Pastors' Blog

Facebookers on the west coast have had fun, good-naturedly chiding their east coast cousins. “A 5.8 magnitude earthquake—and you’re hyperventilating?” After all, the 7.0+ magnitude quakes Californians have lived with for decades do make the temblor in Virginia this week seem a bit “wimpy.” But a quake is a quake. And the nervous chatter of “survivors” in the nation’s capital made for headline grist. Not to be outdone, The South Bend Tribune carried the testimonies of those in Michiana who felt the earth move (ever so slightly) “way out here.” All the while Hurricane Irene is barreling up the Atlantic with the usual late summer gusto of another tropical storm turned destructive. (Remember school beginning six years ago on the heels of Hurricane Katrina?) And the folks in Texas? They were praying hard that the storm would head their way, since their state is now gripped in the most ravaging drought in its long history. Ah, the weather and quakes—Mother Nature keeps changing the subject, doesn’t she? And as for the Arab Spring—nobody’s sure now where that “spring” is headed. Egypt struggles with her new lease on democracy. Syria’s lethal crackdown only worsens. Yemen is off the radar screen. Libya now is front and center—and nobody knows where Gadhafi might turn up or how that awkward revolution might turn out.  As once again Israel and the Palestinians go at it—rocket for rocket, tit for tat. Some spring that was! Anybody want to discuss the global economy—Europe, the U.S., China? I didn’t think so. Because, truth be told, nobody knows. Period. Listen, do you suppose the entire planet—read, the human race—feels these mounting seismic tremblings? Could it be that all of us—God believers or not—with awkward uncertainty and mounting dis-ease stare into the unknown ahead of us? In 1921 W. J. Yeats composed his poem, “The Second Coming”: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. “Full of passionate intensity”—the moniker of “this generation.” Then perhaps we all—God believers or not—could profit from a reflective brooding through an ancient gospel. “The Last Word: The Fourth Gospel for a Final Generation.” Because maybe the “Peace I leave with you” promise tucked near the end of the Jesus narrative (John 14:27) is earth’s most sought gift of all. And so the journey commences right here, right now. Never mind the earth beneath your feet—stay on course until the Gift is in your heart.

Are these crazy times, or what? With a bit of self-talk, I actually enjoy careening roller coaster rides (mostly when they're over). But the plunging ride Wall Street and the global financial markets have taken us on these last few days as the result of America's credit rating being cut--no amusement park fun at all. With the nation's retirement funds on the line, the innocuous bromides the talking heads are dispensing are small comfort: "sit tight," "be patient," "don't panic." Especially when one market analyst this week had the temerity to describe this ride as "America's final plunge" (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-america-%E2%80%9Cmakes-cut%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-so-what-happens-next).

Crazy times these are. "London's burning" is now more than a nursery rhyme. And Syria's burning, too. And summer vacation isn't even over yet.

Welcome to the Fourth Watch--a new blog in print and online (www.pmchurch.tv) --a running, weekly commentary on the times that are fast becoming the fourth watch of history.

For centuries the ancient Jews divided their nights into three watches. But with the ascendency of Rome, by New Testament times Jews had adopted the Roman four-watch night: first watch (6 - 9 p.m., called "evening"); second watch (9 p.m. - midnight, called "midnight"); third watch (midnight - 3 a.m., called "cock-crowing"); and fourth watch (3 a.m. - 6 a.m., called "morning" --see Mark 13:35 for all four). The fourth watch was the last watch before the break of day, the darkest hour of the night before the dawn.

And not surprisingly it was the watch Jesus mastered. "Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them walking on the sea" (Matthew 14:25). But are you surprised? Wouldn't the blackest hour of the night belong to the God "who knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him" (Daniel 2:22)?

So how dark is the night you're traversing these days? Darker than your physician understands? Darker than your closest friends will ever know? As stormy and dark and uncertain as this civilization's economic fourth watch? No matter how dark life has become, one terse line from the Gospel story declares that in the blackest watch of all, Christ walks the dark and the storm. No shadows, no storm, no night so dark but that he hurries to you, too. You do not walk alone. "In the darkest hour [the fourth watch], Jesus will be our light....In every condition of trial, we may have the consolation of his presence" (RH 4-15-1884).

Which makes William Whiting's prayer the right prayer for a university on the eve of a new year and a civilization in the fourth watch of the night, doesn't it?

O Christ, whose voice the waters heard

And hushed their raging at Thy word

Who walkedst on the foaming deep

And calm amidst the rage didst sleep

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee...

A prayer for the Fourth Watch. Amen.

I was visiting after the conclusion of another seminary class.  I was sharing with one of my friends how I enjoyed the diversity of Andrews University.  Our conversion turned to how much progress our country has made in civil rights.   I asked what has been her experience as an African American growing up since MLK and the civil rights movement.  She was a little younger than myself so I expected a pretty mild testimony, especially as my friend came from the North. My friend shared how her father was blessed to be able to earn an education and get better employment.  She shared how excited they were to move into a “nicer” neighborhood in the NY suburbs.   But when they arrived, the neighborhood was not very “nice” to them.  They were called the N-word regularly and treated as though their presence was polluting the community.  One time on the way home from school she and her siblings even had dogs sent after them!  In self-preservation the children scrambled up on cars roofs to get out of reach of the attacking canines.  The police were called and upon arrival scolded the children to get off the cars, but did nothing about the neighbor who sent his dogs to attack them!  I remember thinking “What?! This continues to happen in my lifetime?” As our conversation came to a close she mentioned that it was nice talking to a white person who seemed interested in her experience and struggle as a black person.  As God has blessed me with many more cross cultural friendships, I continue to struggle with what is my role in all this as a white farm boy from the North.  What ought a Seventh-Day Adventist disciple do to address the ongoing racial divisions and inequalities in a nation that was founded with “…all men are created equal…”? - Pastor Walter Rogers

This one’s a no-brainer, even if it was a hot, steamy afternoon. Twenty-year-old Sean Schmidt from Buffalo, New York, was racing down I-190 this week with a friend, when the open sunroof proved a temptation too strong. Suddenly standing up on the passenger seat, Sean pushed half his body through the opening into the glorious rushing air. And there he remained. Until a state trooper raced up behind him with cruiser lights flashing. Doomed, Sean crawled back into the car, grabbed a small bag of marijuana and tossed it out before being pulled over. Unfortunately for Sean the bag landed on the trooper’s cruiser. Guilty on both counts—not wearing a seat belt and possession of marijuana. Let’s face it—sometimes our guilt is  a no-brainer. The evidence is simply too obvious. “Guilty as charged—on all counts.” My conscience knows well that familiar verdict. No doubt yours does, too. Which is why Calvary is such compelling good news for all of us sinners. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NIV). The charges were dropped while we were as guilty as Sean Schmidt! In fact, before we even pleaded guilty. “By His wonderful work in giving His life, [Jesus] restored the whole race of man to favor with God” (I SM 343). Two thousand years before we were born, Christ by his death restored the human race to favor with God—all charges dropped—it is the astounding truth of this God who “justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4:5). And it is this truth we, who are ungodly and guilty, must receive here at the foot of the cross. “For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life . . . all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God” (Romans 5:10, 11 NLT). Can you believe it! For the likes of you and me and Sean Schmidt, that this is the best news of all is the greatest no-brainer of all, isn’t it?