1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:03,680 We're almost finished with our series that I've been calling 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:07,000 living the Easter life this Sunday, next Sunday, we're going 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:10,520 to be looking at the Easter life as means living a life of power. 4 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:15,280 We're going to jump ahead to Pentecost and and but today 5 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,800 we're looking at the Easter story from the book of Mark, 6 00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:22,040 which is really an extraordinary Easter story. 7 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:26,800 Now, if if you've looked in your own Bible and you see that that 8 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:31,360 Mark chapter 16 goes beyond verse 8. 9 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:36,240 But in many Bibles, in fact most modern translations and 10 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,280 publications of the Bible, it will put the remainder of the 11 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,920 chapter from verse 9 on in brackets or in italics and put a 12 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:48,360 footnote there that says most ancient manuscripts do not 13 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:52,120 contain these verses or, or something to that effect. 14 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,640 And what they're trying to communicate is that that 15 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,880 scholars in this is not controversial. 16 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,920 This is not divisive. This is not, it's just one of 17 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,880 those things that's come to be accepted within the world of 18 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,520 biblical scholarship that the original ending of the book of 19 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:13,720 Mark was at verse 8. The women left and told they 20 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:18,320 were afraid and said nothing to anyone and that somewhere along 21 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:20,720 the way people thought, you know what, that's not a great ending 22 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,040 to the story. Let's make it more like Matthew 23 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:26,240 and Luke. And so the rest of the book was 24 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:28,720 added. But I want us to focus on 25 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,720 whether that rest, if you want to, if we want to think of that 26 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:36,440 as scripture, that's cool. But I want to focus on this kind 27 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,760 of ending because each of the Gospels gives us a different 28 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:46,040 perspective on the resurrection and life after the resurrection. 29 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:50,800 And Matthew, the, the, the clear emphasis is on mission that 30 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,280 Jesus is giving his disciples. You have a job to do. 31 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:57,840 Go out into all the world and make disciples. 32 00:01:57,840 --> 00:01:59,240 I'll be with you while you do it. 33 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:05,600 And, and John, the emphasis is much more on relationship and 34 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,880 community. The the time Jesus spends with 35 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,840 his disciples after the resurrection is not to give them 36 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:14,840 an assignment, but it is to make sure that they know they're 37 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:16,640 forgiven. They're still part of the 38 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:19,320 Kingdom of God, They're still part of the family of God. 39 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:24,080 And the way they can show their love for him is by loving one 40 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:26,400 another and loving the people in the world around him, 41 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,840 meaningfully serving one another and meaningfully serving people 42 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,920 in the world around him. In the book of Luke and Acts, 43 00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:38,000 which is, is all written by Luke and, and it's a two-part thing, 44 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:42,560 we get the resurrection account in Luke and, and at the end of 45 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,480 the book of Luke, Jesus is telling his disciples, you will, 46 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:48,960 you will be my witnesses. You will, you will preach the 47 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,720 good news of the baptism of repentance through the 48 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,920 forgiveness of sins. And then at the beginning of 49 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:59,560 Acts, he emphasizes just before he ascends into heaven and we'll 50 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,960 look at this next week, Jesus saying the Holy Spirit's going 51 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:05,880 to come upon you and he prophecies, you will be my 52 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:09,600 witnesses throughout the world. And so the emphasis is much more 53 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,680 on what God is going to do in and through his disciples. 54 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:21,200 Then on an assignment given to the disciples, Mark, Mark ends 55 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,200 in mystery. It ends with a big unknown. 56 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:30,000 It's like, you know, driving down the road and coming to a 57 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,040 river and the bridge is out and it's like, where do we go from 58 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:37,320 here? The women go to anoint Jesus to 59 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,000 put the spices on him to do all of the things that they do and 60 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,760 and the other gospels. When they get there, they don't 61 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:45,520 encounter Jesus and Mark and they don't encounter 2 angels. 62 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:49,680 They encounter 1 Angel who says Jesus is risen go and tell his 63 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:52,840 disciples and Peter, which is we're not going to get into the 64 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,400 end Peter much today, but the the emphasis really there is is 65 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,680 to make sure Peter who denied Jesus knows that he's still part 66 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,920 included in all of this. Jesus wants him there too, and 67 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:08,080 the women are so utterly overwhelmed by what they have 68 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,120 encountered and what they have experienced that they can't say 69 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:15,080 a word to anyone. It's mystery. 70 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:21,160 It's it's unknown that the story ends so abruptly with the sense 71 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:24,960 of what happens next. Where is all of this going? 72 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,360 There's no assignment, there's no call to forgiveness, there's 73 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:31,440 no call to mission, there's no prophecy of great things that 74 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:37,480 are going to come. It's just the story ends with a 75 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:42,800 mind shattering surprise that no one was expecting even though 76 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,640 Jesus told them all that it was coming. 77 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,480 Part of what I believe Mark was trying to do by ending the 78 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:55,280 gospel this way is to communicate to us that the life 79 00:04:55,280 --> 00:04:59,640 of Easter really is a life of mystery, that it doesn't get all 80 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:03,640 mapped out for us. That fear is a normal and an 81 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:07,920 appropriate response sometimes when God shows up in the world 82 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:12,280 and in our lives and, and, and sometimes we don't know what to 83 00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:17,800 do in response to God's call. And sometimes even when we know 84 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:21,120 what we're supposed to do, like the women, they were given very 85 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,400 clear instructions, very simple instructions. 86 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,760 Sometimes it's so overwhelming and so terrifying, we can't 87 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:31,800 bring ourselves to do it. Living the Easter life is living 88 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,760 a life of mystery. This was true from the beginning 89 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:37,840 of Jesus's life. Now it's Mother's Day. 90 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:42,240 So I got AI got a, I've got a Mother's Day video to show and, 91 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,080 and we're going all the way back to beginning of Jesus's life. 92 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,320 We're going to see a woman. She's an actress that is is 93 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:53,960 portraying A fictionalized scene from Jesus's childhood that we 94 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:57,880 don't get in the scripture, but you know, I think could have 95 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:02,200 happened and, and let's let's, let's watch here. 96 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:04,680 So Jesus did the funniest thing the other night. 97 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:08,080 We were sitting down to dinner and I said jokingly, Mama could 98 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:10,080 use a glass of wine, it's been a long day. 99 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:13,960 Next thing I know he had waved his hand over my goblet and turn 100 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:18,480 my water into a a really delightful Cabernet. 101 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:25,120 I said OK, OK, give yourself a rest because he had raised our 102 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,760 dog from the dead just a couple hours earlier. 103 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:31,400 Mary literally says stuff like this all the time. 104 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:33,840 And we're always like, you gay. Yeah. 105 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:36,240 What did she say? Last time we wanted fish for 106 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:41,600 dinner and the boats came back empty and then suddenly there 107 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:44,720 were fish in the Nets. And like this morning, we're all 108 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,080 just kind of like, okay, Mary, all of her babies, we all think 109 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:49,400 they're special. We all want them to have those 110 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:51,280 milestones first. But she's just like competitive 111 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:52,760 on a new level. My baby actually is super 112 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:54,000 special. She's probably going to walk 113 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:55,360 before hers. She might even walk on water. 114 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:57,640 Wouldn't it be funny? I think they think that I'm 115 00:06:57,640 --> 00:06:59,480 lying. They also asked me recently if 116 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:01,840 if Joseph was really Jesus's dad. 117 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:04,600 Yeah, but also, no. It's hard. 118 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:08,240 You know, there's no real good parenting book for what to do 119 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,560 when your child is the Son of the Lord, but we're figuring it. 120 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:14,600 Life is a mystery. Motherhood is a mystery even for 121 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:19,360 Mary and for Mary's, you know, friends and relatives around. 122 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,920 And I don't know, you know, I, I, I know that, that, that, that 123 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:25,920 motherhood have never experienced it personally. 124 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:28,600 Well, I've had a mother, but I've never been a mother. 125 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:31,760 Now I'm just going to leave that there. 126 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:39,560 What I seem to pick up from the mothers that I see around me is 127 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,360 that that being a mother can be very challenging. 128 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,960 You know, there are lots of books, but none of them really 129 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:47,920 tell us. We don't really know what the 130 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,040 future is going to hold. There's, there's, there's this 131 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:54,720 tendency for moms to compare themselves to one another. 132 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:57,800 And, and boy, it would have been tough to be in Mary's 133 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,000 neighborhood when Jesus was growing up in those kind of 134 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,720 conversations at the playground, in the in the McDonald's Place 135 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:05,920 in it would have been challenging. 136 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:10,160 But here, the fact is, it's, it's mystery. 137 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:13,400 Mary didn't know what was coming. 138 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,400 Mary was as surprised as everyone else at Jesus's 139 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:21,040 resurrection. She was as as heartbroken, and 140 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,520 maybe more so than anyone else at Jesus's crucifixion. 141 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,080 Not knowing what's coming, not being able to see the future, 142 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:34,120 not knowing exactly how to respond to God, or even when we 143 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:38,480 know what we're supposed to do, being able to bring ourselves to 144 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:40,520 do it. That's a part of the Easter 145 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:44,039 life. Much of life, including 146 00:08:44,039 --> 00:08:48,280 motherhood and faith, can feel like an unsolvable mystery. 147 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:53,520 I just don't know what to do. I just don't know where to go. 148 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:55,200 I don't know what the right answer is. 149 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:57,400 I don't know how what to tell my kids. 150 00:08:57,400 --> 00:08:58,880 I don't know what to tell my parents. 151 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:01,280 We get to that point to where we're needing to tell our 152 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:02,440 parents. We don't know what to tell our 153 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:06,160 parents. I don't know don't know how to 154 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:08,840 make it through the day, through the week. 155 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:10,880 How are we going to get to the end of the year? 156 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:12,360 How are the bills going to get paid? 157 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:15,080 How are the school supplies going to get? 158 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:20,560 All of these things are simply part of living the life that God 159 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:24,560 has given us to live. And mystery, saying that life is 160 00:09:24,560 --> 00:09:27,320 a life of mystery. Humans are uncomfortable with 161 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:30,520 unsolved mysteries. That's why scooby-doo worked so 162 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:32,320 well. Everybody loves. 163 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,280 I've never, well, he's I've never met anyone that openly 164 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:37,040 admits that they didn't like scooby-doo. 165 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:39,160 If you're one of those people, I don't want to hear about it. 166 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:43,600 When there was a mystery, they had to solve it. 167 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:46,800 I won't get into this. There's an entire episode of 168 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:50,840 Star Trek on that theme. People have to solve. 169 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,600 When there are clues and there's a mystery, there's something in 170 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:58,560 its that compels us to seek out an answer to the mystery, to try 171 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:01,600 to figure out what we don't know, to fill in the gaps, to 172 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:05,160 shine light into the dark places, to eliminate the shadows 173 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:07,600 and get to know everything as well and completely and 174 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:11,040 thoroughly as we possibly can. And there is a sense in which 175 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:13,880 the scientific revolution, which has been a wonderful thing over 176 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:17,920 the past several years, gives us the illusion that we have the 177 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:21,080 capability of eliminating all of the shadows and all of the 178 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,240 mysteries, that one day we'll figure it all out. 179 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,280 The testimony of the Bible is no, we won't. 180 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:32,000 No matter how much we learn, there's going to be more that we 181 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:34,160 don't know. No matter how many questions we 182 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:37,360 answer, it will. It will end up opening up more 183 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:41,400 questions that are still unanswered and and the grand 184 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:43,120 unification theories that are out there. 185 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:45,520 If we can come up with a single equation that explains 186 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,560 everything, I think are ultimately going to be shown to 187 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:53,800 be false. That that if we can understand 188 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:57,440 it completely, it doesn't explain everything because 189 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,840 there's too much in this life that is beyond our 190 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:06,040 understanding. By definition, mystery is 191 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:08,480 unknown. It's mysterious. 192 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:12,680 It's what we don't know, in some cases what we can't know. 193 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:18,200 And that as frustrating as it is, as challenging as it is, as 194 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:21,440 frightening as it is, is simply part of the life that God has 195 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:25,440 given us. Having to deal with and live in 196 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,520 and live through and live into the unknown. 197 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:33,360 Making decisions without really knowing what the short term, 198 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:36,760 sometimes outcomes will be and and often what the long term 199 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:39,920 outcomes will be. Either without knowing how it's 200 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:42,440 going to affect, without knowing how our kids are going to do 201 00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:46,000 down the road. Without knowing how you know 202 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,160 where our lives are going to be a year from now, or five years 203 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:53,600 or now or 10 years from now. The way the world is changing 204 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:57,120 and science is developing and technology is developing now I 205 00:11:57,600 --> 00:11:59,800 it's it. Who can guess what this world is 206 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,520 going to look like 30 years from now, much less 50 or 60 or 80 207 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:08,280 years from now? The future is a mystery, the 208 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:12,480 future is unknown, and that's part of the way God has created 209 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,840 it and made it. What Isaiah said, God said to 210 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:19,240 his people through Isaiah. For my thoughts are not your 211 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:22,800 thoughts, neither are your ways. My ways, declares the Lord, as 212 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:25,880 the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher 213 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:28,400 than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 214 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:32,320 God says you can never know everything that I know. 215 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,440 Our little brains are not big enough. 216 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:39,800 Our little minds cannot contain the mysteries of the universe, 217 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:44,040 can never fully comprehend God, God's ways, God's purposes, 218 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:47,840 God's plans, and God's designs. Even when God says it to us 219 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:51,320 clearly and directly and explicitly, like when Jesus told 220 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:55,320 his followers, I'm going to die three days, I'm going to rise 221 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,520 again from the dead, they still didn't get it. 222 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:02,720 It still didn't make sense. The Ecclesiastes, which Elena 223 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:06,360 read earlier, he has also said eternity in the human heart. 224 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:10,360 Yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 225 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:17,200 God's power, God's work is a mystery beyond our knowing and 226 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:21,800 beyond our understanding. And, and, and I, I, you know, 227 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,080 I've heard people over the years how we can explain it. 228 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:32,840 We can know, you know, there's just stuff we can that we can't 229 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:34,840 predict, we can't control, and we can't know. 230 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,000 And that's the life God has called us to leave. 231 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:43,840 Now, mystery is, by definition, sort of unknown for the Greek 232 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:45,840 scholars in the room. And I have to say this because 233 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,960 occasionally my daughter listens to these messages online, and 234 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:50,760 she knows Greek much better than I do. 235 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:54,760 And she would have already interrupted me to tell me that 236 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:56,880 that's not what mystery means in the New Testament. 237 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:00,400 And she would be right, and she is right in in the New 238 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:05,120 Testament, mystery is not like an unsolved mystery crime drama. 239 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:10,720 It's used to talk about the part of God's plan that God has not 240 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,720 revealed yet. And when you look up the word 241 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,480 mystery throughout the New Testament, what you read is that 242 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:22,040 Jesus is God's answer to the mystery, the mystery. 243 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:23,880 How is God going to redeem the world? 244 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:27,320 The answer, Jesus, the mystery, how is God going to reconcile 245 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:29,720 the world? The answer, Jesus, the mystery. 246 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:31,200 How is God going to deal with sin? 247 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:32,560 How is God going to deal with pain? 248 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:34,240 How is God going to deal with suffering? 249 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:35,880 How is God going to deal with redemption? 250 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,680 The answer is Jesus through his life, his death and his 251 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:41,920 resurrection. And we can know that. 252 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:45,000 And the, the much of the New Testament, when it talks about 253 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,760 mystery, talks about the fact that the mystery that was for 254 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:51,200 all ages has now been revealed and made known. 255 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:55,320 US, the people in the past, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Moses, and 256 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,560 others could only look forward and wonder, how is God going to 257 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,080 do all of this? How is God going to answer all 258 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:04,200 the prayers and, and, and fulfill all his prophecies? 259 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:08,680 But it has been revealed to us and that revelation is Jesus. 260 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:12,880 So mystery is by definition sort of unknown. 261 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:18,320 But we got to be honest here too, that knowing the answer is 262 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,000 Jesus doesn't mean we really understand the answer. 263 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,920 Simple things about Jesus that we say. 264 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:28,160 We say Jesus is fully God and fully human, right? 265 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:30,800 If you've grown up in the church, I I hope you've heard 266 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:31,920 that before. If you haven't heard that 267 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:36,320 before, shame on us pastors who haven't said that, that Jesus is 268 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:42,200 fully God and fully human. We say that we have no idea what 269 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,120 that really means. I had a seminary professor who's 270 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,720 who explained it this way. He said the notion that Jesus is 271 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:53,480 fully God and fully human is like taking a quart of water and 272 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:58,640 a quart of oil and pouring them together into a single quart 273 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:05,160 container and it holds it all. That makes sense. 274 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:09,800 Not right. We say the Trinity, we talk 275 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,160 about God and we have one God, one very important. 276 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:14,440 We don't have three gods. We have one God and three 277 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:16,120 persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 278 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:19,560 What does that mean? We don't know that this is not 279 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:22,280 how things work in our experienced universe. 280 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,840 We, we, we try to parse it out like, like, and I used to do 281 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:29,400 this one, the egg, you know, it's got an egg, it's got a 282 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:31,920 shell, it's got a white and it's got a yoke 3 in one. 283 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:36,280 I later learned that's heresy. I don't think, I don't think I'm 284 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:40,320 going to go to hell for that. The technical name for that is 285 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:44,280 modalism, and Christians killed each other for teaching that at 286 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,000 one point in time it was we were dumb. 287 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:51,880 We've been dumb that they said that's because the shell, Jesus 288 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,680 is fully God. He's not part of God. 289 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:56,240 The shell is only part of an egg. 290 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:59,800 Jesus is fully God, and the shell is only part of an egg. 291 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:01,040 The white is only part of the egg. 292 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:04,599 The oak is only part of the egg, but somehow Jesus is fully God 293 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:08,599 and and God is the Father is fully God and the Holy Spirit is 294 00:17:08,599 --> 00:17:10,520 fully God. But there's not three gods, 295 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,560 there's one God. And if there's one God who was 296 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:15,319 running the universe when Jesus died. 297 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:18,640 All of these questions people that aren't part of Christianity 298 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:21,119 ask, and when we tell them, well, it's the Trinity, they go. 299 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:25,520 That doesn't really help. It's a mystery. 300 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:31,360 Part of our teaching about the incarnation of Jesus is God in 301 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:35,520 the flesh of teaching of the Trinity, part of our of teaching 302 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:39,360 about the resurrection and and how Jesus's life, death and 303 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:43,400 resurrection has somehow opened the door for our salvation and 304 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,000 our forgiveness and the reconciliation of the world to 305 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,680 God. We're saying those things as 306 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:54,160 statements of faith, not something that we can ever fully 307 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:58,480 or completely explain. Our brains just aren't big 308 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,120 enough. That's that should be good news. 309 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,880 Because if we can understand everything, that means we really 310 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:09,920 are kind of the high point of the universe. 311 00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:11,840 It doesn't get any better than us. 312 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:15,600 And Oh my goodness, are we in bad shape if the universe 313 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:19,920 doesn't get any better than us. But there is someone out there 314 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:24,400 who is bigger, who is greater, who is beyond our understanding. 315 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:27,840 Because if God were not beyond our understanding, God would not 316 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:30,120 be bigger, and God would not be greater. 317 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:33,640 Beyond all question, Paul writes, The mystery from which 318 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,360 true godliness springs is great. This is the mystery. 319 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:39,600 He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was 320 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:42,840 seen by the angels, was preached among the nations, was believed 321 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:45,640 on in the world, and was taken up into glory. 322 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:49,880 All of those statements true. All of those statements faith. 323 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,720 None of those statements ultimately scientifically 324 00:18:54,720 --> 00:19:01,040 verifiable and provable. As we live the Easter life, then 325 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,840 one of the questions we have to ask ourselves is how do we 326 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:11,720 respond to mystery? The book of Mark, those women 327 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:16,160 who went to Jesus tomb, they responded to mystery with fear 328 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:22,160 and with silence. They were so overwhelmed they 329 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:27,440 couldn't do or say anything. Now obviously it didn't stay 330 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:30,960 that way because we never would have heard, right? 331 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:37,520 Mark's not making the point that that that we should never tell 332 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:42,400 anyone about Jesus. Mark's talking about that that 333 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:46,520 experience of God that is so overwhelming that we don't know 334 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:50,720 how to respond, or even if we know what we're supposed to do, 335 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,600 it's so overwhelming we can't bring ourselves to do it. 336 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:59,360 Silence, silence. Well, don't be, Don't be 337 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:00,920 alarmed. He said you were looking for 338 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:03,000 Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. 339 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:04,280 He has risen. He is not here. 340 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:05,760 See the place where they laid him. 341 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:07,720 But go tell his disciples and Peter. 342 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:09,400 He's going ahead of you into Galilee. 343 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:11,680 There you will see him, just as he told you. 344 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:16,000 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the 345 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,080 tomb. They said nothing to anyone 346 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:23,440 because they were afraid. Their response was silence. 347 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:26,920 Silence is not a bad response to mystery. 348 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:34,320 It's really not. One of the disciplines of of 349 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:40,080 Christian spirituality that has been lost in our contemporary 350 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:46,880 society is silence. To, to turn off all the noise, 351 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:50,040 all of the inputs, all of the phones, all of the computers, 352 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:52,480 all of the tablets, all of the televisions, all of the 353 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:59,280 everything and simply be silent before God challenge you to do 354 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:04,040 it sometime. If, if, if you're not used to 355 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:07,680 doing that, I, I, you might be surprised at how hard it is to 356 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:13,840 do that, to decide to sit in silence for 10 minutes, for 15 357 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:20,320 minutes, for 20 minutes. Try it and see what bubbles up 358 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:23,240 inside. One of my favorite songs, band 359 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:28,120 by the name of 21 Pilots called Car Radio and, and, and the he's 360 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:29,920 he's singing in rhyme. I'm not going to try it. 361 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:33,920 Don't worry about the fact that he's got a car. 362 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:38,960 But someone stole his radio and now he has to sit in silence and 363 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,840 it's making him nuts. It's driving him crazy. 364 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:44,680 And he said the quiet is violence. 365 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:49,920 Silence and quiet are hard for us to deal with for the same 366 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:52,240 reason that mystery is hard for us to deal with. 367 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:57,040 We want answers. We want clarity, we want to 368 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:00,760 know. And when we sit in silence, what 369 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:04,080 often bubbles up within us are all of those things that we 370 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:09,120 don't know and that we don't have answers to, Experiences and 371 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:14,200 future possibilities that frighten us, memories of past 372 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:18,560 things that frighten us. And. 373 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:22,320 And ancient Christian spirituality says one of the 374 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:28,720 best ways in the world to respond to mystery is with 375 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,320 silence. To sit in silence, I got to 376 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:33,000 double check to see where I am. OK Yeah. 377 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:34,600 Now I got a couple more before I get there. 378 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,920 Psalmist writes this. He says God says, be still and 379 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,800 know that I am God. I will be exalted among the 380 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,000 nations. I will be exalted on the earth. 381 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:47,200 They were faced with a terrifying threat and external 382 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:49,440 harm, something that they couldn't control, something that 383 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,560 they had no power over. And and the advice of the 384 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:59,760 prophet, the advice of the poet, is be silent, be still, know 385 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:03,800 that God is God and God will be exalted. 386 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:07,560 Whatever else happens and comes out of this, God will be exalted 387 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:12,000 on all the earth. Silence is a good response. 388 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:16,800 It's not just not a bad response, it is a good response 389 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:18,640 to mystery. I'm forgetting what's coming 390 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:19,160 next. Tell me. 391 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,080 I got several more. Boy, I thought this was thought 392 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:23,640 I was getting to the video sooner than this. 393 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:27,200 Silence allows mystery. Why silence a good response? 394 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:29,960 Because silence allows mystery to be mysterious. 395 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:35,640 It's a decision to turn off the compulsion within us to solve 396 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:39,080 and know everything, have everything sorted out to 397 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:41,560 everything planned out, to have everything laid out. 398 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,720 And it simply says I will allow the mystery to be mysterious. 399 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,200 It's a way of saying I will allow God to be God and not 400 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,400 demanded that God explain himself to me. 401 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:56,360 Saint Augustine had a vision once. 402 00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:00,680 He's a smart guy. He was a really smart guy, one 403 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:05,680 of the first great theologians within Christianity, educated, 404 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:09,560 intelligent, good communicator. He had, it was the whole 405 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:13,040 package. And he had a dream one night and 406 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:21,320 he was on a beach and he had a little jar and he was scooping 407 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,360 water out of the sea and putting it into the jar. 408 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:34,920 And a person walked up said I got the story wrong, I have 409 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:38,840 messed my mind, just went just brain fart right there. 410 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:47,920 No I didn't, I had it right. Person came up, it was an Angel. 411 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:50,880 Takes a minute. Angel says what are you doing? 412 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:55,480 Said I'm putting the ocean in the jar. 413 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,040 The Angel said, you can't put the ocean in the jar, the ocean 414 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:03,280 won't fit in the jar. The man said, oh, I guess you're 415 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:05,040 right. And then the Angel said, and you 416 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:08,520 also can't understand the Trinity you'll never under. 417 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,440 It's the same kind of thing, the mysteries of God. 418 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:18,360 To try to seek to comprehend God is like trying to fit the ocean 419 00:25:18,360 --> 00:25:21,560 in a jar. It's just not possible. 420 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,000 And when we're silent before the mystery, we allow the mystery to 421 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,240 be mysterious. Silence in that way is an 422 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:29,400 expression of humility before mystery. 423 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:35,760 It's a way of saying, I don't. I let go of my demand to know. 424 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:41,680 I let go and surrender my right to understand, and I choose to 425 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:47,560 simply trust and simply believe. Psalm 131 is all of three 426 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:49,200 verses. This is the whole chapter. 427 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:53,640 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too 428 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:56,800 high, I do not occupy myself with things too great and too 429 00:25:56,800 --> 00:26:01,640 marvelous for me, but I have calmed and quieted my soul, like 430 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:04,840 a child quieted at his mother's breast, like a child that is 431 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:06,200 quiet. It is my soul. 432 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:11,440 O Israel, hope in the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore. 433 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,520 There are great and mysterious and wonderful and marvelous 434 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,280 things, and sometimes it's good to gaze at those things and be 435 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:25,320 overwhelmed by those things. But there are times when we just 436 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:30,600 need to be silent before that mystery and allow it to be the 437 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:32,400 mystery. And trust. 438 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:37,400 Trust that our hope is not in our understanding. 439 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,720 Our hope is not in our ability to comprehend. 440 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:44,400 Our ability to figure out our hope is in the Lord. 441 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:48,760 That phrase my calm and quiet in my soul, like a child quieted 442 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:51,800 its mother's breast. The the Hebrew word for child 443 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:55,560 there is specifically for a child that has been weaned. 444 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:00,360 So because an unweaned child is at his mother's breast to get 445 00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:04,760 something right. Lunch, dinner, snack, lunch, 446 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:07,400 dinner, snack, over and over and over again. 447 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:11,000 But the weaned child is not at his mother's breast to get 448 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,880 something except to be in the presence of his mother. 449 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:19,600 And that's what the psalmist invites us to. 450 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:26,600 To live in the presence of the mystery of God without 451 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:31,480 demanding, without craving, without insisting, without even 452 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:35,280 trying to fully and completely understand anymore. 453 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,560 Then your two year old, your mom's out there, your two or 454 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,600 three-year old can really understand your love for them. 455 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:46,080 They don't, they can't, they won't. 456 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:50,880 And a lot of us, when we became parents, realized that what our 457 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:54,920 parents told us was right, that we wouldn't really understand 458 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:57,280 until we were parents ourselves. I was like, OK, well, they were 459 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:01,760 right about that too. Our kids don't know and we can't 460 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:03,000 know. We can't know. 461 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:05,720 I think I'm at the almost all right. 462 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:10,240 One more here. One possibility for dealing with 463 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,680 mystery is to say just get comfortable with mystery. 464 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:14,880 But we shouldn't be comfortable with mystery. 465 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:17,320 Mystery should make us uncomfortable. 466 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:20,080 I've got a song I keep looking over but want to make sure I get 467 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:23,200 to this slide. And it's, it's actually a song, 468 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:28,000 2 parts written by two different people, Amy Carter or Cardi, I 469 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,600 think is is is is the first person. 470 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,360 She's the one on the top who a few years back wrote a song 471 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:38,120 about her experience a few days into college, 3 days or two days 472 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,720 into college. And then there's another woman 473 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:46,560 who in response to that song, and she goes on on YouTube by 474 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:52,240 I'm sad Alex wrote a song about her experience of life 10 years 475 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,560 after college. And I want you to hear the 476 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:58,520 mystery in all of this. Let's listen together. 477 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:02,760 I'm two days into college and I'm three lectures behind. 478 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:04,720 There's this guy, let's name him Colin. 479 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:07,480 He says he wants to be mine, but it doesn't really sit with me 480 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:09,800 quite right because he doesn't really like the things I like 481 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:12,440 and I keep accidentally look at myself out of my dorm in the 482 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:15,360 middle of the night. I'm 10 years out of college and 483 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:18,120 I'm still 10 years behind. All those things I thought I'd 484 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:21,040 have by now are still so out of sight and it doesn't really sit 485 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:23,760 with me quite right. I'm 32 years into this life. 486 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,720 I should have more WS than L's so use the hell I don't even 487 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:28,200 feel the fire when it's in my face. 488 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,840 And I'm a play tonight thinking am I OK? 489 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,880 Should I change to something safer about and very good on 490 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:36,000 paper? Settle down and fall in love 491 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,680 when they recall and it up? Did everybody succeed now? 492 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:47,840 Are they happier than me now? Now I'm sad Alex wrote a third 493 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:51,480 part in response to comments when she posted that video and 494 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,560 folks said, well, what you know, what about older? 495 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:57,120 What about 20 years out of college? 496 00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:00,040 So she wrote a verse about 20 years out of college. 497 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:04,280 I deliberately cut that out because two reasons. 498 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,360 One, at that point she's pretty. She's not writing about her 499 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:12,760 experience, but but now here 10 years out of college, she's 500 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:14,200 wondering. I don't get it. 501 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:16,000 I don't understand. Life is not what I thought it 502 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:17,920 would be. I'm not as far along as I 503 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:19,720 thought I'd be. I don't know the things I 504 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:21,480 thought I'd know. I don't even had the experiences 505 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:23,280 I thought I have. I don't have the winds I don't. 506 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:26,160 I can't even tell our people. Both people seem to be doing 507 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:29,040 better than me and and she's struggling with this mystery. 508 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:31,760 But when she wrote the the 20 years out of college, she 509 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:35,760 figured it all out. And I got bad news for I'm sad, 510 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:39,880 Alex, if she's not going to have it figured out 20 years out of 511 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:43,480 college, either 30 or 40 pushing. 512 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:47,760 No, I'm not at 50 yet. So far 40, I'm confident not got 513 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:52,560 it figured out. We need to allow ourselves to be 514 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:56,240 uncomfortable with the mystery, not to get comfortable with it, 515 00:30:56,400 --> 00:31:00,760 but to be uncomfortable with it, to allow ourselves to look at 516 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:03,560 the world around us and look at our own lives and say, you know 517 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:05,720 what? I just don't know. 518 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,040 I don't know. Am I doing it right? 519 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:12,480 Am I doing it wrong? My kids going to turn out OK? 520 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:16,360 Am I screwing my kids up? Am I screwing my parents up? 521 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:24,760 And my there are so many things in life and in faith that we 522 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:26,800 want to know that we just can't know. 523 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:34,560 But we know this. We know this, that the answer to 524 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:39,680 all of the mystery is Jesus, his life, his death, and his 525 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:43,120 resurrection. How that's the answer we cannot 526 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:47,480 explain. But that is the answer which 527 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:52,480 means this, that in the mystery we can rest in the arms of God, 528 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:56,320 trusting that what God has said will be true. 529 00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:59,800 Trusting that when we stand before God, we will stand before 530 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:01,440 him. Not as people who need to 531 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:05,920 present a perfect resume of our past experiences, but as a 532 00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:10,360 people who can trust in His mercy and in His grace because 533 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:17,560 He loved us enough to die for us, so we allow ourselves to be 534 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:20,360 uncomfortable for the mystery. I know that there's nothing 535 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:22,920 better for people than to be happy and to do good while they 536 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:24,880 live. That each of them may eat and 537 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:27,280 drink and find satisfaction and all their toil. 538 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:30,720 This is the gift of God. I know that everything God does 539 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:33,160 will endure forever. Nothing can be added to it, 540 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:36,560 nothing taken from it. And God does it so that people 541 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:40,840 will fear Him. All right, when we get afraid 542 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:43,680 before the mystery, God's going. That's right where I want you. 543 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:50,280 Don't get comfortable. Live in the uncertainty, live in 544 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:53,640 the fear. And while you're at it, enjoy 545 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:58,920 your life. Eat and drink, raise your kids, 546 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:03,760 have fun, play, laugh, as well as work and rest. 547 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:09,320 Do these things in your life with which I have blessed you. 548 00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:14,560 And when the future mysteries get overwhelming, rest in my 549 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:19,480 arms and trust in my mercy and my love and my power. 550 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:24,840 Allow yourself to be uncomfortable with mystery. 551 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:30,760 That's living the Easter life, not having all the answers, but 552 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:34,480 living with the mystery in Jesus name, Amen. 553 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:35,200 Amen.