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Please pray with me and for me.
Who made the mountains; who made the tree, who made the river flow to the sea and who put the moon in the starry sky; somebody bigger than you and I. Who made the flowers bloom in the spring? Who writes the song for the robin to sing? And who sends the rain when the earth is dry; somebody bigger than you and I. He lights the way when the road is long, keeps you company. With His love to guide you He walks beside you; just like He walks with me. When I am weary, filled with despair who gives me courage to go from there? And who gives me strength that will never die; somebody bigger than you and I. He lights the way when the road is long; keeps you company. With love to guide you He walks beside you just like He walks with me. When I am weary, filled with despair, who gives me courage to go on from there? And who gives me faith that will never die? Somebody bigger than you and I. He lights the way when the road is long, keeps you company. With love to guide you He walks beside you; just like He walks with me. When I am weary, filled with despair, who gives me courage to go on from there? And who gives me faith that will never die? Somebody, bigger than you and I. Amen.
Like any good mother when Karen found out that she was pregnant, she did what she could do to help her three year old son Michael prepare for a new sibling. They found out that the new baby was a girl and day after day Michael sat with his mom and sang to the baby inside her stomach. Michael formed a bond with his little sister as he sang to her
“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine; you make me happy when skies are gray, you’ll never know dear how much I love you, please don’t take my sunshine away. The other night dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms.”
Michael was building a bond with his little sister before he even met her.
The pregnancy progressed well for Karen, an active member of the Panther Creek United Methodist Church in Morristown, Tennessee. In time, the labor pains came. Soon it was every five minutes, every three minutes, every minute. But serious complications arose during delivery and Karen found herself in hours of labor. Would a C-section be required?
Finally, after a long struggle, Michael’s little sister was born. But she was in very serious condition. With a siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushed the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee. The days inched by. The little girl got worse. The pediatrician had to tell the parents there is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst. Karen and her husband contacted a local cemetery about a burial plot. They had fixed up a special room in their house for there new baby but now found themselves planning a funeral. Michael, however, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister. I want to sing to her, he kept saying.
Week two in intensive care looked as if a funeral would come before the week was over. Michael kept nagging about singing to his sister, but kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. Karen decided to take Michael whether they liked it or not. If he didn’t see his sister right then, he may never see her alive.
Michael’s mother dressed him in an oversized scrub suit and marched him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket. The head nurse recognized him as a child and bellowed, “Get that kid out of here now. No children are allowed.”
The mother rose up strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered lady stood steel eyed right into the head nurse’s face, her lips a firm line. “He’s not leaving until he sings to his sister” she stated. Then Karen towed Michael to his sister’s bedside. Michael glazed at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. In the pure-hearted voice of a 3-year old, Michael sang:
“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine; you make me happy when skies are gray.” Instantly the baby girl seemed to respond. Her pulse rate began to calm down and become steady.
What took place was a miracle. For as Michael stood beside his little frail sister he sang,
“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when days are gray, you’ll never know dear how much I love you; please don’t take my sunshine away.”
Michael’s little sister’s pulse rate began to calm down and become steady. “Keep on singing Michael,” encouraged his mom with tears flowing down her in eyes. “Keep on singing Michael,” encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes.
“You’ll never know dear how much I love you; please don’t take my sunshine away.” As Michael sang to his sister, the baby’s ragged; strained breathing became as smooth as a kitten’s purr. “Keep on singing, sweetheart.” “The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms.” Michael’s little sister began to relax as rest, healing rest, seemed to sweep over her. “Keep on singing Michael.”
Tears had now conquered the face of the bossy head nurse. Karen glowed.
“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”
The next day, the very next day, the little girl was well enough to go home.
Woman’s Day Magazine called it “The Miracle of a Brother’s Song.”
The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of God’s love.
Please open your Bible to our Scripture Lesson, Mark 8:31-33.
And Jesus began to teach His Disciples that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priest and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And Jesus said this plainly. And Peter took Jesus and began to rebuke (to find fault with what is said).And turning to see His disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter, and said “Get behind me Satin! For you are not on the side of God, but of men.”
Have you ever been with someone when they are told they have a diagnosis of cancer? The first reaction normally is starry eyes, tears, a red face, and the ever-asked question, “How long do I have to live?” As a cancer survivor I came to the conclusion a long time ago that America is a death-defying nation and in America we don’t die, we just fail to come to the supper table.
Thus Peter’s response to Jesus’ statement that He would die, for someone you love is not supposed to die. And when Jesus told Peter, “Get behind me Satin! For you are not on the side of God, but of men” what Jesus was telling Peter was, “You have no faith in the will of God but in the mentality (diagnosis) of men who are walking on the side of this world.
Mark 8:34-38
And Jesus called to Him the multitude with His Disciples, and said to them, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life would lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life?
In the words of Victor Frankl who was Jewish and a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, “A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the “why” for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any “how.”
It isn’t until we know our purpose “why” of our being that we can deal with the situations in our life “how.” For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
On this, the second Sunday of Lent which is a time to reflect on the victory given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, let us remember that sometimes in life it is not the answer that matters but the question.
Once a hunger driven student was going house to house begging for food when he came to one house where a woman gave him a tall glass of cold milk. He was so happy and satisfied that there was no need for him to continue begging for that day. Life carried on. This student qualified as a specialist in medicine and finally became a consultant to doctors. Once a woman came with a rare disease and the matter was referred to him. He saw the name and recognized it was the same woman who years ago gave him a tall cold glass of milk that felt so good. He gave orders to offer her full treatment.
After she was cured, the woman was scared of how much she would owe. Upon receiving her bill the woman sat and cried for at the bottom of the bill was written, “Paid in full with a tall cold glass of milk.”
Today it was his turn to pay her back for her sacrifice many years ago.
Walking on the road to Jerusalem the time had come to sacrifice again. My two small sons, they walked beside me on the road. The reason that they came was to watch the Lamb. “Daddy, daddy, what will we see there? There is so much that we don’t understand.” So I told them of Moses, Father Abraham, then I said, “Dear children watch the Lamb. There will be so many in Jerusalem today, we must be sure the Lamb doesn’t run away.” And I told them of Moses and Father Abraham. Then I said dear children, watch the Lamb.
When we reached the city I knew something must be wrong. There were no joyful worshippers, no joyful worship songs. I stood there with my children in the midst of angry men. And then I heard the crowd cry out, “CRUCIFY HIM!” We tried to leave the city but we could not get away. Forced to play in this drama a part I did not wish to play. Why upon this day, were men condemned to die? Why were we standing here where soon they would pass by?
I looked and said even now they come. The first one cried for mercy, the people gave him more. The second one was violent, he was arrogant and loud. I still can hear his angry voice screaming at the crowd.
Then someone said there’s Jesus and I scarce believed my eyes. A man so badly beaten He barely looked alive. Blood poured from his body from the thorns upon His brow. Running down the cross and falling to the ground.
I watched Him as He struggled, I watched Him as He fell. The cross came down upon His back, the crowd began to yell. In that moment I felt such agony, in that moment I felt such loss. Until a Roman soldier grabbed my arm and screamed, “YOU CARRY THE CROSS”
At first I tried to resist him and his hand reached for his sword. And so I knelt and took the cross from the Lord. I placed it on my shoulder and started down the street. The blood that he’d been shedding was running down my cheek. They led us to Golgotha they drove nails deep in His feet and hands. And yet upon the cross I heard Him pray, “Father, forgive them.” Oh never have I seen such love in any other eyes. “Into thy hands I commit my Spirit” He prayed… and then He died.
I stood for what seemed like years I’d lost all sense of time until I felt two tiny hands holding tight to mine. My children stood there weeping I heard the oldest say, “Father please forgive us the Lamb ran away. Daddy, daddy what have we seen here? There’s so much we don’t understand.” So I took them in my arms and we turned and faced the cross. And then I said, ‘Dear children, watch the Lamb.”
As we enter into prayer, sometimes in life, it is not the answer that matters, it is the question?
In self examination, “Why would you carry the cross of Jesus to Golgotha?”
Lord Jesus, you have come to us as our Savior, as our Messiah and we respond to you with rejection, hostility, and a cross. We still find it hard to believe that our Savior should suffer, be rejected, and die. It’s not what we expected. Lord Jesus, on top of that, you came to us promising that we should also be crucified. If we follow you, we should also suffer, be rejected and die. It’s not what we expected. Lord Jesus, keep defeating our expectations, keep luring us to walk down your narrow way, keep calling us to follow you, despite the cost, keep believing in us, as we keep believing in you. Amen
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