It was a dark and stormy night - Matthew 10:29-30 with a poem and an observation

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 10:29-30 (The Message)
"What's the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail - even numbering the hairs on your head!

A POEM by St. John of the Cross:
Upon a darkened night
The flame of love was burning in my breast
And by a lantern bright
I fled my house while all in quiet rest

Shrouded by the night
And by the secret stair I quickly fled
The veil concealed my eyes
While all within lay quiet as the dead.

(Chorus)
O, night thou was my guide!
O, night more loving than the rising sun!
O, night that joined the Lover to the beloved one!
Transforming each of them into the other.

Upon that misty night
In secrecy beyond such mortal sight
Without a guide or light
Than that which burned as deeply in my heart.

That fire 'twas led me on
And shone more bright than of the midday sun
To where He waited still
It was a place where no one else could come.

(Chorus)

Within my pounding heart
Which kept itself entirely for Him
He fell into His sleep
beneath the cedars all my love I gave.

From o'er the fortress walls
The wind would brush His hair against His brow
And with its smoother hand
caressed my every sense it would allow.

(Chorus)

I lost my self to Him
And laid my face upon my Lover's breast
And care and grief grew dim
As in the morning's mist became the light.
There they dimmed amongst the lilies fair.

AN OBSERVATION:
“It was a dark and stormy night” so goes a classic opening line from a novel or if you only read PEANUTS it is Snoopy’s opening line for every book he attempts to write … and it was and is. A feeder band of thunderstorms and rain came rolling into Bradenton this morning around 2:30 AM … but that is not what was keeping me awake.

When I am awake at this hour (1 or 2 AM) it is usually because I drank too much liquid near bedtime or I’m working on a sermon and my mind will not shutdown … or there is a troubling situation within the church that will not allow my soul to find peace. And so the spiritual struggle continues more with the latter than the former.

I am reminded of words spoken by more than one of my district superintendents over the course of my ministry (they must have been reading from the same book): “Martin, you care too much about the church. If you aren’t careful it will end up killing you!”

One of my early mentors in ministry was Dr. Ernie Smith. At the time he was General Secretary for one of the boards of the United Methodist Church. Not only was Dr. Smith a fantastic preacher with tremendous spiritual insight to the condition of the church, but he had the ability to summarize the situation with about 10 words or less and offer a 5 word or less solution. What a fantastic mind! Several books are in my library based on his recommendations – he would read 8 to 10 books at a time.

I had invited Ernie to come and share some special Holy Week services at my Big Pine Key church never dreaming that it was even a possibility considering his heavy travel schedule and demands on his time, but in he flew and the church was profoundly impacted as he shared the spiritual journey from Good Friday evening through Easter morning services.

During our time together I picked his brain concerning some things going on within the church. He started to laugh and then he shared, “Well, when I was just starting out in my first church (Big Pine was my first church) I got really frustrated with my congregation. They loved bickering and complaining more than they loved the Lord. So, one Sunday, after warning my DS what I was about to do, I simply told them the truth about their situation and said, I am going on strike until you decide that you really want to be the church. You will know where to find me because I will just be next door in the parsonage, but as for right now the pulpit is on strike. And I closed my Bible and walked out down the center aisle and went home. It was about 5 or 6 weeks later that they sent a delegation to the parsonage to share that they were ready to be the church. Sometimes you just got to shake them up a bit!”

Through it all though, regardless how deep the problems of life run, one thing stands rock solid … God is in charge and we matter to God. There is nothing that we are facing that he cannot handle … and is handling, even if we don’t yet see his hand working in the hearts and minds of those involved. As the popular adage states: “If God brings you to it he will see you through it.” But this knowledge doesn’t always calm the “dark and stormy nights” does it.

The thunderstorm is raging outside. Wind is blowing. The driving rain is coming down in sheets. The lightening is flashing all around, but I am safe in my house and in the presence of the Almighty God. So off to bed I go at peace with the knowledge that even the hairs on my head are number … I matter to God!

PRAYER:
Most gracious and holy God bring peace to my soul and a calming presence to the church. In the name of Jesus. Amen.