The Phil Files

I ran out to the country yesterday evening, got some work done, and the rain began to fall. Not a light shower, the sky had spit and spurted off an on while I was there, but as I was driving out of property down in a low spot the rain began to crescendo. By the time I got back to my friends’ house, it was really raining. Then it went to full downpour.

We had planned to spend a lot more time out in the country, but it was clear that negotiating pasture roads was going to be impossible — the clay and gravel road were barely passable in 2 wheel drive Tahoe, there was no way we could navigate pasture trails! I headed home and as I did, it was incredibly beautiful. The wide vistas of west Texas, clouds hanging low in the sky, rain, and then a seam developed in the middle of the clouds. Light began to shine through the seam in the clouds. It was like the skies parted and heaven’s glory shined through. No picture can do it justice!

As I took in this sight with Casting Crowns blasting away in truck CD player, I couldn’t help but think of the sky as a visual image of what church is supposed to be: the people and place God’s Kingdom breaks through and touches earth! And isn’t that what Jesus teaches us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer?

Absolutely!

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

For yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.

Haysel got to go home today. The last year or so has been pretty tough for her. Well over 102, her body really began to wear out this last year. I’m happy for her and relieved for her precious family — especially her daughter, Danelle, who made sure Haysel was loved and care for with grace.

Haysel is precious. With beautiful white hair and always conscious of how she presents herself, Haysel is very much a lady. Even more, Haysel is a person of deep faith. One of the favorite and most cherished parts of my visits with her came during the prayer time. Nearly everyone I visit in the hospital wants me to pray FOR them. When I visited Haysel, she wanted me to pray WITH her. Her prayers, even on days when she was a bit confused and her voice was weak, were rich with faith and clothed in a reverential familiarity with the Father. Several months ago when we visited and it came time for prayer, I had to pray alone. She was comfortable when I prayed, but was uneasy and confused when it was her time to pray. It was then that I knew it was time for her to go home.

Every spring, our church has what we call WATS Day — “We Are The Sermon.” We have a communion service and then go out and serve our community all Sunday afternoon doing things for folks who can’t help themselves or are in special need of work done around their house but can’t do it themselves. Before our little work team went to our work site, we went by Haysel’s place to have church with her and the family. For a family service, we went a good bit of time doing church — somewhere north of 40 minutes. This included singing, praying, preaching, and the Lord’s Supper. But for an ol’ preacher, Haysel’s words at the end of our service were precious: “I appreciate it, but you know, you could have preached longer.”

We will miss Haysel deeply, but are really happy for her to start her new journey to a more glorious existence. Living well over 102 years on this earth is quite an accomplishment, but to wake from the hard realities of a failing body and find yourself in the presence of the Lord is greater by far!

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands (2 Corinthians 5:1).

After going to a school night with Donna — something I actually enjoyed quite a bit more than I anticipated — I was blessed to have a long-time friend come into town. He drove over from Dallas where he had spent the week on business. My friend, Danny, used to live a few minutes up the road from when I lived in Pflugerville — say that three times in a row without spraying someone nearby. He now lives closer to our kids in Kentucky.

Danny and I met at Tuscany’s, a local coffee place, where we visited for about three hours. We laughed and joked. I shared with him about my trip to Uganda with Compassion and showed him pictures and the video of my visit to Doreen. Then we talked about serious stuff.

One great blessing with some friends, and it is this way with Danny and me, you can just pick up and start where you are in your life right now and the years melt away — the love, the respect, the friendship is still there, the easy-ness in conversation comes back and it’s as if you hadn’t been apart. Tonight was a great grace.

As we visited, we both noticed that most of the folks in the place were younger than most of our kids. Some of them looked at us kinda strange, like, “What are you two old geezers doing in here at this time of night?” But we didn’t worry about it, we had become friends in Austin where the famed “Keep Austin Weird” t-shirts reigned supreme. We felt right at home with the local version of the t-shirt, “Keep Abilene Boring.”

While much of Abilene may have felt bored on a fairly innocuous Friday night, Danny and I both felt blessed. Friendship is a taste of heaven, a time and a place where all of our relationships are perfected and we are in the presence of the Lord. For a moment, I got to re-visit what that expectation means in real time. As much as I like the diet Tuscan Sunset, a lemonade, tea, and raspberry drink, the taste of heaven was better.

In the last book of the Bible, we are told twice that God will wipe away every tear from our eyes and the old order of things that has brought death, sorrow, and pain will be no more (Revelation 7:17; 21:4). There are times that I long for that day because death, sorrow, and pain hang so heavily in the air we breathe. They are very much the human condition.In Luke 7, our reading for today, Jesus is very much about eliminating death, sorrow, and pain. The healing of the Centurion’s servant, the raising from death of a widow’s only son, his marks of identity as the Messiah — the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are healed, those who are deaf can hear again, the dead are raised, and good news is preached to the poor — and the forgiveness given to a sinful woman of the city. In anticipation of the great and final day when every tear will be dried — the day when the Lord will put his finger on our tear stained cheeks and usher in the ultimate healing and joy. At the heart of this healing of our hearts is the great truth in the verse that caught my heart this morning:

//Inspiration: Luke 7:13
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

//Incarnation: What this verse means to my life todayTo think the Creator of heaven would look at us, experience the pain in our hearts, and then have His heart go out to us is staggering. “O yes, He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief!” That’s what the old hymn declares and this verse reminds us. So in my darkest of nights, in my most heartbroken of moments, in those soul-brittle times of betrayal, abandonment, and despair, the Lord sees my hurt and His heart goes out to me. It is important that I declare this aloud to myself in those moments. I need to remind myself of this truth in these moments. And I also need to declare to myself, and to others, that Jesus knows the tracks of my tears and will one day touch them, heal their hurts, and welcome me home to a place where death, sorrow, and pain have disappeared in the light of his grace!

//Invitation: My prayer for todayO God of wonder, Father of mercy, and Lord of grace, be near me. Help my heart feel your presence. Give me the courage to believe that your heart goes out to me when I hurt. Empower me with faith to believe that you are there and care when I feel alone. And, dear Father, help me declare my faith that I know there will be a day when joy reigns and sorrow, pain, and death are banished by the grace of your presence. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.