Jesus

Chaplain Daily Touchpoint #285: The Beauty of Brokenness

/ japfth / Leave a comment

Bottom line up front: The Beauty of Brokenness

Introduction: Recently in teaching from Matthew’s Gospel account of Christ, one of the takeaways I labored to bring before the class was the beauty of brokenness. It’s a familiar theme to students of the Word, and I speak on this theme often. It’s not because I’m a one-trick pony; it is because I find that it is a consistent theme of Scripture. God emphasizes it throughout the Bible.

Case study: Even unbelievers may know at least a little something about the Apostle Paul, for example. But before he came to be renamed Paul, he was Saul of Tarsus. He was a brilliant man, a Pharisee, very zealous, but utterly lost spiritually. Here is just one example of how the Apostle Paul understood his spiritual life as divided upon this axis– before God saved him vs. after God saved him:

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me. (Galatians 1:10-24, ESV)

In plain terms: First, we can say that Paul saw that the default position of the insecure man is to labor to please man. That is, when one’s longing is to gain the approval of man instead of the approval of God, one reveals his true posture and focus of worship. It’s a play for popularity and power rather than a zeal for God or obedience to God. Paul admitted that used to be his method of operation. But God was gracious to Paul, and revealed to him his own insecurity and his own pride.

Second, we can say that God used Paul’s learning to benefit others; he labored in pouring himself out for others, as Christ did for His sheep. Paul labored to teach, preach, and write in such a way as to reach people: “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some,” Paul writes (1 Corinthians 9:22, ESV).

Third, we can say that God received the glory because of the faithfulness of the Apostle Paul. That’s what verse 24 means, that people “glorified God” because of Paul. In other words, faithfulness paid spiritual dividends.

Associated thoughts & observations: Psalm 51:17 reminds us, too, of the beauty of brokenness: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” That will not gain you power and prestige in the eyes of men, but it’s what God blesses. Paul knew it. And the Lord Jesus knew it. He became the sacrifice for His people, you see.

It’s the same principle as you find throughout Scripture. In Jeremiah, for example, will we learn from this verse the beauty of brokenness:

“For after I had turned away, I relented,/and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh;/I was ashamed, and I was confounded,/because I bore the disgrace of my youth” (Jeremiah 31:19, ESV)

Encouragement/takeaway: I cannot speak for the experience of others in today’s world. But I can speak of what God has revealed in Scripture, and it is plain that for those men and women God delights in using, He breaks them. Just ask Job. And Joseph. And Saul the Pharisee>Paul the Apostle. Just ask the Apostle Peter, who suffered some very “rocky’ moments. Just ask Daniel and his three friends. Just ask David, a very fallen man, but the man God used for glorious purposes (eventually, people saw that Saul was a judgment on them for their sin). Just ask the Apostle Matthew. Just ask Doubting Thomas. Just ask Moses. Just look to the Lord Jesus Himself, who was despised and rejected, smitten by God, and afflicted (Isaiah 53: 3-4).

God creates beauty out of brokenness. God redeems, yes, but He does so via the crucible of suffering. Our duty is to trust the Lord, especially when it seems darkest. For even the darkness is overcome by the One who is light Himself.

Chaplain Daily Touchpoint #284: Remembering Who Wins

/ japfth / Leave a comment

Intro: One of the resources we have as Army chaplains I have found to be so helpful for one, single strength–its focus on specifics. A tendency some have in ministry is to try and cram vast amounts of theology, doctrine, church history, apologetics, evangelism, and discipleship into each effort. I have certainly erred many times in trying to cram too much, too soon, into places where my efforts were premature. The soil, to use Jesus’s own metaphor, first must be prepared by God’s Spirit; otherwise, we’re just wasting effort. In a passage on battling spiritual defeat, this resource took me to a passage in Revelation 20. If you’ll follow along, it may resonate with you, too.

Connection to Everyday Life: Have you ever been in a season where it seems Satan is winning? Have you ever felt frustrated because you see ostensibly good men and women resigning themselves to a spirit of defeatism? Have you ever looked around for Godly spiritual allies and instead found that most have just resigned themselves to go along to get along, as if they’ve said, “Oh well; this is just the way it’s got to be, I guess”? I have. I don’t like living in that sort of headspace. Everything in my being longs for good to win, for the truth to prevail over lies, for the light to expose and banish the darkness. But at times, it’s all too obvious that we live in a postlapsarian, fallen world.

The Biblical Account: Then I read Revelation 20:1-15 again. This is the passage where Satan is bound by God. Satan is bound, then cast into the pit of judgment. And then the righteous heralds, those who’d been beheaded and those who had labored in telling the truth, those who had remained faithful, etc. were brought back and restored before God and the world. Satan was defeated; the righteous were rewarded; and God sets things to rights.

Encouragement: To return to my opening description, the Apostle John was specific in his teaching here: God and righteousness ultimately prevail, and darkness is exposed. If you’ve ever been in a place where you’re tempted to think all is lost, that darkness wins, return to the Word. In short, think along these lines: Lord, You are the Sovereign One. No one else is. Not Satan, not the powers of hell, and not the schemes of man. Quicken my spirit with Your Spirit. For the Lord God almighty reigns. And God sees. Amen.

Do We Underestimate the Spiritual Forces at Work Among Us?

/ japfth / 2 Comments

Question: Do we underestimate the spiritual forces at work among us?

Text: And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” (Judges 4:14, ESV).

Context: The Book of Judges covers a largely dark set of time in Israel’s history (1300s B.C.) in which the nation fell away spiritually from the true and living God. They instead became like other nations, given over to pagan idolatry. But God sent judges (hence, the title of the book) to call Israel out of apostasy and rebellion and into obedience and divine favor. But very often most people refused to trust the Lord; instead, they pursued the vilest of behaviors, abandoning the Lord, persecuted the truth-tellers in their midst, and God eventually sent various judges to call them to spiritual sobriety.

The question that the prophetess and judge Deborah asked was rhetorical and immensely provocative: “Does not the LORD go out before you?” In other words, do you not understand and believe that spiritual forces are at work amidst us? Do you doubt God and His providence? Do you doubt that there are active spiritual forces of darkness that hate God and are actively trying to sabotage truth and righteousness?

The New Testament also has countless reminders of the reality of spiritual warfare: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, ESV).

Encouragement/takeaway: This is not a spiritually neutral universe. As sentient and thinking creatures, we’re cast into a drama of good vs. evil, light vs. darkness, and God vs. Satan. Homo sapiens means just this: “man of thinking/thinking man.” That is why God calls His people again and again: “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18, ESV).

Chaplain Daily Touchpoint #281: The Relentlessness of Evil

/ japfth / Leave a comment

Bottom line up front: Relentlessness of Evil

Questions: Have you ever underestimated the power of evil? That is, have you ever had to say to yourself, perhaps after discovering the dark truths about someone/something, “I cannot believe it! There’s just no way. Surely, I am mistaken”? I have. From my lane as a chaplain and spiritual leader, it is deeply saddening to discover way too often that there are many wolves posing as sheep. But we are told in Scripture that this would be the case. We are also told what to do.

Texts:

“I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30, ESV).

That was the Apostle Paul speaking to the Ephesian elders. Paul knew this truth viscerally—in his guts. He knew that evil posers were inevitable. And Paul loved his people enough to try and equip them for the battles that were ahead. Paul saw what others did not, if you will; he could see where things were headed.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, ESV). This second teaching of the same principle is not from the Apostle Paul but rather from the Apostle Peter. Peter, a man who so often in his early Christian life went from hero to zero, often on the same day/night. But in the end, Peter proved himself the real deal.

The very Apostle who had denied the Lord Jesus three times, this fallen but redeemed man, went on to write two magisterial epistles, and to preach some of the greatest sermons in the church’s history. And what is one of Peter’s recurring themes? It’s one of the same ones as Paul’s: don’t underestimate the relentlessness of evil. Peter uses the image of a roaring lion to teach us.

Encouragement/takeaway: One of my favorite trips my father took me on years ago when I was a graduate student was a trip to Kenya and Tanzania. We saw the lions hunt on safari. We saw them take down gazelles and zebras, and lick their bloody lips after swallowing steaming viscera. When you witness something like that, and you feel the heat, and you imbibe the smells, it literally gets into you; it teaches you.

That’s what Peter was driving at. Lions are kings of the jungle for a reason. They devour; they kill; they are relentless. And if you’re a Christian, don’t underestimate the powers of darkness, as they are leonine; they walk softly, but that’s because they’re prowling and forever on the hunt, seeking to devour.

Do We Underestimate the Power of Prayer?

/ japfth / Leave a comment

There is an Austrailian historian and thinker from whom I continue to learn a great deal. His name is John Anderson. In the following video (less than 3 minutes long) he discusses how many Brits gathered for prayer during the WWII Battle of Dunkirk from late May to early June of 1940, and of how Christians assembled to pray for their troops amidst Germany’s seemingly formidable forces.

Questions:

How is this relevant for us? Well, it is so easy and tempting to give in to despair, if you have a certain theology. If you’re convinced that things are only going to get worse, your prayer life will evaporate. Why? Well, because you’ve convinced yourself that it’s all downhill, so why bother.

But is that view biblical?

Per Scripture, we are to pray because of who God is.

We tend to underestimate God and likewise underestimate the power of prayer. I have certainly been guilty of that.

Here are just some of the obvious reminders from Scripture about our duty to pray:

  • “pray without ceasing,” (1 Thess. 5:17, ESV)
  • And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 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 evil. (Mt 6:5-13, ESV)
  • “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (Jas. 5:16b, ESV).
  • “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” (Mt 21:22, ESV)

Encouragement: Again, it’s just a 2.5 minute video, but it touches on how soldiers and civilians, believers from a across a land, gathered and prayed, and of what happened. Real history, real prayers, and the real God.

‘Game of Gods’ … Isn’t a Game; It’s a Game Changer

/ japfth / Leave a comment

“As the Christian consensus fades into the shadows, the stage is set for a global sea change of unprecedented magnitude” (Patrick M. Wood, Technocracy Rising).

“Western civilization without Christianity is like a beef broth without beef” (Robert Wi. Keyserlingk, Unfinished History, p. 175).

Those two quotes are just a couple of references in Carl Teichrib’s spectacular tome, Game of Gods.

Teichrib’s thesis is that playing God is not a game at all, of course. It’s the heart of idolatry that was addressed in Genesis 3, again at the Tower of Babel, at Calvary, and by the Apostle Paul in Romans 1–just to name a few times.

The reason I thought it fitting to write on Teichrib’s book is because it catalogues man’s design to deny the Creator, man’s inveterate efforts to artificially design a Oneist cosmogony and anthropology.

It is truly a wonderful book that is terrifying in its truth about how far down the rabbit hole of Oneism we’ve burrowed.

Oneism, per its subject matter expert, Peter Jones, is “the worship of creation
where all is one when creation is worshipped and served as divine. In Oneism all distinctions
are eliminated and through enlightenment Oneism proclaims that man also is divine. Twoism is
defined as the worship of the divine Creator. All is two because we worship and serve the
eternal, personal Creator of all things. In Twoism God alone is divine and is distinct from His
creation; yet through His Son Jesus, God is in loving communion with His creation.”

So many folks are squirreling out over artificial intelligence. I think its downfall will be found in its root meaning–art and artifice. Its root meanings are “to craft” or “to put together.”

When we create, we work with existing material. And human pride makes it so easy to assume we’ve made the material. But we, too, are creatures, fashioned by the One who created all things but who Himself is uncreated.

We might look to Genesis 11 for a review and perspective. When we purport to put ourselves atop the Creator, ironies result–and they can be spectacular in their fallout. Why? Well, there is an Author who will not share His glory with another.

Chaplain Daily Touchpoint #279: Divine Battle Tactic

/ japfth / Leave a comment

Bottom line up front: Divine Battle Tactic

Context: God had revealed to Israel’s leader, Joshua, that the future conquest of Jericho was already planned (Joshua 6:2); it would be conquered by the Lord via His servant. God commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:18). Would Joshua do it? Would he be faithful to God’s revealed will? It’s easy for us, thousands of years removed from the directives given by God to Joshua, to nod and smile, as if it were all no big deal. But it was a huge deal. The people of Canaan were vicious pagans, given over largely to deviance, child sacrifice, and abominations that you still find today in come countries. Anybody who thinks depravity was confined to 1400s Palestine needs to travel a bit and/or read actual history. These people were wicked, vile, and given over to the forces of darkness. Yet God was on the move through a remnant of believers.

God’s Divine Battle Tactic: You remember the plan, right? March around Jericho. Do it for (6) days, in fact. On day (7), march around the city (7) times and have the priests blow their trumpets and blast the ram’s horn and then shout (cf. Joshua 6:3-5). Huh? Really? You’ve got to be kidding. This is a battle tactic? Those are natural, doubting, sinful reactions. Why? Because they doubt God’s power to do things God’s way via obedience. The point was that God was and is the greater Joshua. Victory comes through the divine Warrior, the Lord Himself. The believer’s duty is the faithful discharge of his lawful orders.

Encouragement: Joshua and his people obeyed; the army marched and carried out the mission; the walls of Jericho fell. Rahab and her family were saved (Joshua 6:22-23), demonstrating God’s covenantal faithfulness and Rahab’s true faith in the Lord. I love the way Joshua 6 ends: “So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land” (Joshua 6:27, ESV).

The divine battle tactic hinges on that precept: the Lord is with His people; He is the sole 100% faithful covenant-keeper. There would be times when Joshua would doubt; there would be times Gideon would doubt; there would be times when Solomon would blow it, just like his father, David. There are times when all of us fall short; that is why we are taught again and again to look to the holy Commander and His divine battle tactics. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7, ESV).

One on Either Side of the Cross

/ japfth / Leave a comment

Nothing teaches quite like an image.

Think with me for a moment about very familiar terrain. Specifically, let’s think about Psalm 1 and then the two criminals crucified on either side of Jesus in Jerusalem on that Friday at Calvary (Luke 23:39-43).

You remember the contrast that runs through Psalm 1, right? It is the contrast between two types. The first type is the person characterized by pursuing God, and the path of righteousness, which leads to blessing. The second type is the person characterized by pursuing the wicked, ungodly things and ways, ways that bewitch and lead to ultimate judgment and condemnation.

Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

The imagery is so clear, as are the contrasts:

  • One eschews wickedness vs. One pursues wickedness
  • One is rooted in God vs. One scoffs at God
  • One is pictured as a tree of blessing vs. One is pictured as chaff, the cast-off part of wheat
  • One is ultimately blessed vs. One is ultimately condemned

Segue to the Crucifixion of God:

In Luke 23, a conversation is recorded. It is the conversation of two criminals, crucified on either side of Jesus. Both were guilty men. But one of them repented. One remained a scoffer and unbeliever. One was the picture of ultimate blessing; one was the picture of ultimate condemnation.

The Conversation:

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The Good News:

It’s not an image of how one man was good and one was bad. No; both men were bad. It’s the man in the middle that matters most. He was the lone good man who was made bad in order that we bad might be reckoned as good.

One criminal repented and believed and was thereby redeemed. The other criminal remained in disbelief and was, like the chaff from the picture in Psalm 1, cast away.

But everything hinged on the man in the middle. He’s the one with whom we must come to grips. That is why he matters most. That is what we need to think upon when we picture those on either side of the cross. We need to think upon the man in the middle.

God’s Handiwork

/ japfth / Leave a comment

Illustration: Yesterday afternoon was beautiful and, as is my custom, I strapped on my backpack, laced up my hiking boots, and headed into the woods and up the hills to hike in order take in as much of nature’s beauty as I could before darkness fell. But it was tonight’s sky that was to be special for a lot of folks. Many took up their cameras, telescopes, and other optical equipment to capture a spectacle in the heavens. Why? Jupiter and Saturn appeared to do a heavenly hug in the firmament. Social media feeds were flooded with pictures people put up of the sight. I saw some people’s pictures that made me fall silent, they were so moving and beautiful. The orbits of Jupiter and Saturn coincided with the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. The sky was as clear last night as I have seen in a long time, too; that added to the power of the whole spectacle.

Scripture: This morning when I was reading, I was reminded of how often the Bible speaks of the heavens:

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:14-18).

That was from Moses’ pen in Genesis. But King David wrote, too, of God’s creating the heavens and superintending them in the Bible’s poetry. Why? So that we would see how the heavens trumpet their Author:

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).

The temptation is to worship the creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25). I saw this last night. People who claim to be atheists found themselves marveling at the precision of the heavenly spectacle. They used scientifically crafted optical equipment to gaze upon a heavenly display of awe-inducing power, and yet they were oblivious to the fact that all of this design heralds the glory of the Designer (God). This is why the Bible reminds us:

“And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven” (Deuteronomy 4:19).

Encouragement: As most of us will try to be with our loved ones over the next few days to enjoy Christmas and some holidays, I wonder if we will give thought to this:

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

The planetary display this week was certainly moving, but it was not as important as the incarnation of God. You see, it was not random that the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn coincided, and that we know with precision when this is slated to happen again.

It was not random that God warned us that we sinners too often want to worship the creation rather than the Creator. It was not random or accidental that Jesus, the second Person of the triune God of the Bible, took on flesh in the incarnation “in the fullness of time,” as Paul wrote in Galatians 4.

No, dear readers, none of it was random or accidental, any more than your cameras, and iPhones, and telescopes were random or accidental. They bespeak of the One about whom the whole creation bears witness: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13).

Merry Christmas.

Why Must You?

/ japfth / Leave a comment

“Why must you bring Jesus into everything?” James asked.

“Sorry? What do you mean?” Sam responded.

“Why must you bring Jesus into everything? Why can’t things be just what they are . . . without any Jesus, just as you find them?” James said.

James’ starched white collar dug into the sunburned skin of his neck. He was shaved immaculately. His tie was knotted in a perfect Windsor.

“Why did you come to church today?” Sam asked.

“You wish to question me now, is that it?”

“I am trying to answer your question,” Sam said. “Truly.”

“My family has been members here for three generations. We began here in the early 1900s, when this was a little country church.”

“I see,” Sam said.

“It’s who we are. Tradition. My family. You’re just blind to our way.”

“Hmm.”

“Why do you do that? You didn’t answer my question.” James’ voice grew louder.

Sam watched muscles in James’ neck create spurs of taut skin that ran down from below red earlobes and disappeared behind the Windsor knot.

“Today is what many people call Easter, is that right?” Sam asked.

“Yes, of course,” James said, “but I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“What is it that Christians are remembering and celebrating?” Sam asked.

“Jesus’ resurrection.”

“Do you believe that?” Sam asked.

“Believe what … that Christians remember and celebrate that, or that the resurrection occurred?”

“Both are important. But the second issue is the main one,” Sam responded.

“Well, we’ve been coming on Easter for years, Sam. My family is rooted here.”

“I understand. But did the resurrection of Jesus occur?” Sam repeated.

“Look, Jesus was a good man. No doubt about that. He taught compassion, called out hypocrisy, and healed people of illnesses. He was a miracle worker, even. But to say that he came alive again after he died …”

“Why do you say Jesus was a good man, James?” Sam asked.

“Who can doubt that, Sam? He showed compassion to women. He preached about forgiveness. He called out Pharisees. And when the government officials and Jews came for him, he didn’t resist. He was good unlike anyone else. I cannot believe you would even ask that.”

“I agree. Jesus did all those things. But would a man who did all those good things be worthy of worship if he only died but did not physically resurrect?” Sam asked.

“Well, sure. That’s why we’re here, right? To worship, to say we follow his teachings.”

“That’s not why I’m here, James.” Sam said.

“Ah, so you don’t believe the resurrection either?”

“No, I believe the resurrection completely. If I didn’t I would not follow Jesus at all,” Sam said.

“But what about all the good stuff he did? What about his precepts? What about his telling us to love our neighbors?”

“Why would I love my neighbors, if Jesus didn’t resurrect? I don’t even like a lot of my neighbors. In fact, my closest neighbor, I’m pretty sure, is cheating on his wife,” Sam retorted. “I’m pretty sure I don’t love him. I think, quite honestly, he’s kind of a creep.” Sam said.

“I don’t know about you, Sam. I thought you were going to lecture me. But now it seems like you’re kind of hardhearted. Don’t you believe Jesus?”

“I do. I believe him completely. That’s where I think you and I differ. I believe I should love my neighbor who is cheating on his wife. And I believe I should love you, too, even when we disagree completely about the resurrection. And I believe that I should love my neighbor, you, and Jesus because of the resurrection,” Sam said. “If Jesus is still buried in Jerusalem, my options are about as meaningful as preferences of ice cream flavors,” Sam said.

“You believe it, then?” James asked. His eyes bore into Sam like nails.

“I do. But I believe it because it happened,” Sam said. “I have to deal with it. Otherwise, I’m a coward.”

James stood motionless. His earlobes were red and swollen above his shirt collar. Sam watched him as he tweaked his perfect Windsor knot.

“I’m going to join my family now, Sam.”

“Of course,” Sam said.

“James?”

“Yes?” James said, looking up.

“That’s why,” Sam said.

“That’s why what?”

“That’s why I must bring Jesus into everything,” Sam said. “Because he changes everything.”

James was already walking back to the foyer. He crossed it and entered the men’s room. He walked to the sink, lathered his hands with lemon-scented liquid soap, rinsed, and pulled three brown folded towels from the white dispenser mounted on the white wall. He readjusted his tie, shaping the knot into a perfectly symmetrical inverted triangle. He pulled the short end of his tie again for a tighter knot, and pushed his chin upward in front of the mirror to check for any hairs he could have missed on his neckline, but none showed. He appeared perfect and clean. He walked into the foyer again, careful to avoid Sam. Finding his family seated where they’d been for generations, he took his place.

                                                       (The end)