Message from Bob Henderson                        Friday, July 21, 2017
 
Dear friends,

My children will gladly verify this as one of my life maxims: "Surprised people tend to act poorly."
I am far from exempt. In our first year of marriage, Suzanne - with love and naiveté' - threw me a "surprise" birthday party, which was both the first and the last time she did so. Surprises are disorienting. They mess with our worldview and make us feel out of control.  

The Bible, however, is full of surprises. In fact, one of the oldest stories in the Bible, the story that is the foundation of the entire structure, is a story about a surprise, a big surprise.
 
It starts as a common story about a married couple, Abraham and Sarah, who are getting on in years. They're at the time of life when, to put it delicately, you don't make long-range plans. It's time to downsize, sell the house, get rid of your stuff, and move to the Presbyterian Home. It's not a time to launch an adventure, start something new. As a matter of fact, the last thing in the world you would contemplate, the most outrageous thought you could think, is a pregnancy, a baby. Yet, that's exactly what happens. It's so preposterous, so completely outlandish, Sarah can't help but laugh, which is a lot better than crying.
 
Scripture is full of surprises from beginning to end. About a God who time and again comes to people who have given up, who have concluded that God has forgotten them - if God even exists in the first place. Yet, this God repeatedly shows up when their backs are against the wall and their hearts are full of fear. This God comes quietly, steadily, to be with them, to bind up their wounds, to strengthen their hearts and arms and legs and bring them new life.
 
Christianity is about a God of surprises. While I still don't prefer them, I have learned to look for God in them, to notice something of the divine when they come:

She sat quietly in my office on Monday afternoon, the day before major surgery, a bright multi-colored scarf on her head, her face pale and a bit puffy. I thought she might put her head in her hands and say "Why me?" for she certainly had every reason to do so. But, what she said was surprising: "I wouldn't trade this for anything: all the love and support. God has never been more real for me. If I were to name this journey, I'd call it 'blessing'." Having no idea how to respond, I sat quietly and let a sacred silence simply fill the room.

A God of beautiful surprises, who makes a way where there is no way; a God who, precisely when we are afraid, literally scared to death, resigned and without hope, comes with new possibility; a God so surprising that death itself becomes the occasion for new life; a God who gives new birth when we least expect it.
 
We'll talk about it more this weekend. You can prepare by reading this passage.
 
With gratitude for you all,
   
 

 

Bob Henderson, senior minister 

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