Presence Weekly 6/10/2024

⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ⁹ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, ¹¹ and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. Acts 1:6–11 (ESV)

Last week, we looked at the difficulty in moving out of insecurity due to our uncertainty and unease. This week, it’s time to talk about one particular part of our fragile finite existence that life in the public square seems to exacerbate - weakness.

For many, including me, this is the toughest one of all. When the disciples ask the question, “Is now the time you are going to store the kingdom TO Israel?” they are actually asking, “Is now the time when you are going to fix everything, all of the injustice, all of the suffering, and rule over your kingdom in a way in which we finally are free from all suffering and bondage?” They were asking for that because they believed that Jesus had the power to do it, and they understood (at least in part) that they were powerless to do it. His answer is “No! And, you don’t get to know when.” But he did not leave them empty-handed. He reminds them of two things. 

First, there is power outside of us. Jesus tells them there are “times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority”.What he makes clear to them, is what we need to be reminded of – Our Father is in control because he has the authority to be in control. When Jesus promises that he has the authority to forgive sins - we can trust in him that he has the authority to do so. When Jesus says that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church - we can trust in him that the Church will ultimately overcome. When the angels say that Jesus is coming again to finally restore all things – we can trust in him that one day, everything will be made right and that justice will finally prevail. 

When we are facing the realization of our own weakness, it’s helpful to remember that the Apostle John recorded this while he was in political exile, 

⁹ I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet ¹¹ saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” 

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, ¹⁵ his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Revelation 1:9-18 (ESV)

John never left that island. But, his encouragement came not from believing that he needed to get off the island, but that he did not have to get off the island. This same Jesus is superintending your situation of weakness as well. 

Second, there is also power within us. Jesus goes on to say, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, issuing from the Father and the Son, and given to empower us. To empower us to know the will of God, to empower us to understand the Scriptures, to empower us to repent for our sins, to empower us to endure the difficulties of this life, and ultimately to empower us to trust in Christ. 

Practical Implications 

I do not like to feel weak. I grew up in a home where I was completely unable to stop the misery and injustice that was a part of my daily life. As a result, I have struggled my entire life with trying very hard to put myself into positions where I did not have to feel weak - because I am in charge. Yet, it is in those times when God has pushed me into situations where I was not in charge, even if I thought I was, that I have learned not only to trust in Christ but ultimately that he is worthy of that trust. For those of us who call ourselves Christians, this begins with acknowledging that in our weakness we are unable to save ourselves from the penalty of our own sin and that we must rely on the work and authority of Christ to save us. And yet, it is in acknowledging this weakness that we avail ourselves of the power of Christ.

But the implications move far beyond matters of justification and sanctification. Maybe you are in a position of weakness in your marriage right now. You are fearful of where your relationship is heading and you don’t know what to do. How you react to that feeling of weakness will determine how you grow in trusting Christ. Will you withdraw? Will you lash out? Will you do it your way? Or, will you hand that over to God, pray, seek wise counsel from other trusted Christians, and continue to be obedient to what he calls you to do in that situation? 

What about when you are on the low end of the workplace or party power differential? With a few exceptions, almost everyone serving and leading in public square knows how this feels. The co-worker just one notch above you who just took credit for all of your hard work. The institutional bureaucracy that eats great ideas for an afternoon snack. The news story that got leaked that is going to focus the spotlight somewhere that you really don’t want it. 

Here is a place where I think everyone feels weak. The United States no longer holds Christian ideals as foundational or even beneficial. Christianity is no longer in a place of cultural ‘power.’ That can make many of us feel weak, and therefore insecure. We need to be mindful of how we respond when this occurs. Do we lash out with unhelpful rhetoric or even hate speech? Do we try to legislate America back to the morality which we as Christians are called to live by? Do we withdraw and isolate ourselves from the conversation? Or do we boldly, and with love, step into the discussion and culture in a posture of faithful presence, knowing that our Father is in control of all things and that we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit to be his witnesses in these situations even if it may cost us something? Jesus does not need us to get combative for him, but he does need us to get off the couch for him, and he has empowered us to do just that.

The Death of Jesus was an atonement for our sins. The resurrection of Jesus was evidence that his victory over death was real. The Ascension, which is Jesus going to sit at the right hand of His Father, appeared to bring insecurity on many fronts, but, in fact, it proved that we can trust Jesus in our insecurity - whether it comes from uncertainty about timing, unease in a given situation, or weakness.

Applying the Truth

What situations in your life tend to reveal your weakness? How much of that weakness is real? How much is perceived?

How often are you aware of your weakness? How do your awareness and perception of weakness inform your actions daily?

How could this devotional help you move from your current responses to weakness and towards a different posture based upon trust in Christ?

• Monday: Morning: Proverbs 1:1-19, 1 John 3:1-12, Psalm 50, 51, 52// Evening: Proverbs 1:20-33, Mark 11:27-12:12, Psalm 50, 51, 52
• Tuesday: Morning: Proverbs 2, 1 John 3:13-4:6, Psalm 56, 57, 58 // Evening: Proverbs 3:1-26, Mark 12:13-34, Psalm 56, 57, 58
• Wednesday: Morning: Proverbs 3:27-4:14, 1 John 4:7-21, Psalm 62, 63, 64 // Evening: Proverbs 4:20-5:14, Mark 12:35-13:13, Psalm 62, 63, 64
• Thursday: Morning: Proverbs 6:1-19, 1 John 5, Psalm 68// Evening: Proverbs 8, Mark 13:14-37, Psalm 68
• Friday: Morning: Proverbs 9, 2 John 1:1-13 , Psalm 71, 72// Evening: Proverbs 10:1-22, Mark 14:1-26, Psalm 71, 72
• Saturday: Morning: Proverbs 11:1-25, 3 John 1:1-15, Psalm 75, 76, 77 // Evening: Proverbs 12:10-38, Mark 14:27-52, Psalm 75, 76, 77
• Sunday: Morning: Joshua 5:13-6:20, Mark 4:21-41, Psalm 79, 80, 81 // Evening: 1 Samuel 18:1-16, Acts 3:1-16, Psalm 79, 80, 81

• Cabinet Agency: The Nation Parks Service (Interior) as they gear up for a very busy summer of tourists, land management, and wildlife care - especially at our very own Shenandoah National Park (VA) and Rock Creek Park (Washington, DC). 
• Think Tank, Lobby group, NGO: The National Parks Conservation Association which works at protecting and enhancing America's National Park System for present and future generations.
• • A word about ideologies. The selection of these organizations is not based on mutual affinity but on the belief that prayer is the most we can ever do to participate in Christ’s mission of making all things new.
• Congressional Delegation: For the Congressional delegation of Maryland.
• News Events: Prayer for those in the USDA and HHS working to ensure that our livestock are healthy and that H5N1 detection in dairy cattle is improved. For the staff of the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security implementing new protocols at the southern border to match the administration’s new directives. 
• Personal Requests: For a couple looking for a church. For a couple working through career pathways ahead of the election. For a couple preparing to move overseas. For someone starting a new relationship. For an individual who is regularly giving foreign policy advice. 
• • A word about anonymity: Washington is a small town. To protect each individual’s identity yet facilitate prayer, details are intentionally vague. However, each represents specific people we are currently engaged with. 

• Christianity Today has a great story on Flannery O Connor’s incomplete third novel and how she embodies the reality of self-reflection. 
• Common Good magazine has an interview with J. Michael Jordan, author of Worship in an Age of Anxiety, both of which are must-reads.
• CNN has an essay about a 1983 film, “The Day After,” that I, and virtually everyone I knew in 11th grade, watched on how the movie shifted the narrative on nuclear war. Here’s a very dated, but still sobering, trailer. 
• NPR has a story, as does the New York Times, on the turmoil within the Washington Post after their publisher shut down a story about him. 
• Comment Magazine recently posted a beautiful essay on home, belonging, and neighbor love. 

• ATTENTION - This Sunday is Father’s Day! 
• Monday, June 10, The American Enterprise Institute will host Bloomberg’s Francis S. Barry to discuss his new book Back Roads and Better Angels: A Journey into the Heart of American Democracy about how his journey across the Lincoln Highway led to a thought-provoking journey into the heart of our democracy and the soul of our country. 
• Wednesday, June 12, The Brookings Institution presents “The economics and politics of immigration.” Their panel will include economists Tara Watson of Brookings and Madeline Zavodny of the University of North Florida and political scientists Elaine Kamarck of Brookings and Ruy Teixeira of the American Enterprise Institute.
• Friday, June 14, Faith & Law’s Friday Forum hosts Dr. Vincent Bacote for a theological discussion on government, authority, and sphere sovereignty — a term coined by Dutch theologian, politician, and pastor Abraham Kuyper in the 19th century — looking at the unique vocations and responsibilities God has given to creation.
• Friday, June 14, The Center for American Progress is hosting a film screening of ‘The Bitter Pill,’ A documentary about the biggest civil litigation in U.S. history that took on pharmaceutical companies and their role in the opioid epidemic. The film will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers.
• Saturday, June 15, you can catch 25 vintage and cutting-edge cars at CityCenterDC as part of CarCoterie. 
• The Washington Nationals are home against the Miami Marlins all weekend! 
• ATTENTION - This Sunday is Father’s Day!

Movie: The Last Stop in Yuma County

I have not enjoyed a film as much as The Last Stop in Yuma County in a long time. The writing is sharp and witty without becoming cliched. The film centers on an afternoon that goes terribly wrong for everyone who enters an unpretentious diner a hundred miles from anything. While essentially working with a cast of unknowns, the director manages to bring out excellent performances from each to go along with some seriously effective cinematography. It feels like a well-executed cross between Hitchcock, Tarantino, and the Coen Brothers.