“If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3)
Jesus said that to his disciples on the night of the “Last Supper.” He had just explained to them that he would be betrayed, denied, and murdered…and that he was soon leaving them. They were troubled (see John 14:1), but Jesus comforted them. He changed their perspective. This wasn’t the last supper – think of it as the inaugural supper of the Kingdom!
2020 has been troubling…maybe we need a change in perspective.
399 years ago, the Plymouth colonists were troubled. The winter before, half of them died. Winter was approaching again. So they planned a fast – to cry out to God for mercy.
The story is told that one person, an old farmer, stood to oppose the idea. The old man cautioned the people that they might, as he said, “provoke heaven with their complaints” against God.
Instead, he began in the midst of the assembly, to review all that God had done for them: safe passage over dangerous seas, a favorable place to build a settlement, friendly relations with local Indians, plenty of fish, game and land for crops, an excellent harvest that summer, and the fact that God had spared all of their lives. He moved that instead of appointing a day of fasting, the colony instead appoint a day of thanksgiving. His convincing argument won the day: the old farmer changed their perspective.
Despite the pandemic, economy, election, and murder hornets…we have a LOT to be thankful for. Just take a few minutes to ponder them and change your perspective.
I hope you’ll join us as we discuss this Sunday in my sermon “An American Tradition.”
