It has been over 9 months since this mobilization started. Today was the first time I have had sacrament meeting by myself. In the back of my mind, I worried just a bit about this. One of our members is experiencing visa problems, so he has not been able to make it back from his vacation. Two others were transferred to different camps, leaving me as the only LDS member (to my knowledge) on the camp. Previously, more than once, it looked like nobody would be there as I was setting up for a sacrament meeting. Then, at the last minute, someone would come through the chapel door.
Today, nobody came. A coalition soldier was in the chapel making tea and asked if I wanted some :) Then he started playing on the keyboard, so I asked him if he was going to play for my service. "What time is your service?" he asked. "1500," I said. I looked at my watch; it was a few minutes past 1500. He then gathered into the office with the Canadian Padre and the Chaplain Assistant while I finished setting up. I plugged my computer into the sound system and began the service by singing, "Press Forward Saints." As soon as I began singing, I did not feel alone. The warmth of the spirit testified to me that although my voice was the only one I heard, I was not alone. I conducted the district business (I am on the district council) and raised my hand in a vote of thanks, and again for a sustaining vote of two chaplains I knew who had just been called to the district council. It felt like a normal meeting. After the sacrament hymn, "There is a Green Hill Far Away," I blessed and passed the sacrament, and enjoyed the reverent quiet while doing so.
The message consisted of me standing at the podium, quietly reading over the talk that I was still preparing for Sunday night's Protestant gospel service. The text was Matthew 6:19-34. The theme of the message was: our uncertainty is God's opportunity. God is asking us to trust him completely. He who formed us is certainly able to sustain us. When we come to know Him more fully, we will have an increased capacity to trust him completely. Our moments of uncertainty and difficulty are opportunities for God to reveal to us who he really is, how willing and able he is to provide for us, and how much he truly cares for us. Moses, Gideon, and David are all examples of how reliance on God won the day. Think of the handcart pioneers who suffered brutally while crossing the frozen plains. One of these hearty pioneers noted that, "we came to know Him [God] in our extremities."
When we have come to the place where we know we have done all and can go no further, God is there to clear the way for us to pass, just as he did for Moses at the Red Sea, with the armies of Pharaoh bearing down upon his people, Israel. We might have our armies reduced to a handful of men, like Gideon, but if we stay true to our faith, we will recognize God's hand leading us to victory. Then we will know the victory is the Lord's completely, and not our own. David chose to come in the name of God, instead of wearing Saul's armor, when he confronted Goliath. His trust and faith bore fruit as he slew the giant that all Israel feared.
When God asks us to trust Him in difficult circumstances, it is not so much to test us, as it is to reveal Himself to us. These experiences cause our faith to grow and our testimony to be a firm foundation, built upon the rock of Christ.
Jesus is our ultimate example of trusting God. When the hour was dark as he hung on that cruel cross, his trust in his Father did not waiver. With his last breath he declared, "Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit" (Luke 23:46). May we trust God, and so follow the Spirit, especially in our dark hour. "For we walk by faith, not by sight." God will give us the courage to do so, I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Christmas at Camp Alamo
Today we had our Christmas General Protestant service. To accommodate an increased number of people wanting to attend on Christmas, we held the service in the overflow tent next to the dining facility. It was heated, so we didn't have to worry about being cold (except for the fact that we turned the heater off because it was so warm right before the meeting!) We sang 6 carols interspersed with passages from Luke 2. After this we had our a group prayer where we prayed for specific prayer requests. Then I gave a brief message. It was along the lines of what is written below. I could feel the support of God's Spirit, helping me to remember the message without looking at the text I had printed out, and guiding and ordering my thoughts. Yes, I miss my family; I wish I could be with them. Yet, today, all I could think about was how much I have to be grateful for. We have it pretty good here, we are well fed, have hot showers, warm food, and comfortable quarters. At our Christmas dinner, the base support group commander, who is Bhuddist, offered a blessing on the food, then asked me to finish the blessing. I was touched that he remembered the spiritual aspect of this holiday. This, for me, was quite an act of solidarity, bringing together people of different faiths, to remember what is at the heart of the Christmas season. Please pray for the soldiers that are out doing missions all over Afghanistan. Thank you for your friendship and support; it truly makes a difference! Merry Christmas!
Message:
How many of us have felt overwhelmed at the responsibility of raising our first child? Not much can prepare a person to rear a child, yet God called and prepared Mary and Joseph to raise Jesus. Joseph was compassionate. Mary was obedient. This was indeed a holy family, prepared to welcome in the Savior of the world.
Joseph had every right to divorce Mary. She was with child, before their upcoming marriage. He could have had her publicly humiliated, even stoned. Instead, he made up his mind to divorce her privately, because he was a “just man” (v. 19). He did not know what had happened, but he could not marry someone who could not keep the simple vows associated with betrothal. This, of course was before he had knowledge of the divinity of the child in Mary’s womb. Did she attempt to tell her future husband? Was there not much of an opportunity to do so? It is likely that Joseph was a patient man; it seems he did not react emotionally or violently.
Did Joseph feel betrayed? What disappointment did he feel at having learned that Mary was with child and the baby was not his? What about all his hopes and aspirations for life with his new bride? They were at this point all dashed to pieces. According to the law, and he must obey the law, he could not go through with this marriage. The law was broken, and there were consequences that must come. But what about his feelings for Mary, his beloved bride to be? What an emotional time for Joseph; surely he was torn inside as to the outcome of these events.
Joseph’s situation was difficult, but Mary would be the object of scorn and derision when her pregnancy was made known to the community and beyond. She was the one to bear this heavy burden. Once Mary’s good name was lost in the community it could not be regained. This trial was magnified by the communal society in which they lived. Families stayed together; they did not just have the luxury of moving to some distant relatives to get a fresh start. Why had she been asked to pass through this trial? Who would believe her that she was visited by an angel? Who would believe her that the babe now in her womb would be the promised Messiah, who would rule Israel from the throne of David? How did Mary cope with the doubts that must have arisen in her heart? Did the angel really appear to her and call her to this most holy service?
The same angel that visited Mary mercifully visited Joseph to calm his fears and anxieties. What a relief this must have been! He still had to act in faith, to take Mary as his wife when it appeared to all around them that she had defaulted on her vow. Joseph acted with compassion, then faith.
Mary’s response to the angel’s message was this: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). This echoed Jesus’ response in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.” Would that we had this submissive attitude! To align our wills with the word of God! Jesus’ will was so aligned to his Father’s that John records: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1, KJV).
This was a holy family indeed, chosen and set apart to nurture the Son of God. This Christmas season, we are acutely aware of how much family is a part of this holiday. It is a blessing to be apart from our families to feel this realization vividly, that we appreciate our family the entire year, and not just at Christmas. I pray that each of us will lead our families in truth and righteousness, in Christ, that God may use our families to accomplish his great and marvelous purposes—just as he did with that young family over 2000 years ago. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Message:
How many of us have felt overwhelmed at the responsibility of raising our first child? Not much can prepare a person to rear a child, yet God called and prepared Mary and Joseph to raise Jesus. Joseph was compassionate. Mary was obedient. This was indeed a holy family, prepared to welcome in the Savior of the world.
Joseph had every right to divorce Mary. She was with child, before their upcoming marriage. He could have had her publicly humiliated, even stoned. Instead, he made up his mind to divorce her privately, because he was a “just man” (v. 19). He did not know what had happened, but he could not marry someone who could not keep the simple vows associated with betrothal. This, of course was before he had knowledge of the divinity of the child in Mary’s womb. Did she attempt to tell her future husband? Was there not much of an opportunity to do so? It is likely that Joseph was a patient man; it seems he did not react emotionally or violently.
Did Joseph feel betrayed? What disappointment did he feel at having learned that Mary was with child and the baby was not his? What about all his hopes and aspirations for life with his new bride? They were at this point all dashed to pieces. According to the law, and he must obey the law, he could not go through with this marriage. The law was broken, and there were consequences that must come. But what about his feelings for Mary, his beloved bride to be? What an emotional time for Joseph; surely he was torn inside as to the outcome of these events.
Joseph’s situation was difficult, but Mary would be the object of scorn and derision when her pregnancy was made known to the community and beyond. She was the one to bear this heavy burden. Once Mary’s good name was lost in the community it could not be regained. This trial was magnified by the communal society in which they lived. Families stayed together; they did not just have the luxury of moving to some distant relatives to get a fresh start. Why had she been asked to pass through this trial? Who would believe her that she was visited by an angel? Who would believe her that the babe now in her womb would be the promised Messiah, who would rule Israel from the throne of David? How did Mary cope with the doubts that must have arisen in her heart? Did the angel really appear to her and call her to this most holy service?
The same angel that visited Mary mercifully visited Joseph to calm his fears and anxieties. What a relief this must have been! He still had to act in faith, to take Mary as his wife when it appeared to all around them that she had defaulted on her vow. Joseph acted with compassion, then faith.
Mary’s response to the angel’s message was this: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). This echoed Jesus’ response in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.” Would that we had this submissive attitude! To align our wills with the word of God! Jesus’ will was so aligned to his Father’s that John records: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1, KJV).
This was a holy family indeed, chosen and set apart to nurture the Son of God. This Christmas season, we are acutely aware of how much family is a part of this holiday. It is a blessing to be apart from our families to feel this realization vividly, that we appreciate our family the entire year, and not just at Christmas. I pray that each of us will lead our families in truth and righteousness, in Christ, that God may use our families to accomplish his great and marvelous purposes—just as he did with that young family over 2000 years ago. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)