures they've ever 388 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:51,640 received and they're never going to let it go. 389 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:56,640 And God makes them stakeholders. He gives them a legacy and a 390 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,720 future in his house. A memorial is set up in their 391 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:01,600 honor. An eternal name is given to 392 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:05,040 them, a legacy and an impact that goes on forever in God's 393 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:07,920 Kingdom. Now let me for a moment speak to 394 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:10,760 those of you who call Emmanuel Anglican your home. 395 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:13,280 You think of this as our church, my church. 396 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:23,840 So I want to ask you this, can we imagine strangers, people who 397 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:27,280 we don't know yet, being celebrated here at Emanuel, 398 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:33,880 platformed here at Emanuel, having a stake in the future of 399 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,440 Emanuel, People that are not currently here? 400 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:42,040 If we can begin to imagine people who are currently stuck 401 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:45,600 in pain loops actually that getting interrupted and they 402 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:49,920 join us here and walk forward and hope and become stakeholders 403 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:51,360 here. That's how we know we're 404 00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:54,000 starting to become a spiritual beacon church. 405 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:58,800 Can we see Chicago neighbors with no church connections 406 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:03,680 currently loving the gospel, loving the word of God, love it, 407 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:06,520 clutching the Book of Common Prayer like it's the best gift 408 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:11,000 they've ever been given? Can we imagine them kneeling 409 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:17,240 next to us next Lent? Can we imagine them dancing next 410 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,480 to us in Easter? Can we imagine them serving the 411 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:22,760 poor with us during Ordinary Time? 412 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:25,480 Can we imagine them becoming the next prayer ministers? 413 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:29,240 The next parish council members, the next missionaries, The next 414 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:33,040 Sunday school teachers? The Lord can see this. 415 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:36,240 He says I will bring them to my holy mountain. 416 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:38,960 He promises that. He says they're burnt Offerings 417 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:43,680 and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar and this 418 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:46,320 is very intimate language. There's no there's no 419 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:49,360 limitations being set against them. 420 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:52,520 If they love God, he will love them in response and they will 421 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:56,920 have a future in his Kingdom. The most unlikely will not only 422 00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:58,760 belong that but be part of the leadership. 423 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:03,120 In fact, this inclusion of outsider of outsiders is tied to 424 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:07,560 the very name of the house. He says my house will be called 425 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:09,560 a House of prayer for all nations. 426 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:13,640 You could translate this. All peoples, it's, it's global 427 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:17,360 now. Friends, listen, when we lose 428 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:21,560 this identity, we lose our purpose for existing. 429 00:27:22,120 --> 00:27:25,120 We exist for the glory of God. We exist for people that aren't 430 00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:28,680 here yet. Israel was called to be God's 431 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,880 holy people for that purpose, to shine for the nations. 432 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,320 God gave them a torch and said run with this. 433 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:39,320 Let it be seen. Let it draw the eunuchs and the 434 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:41,920 foreigners and all who would honor my name. 435 00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:46,920 Now, something interesting happens when when that Olympic 436 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:52,160 cauldron is lit, because it does send a message to all the 437 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:56,400 nations, to all the peoples, anyone who could like, you know, 438 00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:58,800 watch it on the Internet or watch it on TV. 439 00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:03,760 This these games are open and they're open to you. 440 00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:08,640 If you want to compete, you can try now. 441 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,480 No matter what your background, no matter what station in life, 442 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:16,360 no matter what country, people can see that flame and start 443 00:28:16,360 --> 00:28:19,360 taking a journey. It might be a long journey and 444 00:28:19,360 --> 00:28:22,600 find their way inside that Coliseum now. 445 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:27,120 In the early 1980s, a young girl named Kathy Freeman caught sight 446 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:31,120 of the Olympic signal. She was from a working class 447 00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:34,720 Aboriginal family in Queensland, Australia, and this was at a 448 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:40,160 time when people from Indigenous peoples in Australia faced 449 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:43,040 systemic racism and marginalization. 450 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:48,120 And so there was a, you know, enormous, like, limits on her 451 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,280 life glass ceiling on many different levels. 452 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:56,600 But Kathy could run fast. And so as a as a young girl, she 453 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,320 wrote, she wrote down her dream Olympic gold. 454 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:02,880 And she's like, I want to win the gold, not only for my nation 455 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:09,120 of Australia, but for my people. And so 16 years later, she found 456 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:16,800 herself running inside the Australian Coliseum, carrying 457 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:21,520 the Olympic torch, lighting the cauldron to start the games. 458 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:25,240 And she didn't just run with that torch, she actually ran in 459 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:30,040 the 400 meter women's race. There was enormous pressure on 460 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:34,040 Kathy from her people and her country and herself and her 461 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:36,600 family. She wanted so badly to answer 462 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,240 the call of that beacon. And so she took off. 463 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:45,640 She ran a conservative race, sprinted at the end and won the 464 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:48,240 gold and she couldn't even celebrate. 465 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,520 She was so relieved. She just doubled over to let all 466 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:56,040 of the all of the hopes just sort and all of the pressure 467 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:59,760 just sort of like fall off of her shoulders before she 468 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:02,640 ascended to that top platform receive the gold. 469 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,720 But it didn't stop there. She spent the rest of her life 470 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:10,480 with Indigenous kids from Australia, mentoring them, 471 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:14,200 speaking to them, lifting them up, using her platform to get 472 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:18,800 where she got and beyond. Kathy Freeman, kind of. 473 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:21,120 You could say she embodies the Olympic spirit. 474 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:24,800 But there was a time when all she could see was the flame. 475 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:27,840 All she, she was an outsider, completely looking in all 'cause 476 00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:29,240 she could. She was the flame and she just 477 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:33,680 went toward it. Now a spiritual beacon church by 478 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:36,280 its very nature is going to welcome the presence of a 479 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:41,160 stranger and give them a place and give them a stake in the 480 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:47,880 mission. Yet there's one final feature we 481 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,200 can't miss. Even as we welcome the presence 482 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:53,360 of God and welcome the presence of a stranger, there's like this 483 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:55,920 take away. There's a So what? 484 00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:59,040 There's a way that we can walk this forward even this week. 485 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:02,960 And it's, it's encouraging because it's very doable and God 486 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:05,920 is setting the example and it's a challenge for everyone here. 487 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:10,320 In verse 8, Isaiah ends with a solemn declaration from the 488 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:12,360 Lord, verse 8. This is the declaration of the 489 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:15,040 Lord God who gathers the dispersed of Israel. 490 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:18,440 I will gather to them still others besides those already 491 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:22,840 gathered. I will gather still others to 492 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:25,360 them still others besides those already gathered. 493 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:31,480 So the Lord doesn't just sit around and wait for the people 494 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:34,920 to come to him. He goes out like a Good Shepherd 495 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:37,240 looking for them, and he gathers them. 496 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:40,920 Now gathering is a gentle image, isn't it? 497 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:44,200 It's a Shepardly image. It's even a motherly image. 498 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:48,160 It's not coercive. There's no high pressured sales 499 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:50,800 tactics. It's not obnoxious. 500 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:56,200 It's lots of small steps. It's lots of Invitational 501 00:31:56,360 --> 00:32:00,560 openness. It's not a big service or a big 502 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:02,320 program. As great as those are. 503 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:07,040 It's personal. Our God is in the work of 504 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:10,040 gathering, and the question is, will we join Him? 505 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:13,080 All of us can join Him, and this is what it means to be your 506 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:16,440 Spiritual Beacon Church. It's 7:00 AM on a Tuesday 507 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:20,560 morning and we've got about 6 minutes before the bus arrives. 508 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:26,280 Do we scroll on our phones or do we pray? 509 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:30,480 Spend those 6 minutes praying for the presence of God and for 510 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:34,280 God to send us to the people that He is gathering that He 511 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:38,120 would like to employ us to partner with us to gather it. 512 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:41,120 It's dinner time on a Thursday evening. 513 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:45,160 Will we spend our dinner with Netflix or neighbors? 514 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:48,320 Kind of comes down to choices like that. 515 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:53,000 It's Saturday afternoon, we got some free time. 516 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:55,960 Will we spend that free time catching up on the sports scores 517 00:32:56,760 --> 00:33:01,600 or will we reach out to people, friends of ours from within a 518 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:04,760 manual and beyond a manual who don't have a, you know, church 519 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:08,680 connection and actually go to the park and play sports with 520 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:13,040 them? A Spiritual Beacon Church is a 521 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:17,440 whole congregation of people carrying the gospel torch, 522 00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:21,960 joining God in the gathering process, engaging people in 523 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:26,360 loving ways about life and the gospel, befriending people who 524 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:29,800 have no church home, praying for them regularly, knowing their 525 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:33,120 pain points, and gathering welcome. 526 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:35,560 Welcome to our home. Welcome to our Citigroup. 527 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:41,040 Welcome to our service. Welcome to Saturday afternoon 528 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:45,760 sports. Remember, Emmanuel, Remember 529 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:49,760 this. In a city that is filled with a 530 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:54,240 lot of people who are very, very anxious and hurting, The Lord 531 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:57,040 has gifted our church with a gift of of healing and 532 00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:00,120 compassion. And in a city longing for 533 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:03,800 beauty, we are a community filled with artistic vision and 534 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:06,200 hope. And in a city longing for 535 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:10,199 authentic spiritual connection, we are a people rich in prayer 536 00:34:10,199 --> 00:34:12,040 and spiritual formation and liturgy. 537 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:17,120 And in a city skeptical and cynical about truth claims, we 538 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:20,840 have the deep resources of the Gospel that speak to those 539 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:25,120 pressing questions. God has planted us here for a 540 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:28,440 really beautiful purpose, and that is to make the gospel 541 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:31,920 personal, tangible, and visible for the people of Chicago. 542 00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:37,840 Now, once that final runner lights the cauldron, you know 543 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,120 they don't just put the cauldron out 15 minutes later. 544 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:43,760 It stays lit and serves as a beacon to the world that the 545 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:47,560 games are underway and that everyone is invited to come and 546 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:51,239 see. So, friends, we are carrying a 547 00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:53,159 light that does not originate with us. 548 00:34:53,159 --> 00:34:55,600 It's the light of Jesus, the light of the Son of God. 549 00:34:56,080 --> 00:35:01,000 It's intended to shine, not glare with love and truth to 550 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:05,440 every foreigner, every eunuch, every friend, every neighbor, 551 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:10,880 every companion of our city. And Chicago is like looking and 552 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:15,720 watching to see. Is that light real and is it for 553 00:35:15,720 --> 00:35:19,000 me? So let's run with hope and 554 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:24,080 courage and grit, and let's not put down our torch until the 555 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:27,880 people are gathered and the beacon is lit and the Son of God 556 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,880 is lifted high in the city of Chicago, and that all are drawn 557 00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:36,520 to Him in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy 558 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:37,960 Spirit. Amen.