Pastoral Care

I've ministered to dozens of families as they have said goodbye to a loved one, and to persons who know their time is drawing to an end.  But this is the first time I've lived that experience.  It is encouraging that I'm feeling the same things many of the people I've ministered to said they felt.

OK, seriously, what's up with that dude's eyes?

The juxtaposition of so many different feelings -- sadness, unbelief, shock, hope, gratitude, anger, and others -- is difficult to describe.  I guess it is a burden, in the most literal sense: a load that is carried. 

I am grateful to God for all the people who have offered support during this time.  They cannot take the burden, it is mine to carry, but they can certainly make the journey better.  So thank you, God, for all these kind and supportive folks.  They remind me of what Job's friends should have been doing.  Thank you, also, to each one of you, you know who you are. 

Cancer

Most of you probably already know the reason my posts have been missing for the last couple of weeks: My mom has cancer and has come to Chattanooga for treatment. The thing is, they are still trying to figure out what kind of cancer it is and where it started. Honestly, things are not looking good. However, her faith is strong and she's surrounded by friends and family that love her and are praying for her.

It might not be easy, but either way, this ends up good for her.

As her doctor said: "The Good Lord never said bad things wouldn't happen, he just promised to send us help when they do."

Walking on Water

Our text this week is from Matthew 14, where Jesus sticks around on shore to pray and the disciples all head out into the Sea of Galilee in a boat.  A huge storm comes up, everyone freaks out, and Jesus walks on water to rescue them.  Although it has been done to death, I think there are still valuable things to learn from this incident -- which is why I'm going to preach on it Sunday.

However, I don't know how to blog on it without either retyping my sermon, being cheesy and lame, or referencing someone else's (John Ortberg) much more eloquent and marketable work.

That leaves me with little else to do other than to give you some pictures and challenge you to consider the context of Matthew's boat story.  It's right after Jesus feeds 5000 people with a couple fish and several slices of bread.  It's right after Jesus tells everyone that the Kingdom is like a tiny mustard seed that grows into a huge bush.  What does this have to do with walking on water?  You tell me.

Oh yeah, your pictures.  Here they are:

The Sea of Galilee -- not just a puddle in the desert.

The view from the Disciples' position.

The single most awesome picture I could find showing the incident.