He is kind with the sort of kindness that shines out, but is resolute, not fooled. -Mary Oliver

Put your trust in the LORD and do good. He will make your righteousness as clear as the light and your just dealing as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:3-7

Now it happened that one day while he was teaching the people in the Temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came up, together with the elders, and spoke to him. ‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘what authority have you for acting like this? Luke 20:1-2

Because I am sort of an odd person, I have to admit that I am totally clueless about the latest binge show watching and certainly have no idea about the latest actors and media trends. It cuts a lot of conversations short with my eighth grade kiddos. Really, I should do something about my severe lack of cultural literacy. However, really last night I was rereading Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes just before curling off to bed. And this chapter was pretty complicated, addressing the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry, mostly because so many things can be translated several different ways. And taken in the context of the sort of theological training Jesus had, at the local haberim, a lay movement that had sprung up in the villages of the Holy Land around this time. The word means “the friends” and they joined nightly in discussion of the Torah and applying its laws to their day.

And Jesus knew exactly what he was doing, as he edited Isaiah 61, reading it aloud to the congregation, leaving out all the bits of vengeance on the Gentiles. Jeremias points out that the words can be translated, “And all witnessed against him, and were amazed at the words of mercy that came out of his mouth, and they said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’”

And this is the good news that He preached, and continues to preach each day, until His return: to proclaim to the prisoners–freedom, and to the blind, recovery of sight, to send forth the oppressed–in freedom, and to proclaim year of the LORD’s favor.

Bailey sums up this gospel of Jesus as being radical in every sense from the expectations of the crowd. It is not about material blessing, but rather it is a call to action, as exemplified by the faith of a Gentile woman and man, the hungry Sidonese widow and Naaman, the Syrian commander-in-chief. The faith exhibited here involves intellectual assent, trust and obedience.

And it’s all about the simple little chorus I learned as a child: Trust and obey, for there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

Standing on a knoll and looking back over the trod path

So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land. Joshua 6:27

Alan and I had a lot of fun last night at the Intervarsity Big Meeting. And we did pretty good telling stories. Lots of practice around that old picnic table in the backyard. And we had a few pictures. I was a little worried about cramming it all into one hour, so sometimes I didn’t finish my sentences. And then I would apologize, which took up more time in the long run, so I really tried to finish all of my sentences. And I left out some telling details, because really, how do you wrap up our friends like Ramoncita or Ali or my new friend Mary in just a few sentences? And it was pretty clear that we have had one heck of an amazing life full of wonder and good cheer. And long hard days. And long hard nights. It is telling that my heart verse for my grown-up life is Psalm 84:5-7, How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart is the pilgrimage to Zion, passing through the valley of bitterness, it is made a spring; the early rains also cover it with blessing. They go from strength to strength, until every one appears before God in Zion, which I told one young thing who begged to talk to me after the meeting about the lying in bed after Angel’s death and thinking that we were the most miserable excuses of servants of God ever.

Actually, we were introduced by some sort of ridiculous title, like “heroes of the faith” or something like that, which I tried to clarify right off the bat that we just stumbled through life, trying to hear His voice and then ducking out of His way as He did His thing. And a guy shouted out from the audience, “Do you have friends and family that think you are just flat out crazy?” Uh huh.  

And Joshua is not at all about Joshua. Really the title of this book should be God Almighty. Joshua just did a really good job of looking up and going forward, marching. So he got some glory, but it was really about the LORD God going before him.

And I am pretty sure that I have never had a crowd rush the stage on me before. And I hardly knew what to say to all of those intent faces.

Except Trust and Obey. And look at the life of Joshua. It wasn’t about him, but through him, God fulfilled His promises. Up to a thousand generations.

For the joy He bestows

And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to Him, “What does my lord say to His servant?”  Joshua 5:14b

And the Lord answered Joshua. He laid out the plan of marching and trumpets and shouting. Not the entire story, but the next step.

Who knows what ol’ Joshua was doing out in the desert by himself, overlooking the city of Jericho, planning, praying, watching. But he lifted up his head and saw the Commander of the LORD’s army and he fell on his face to the earth and worshipped.

And sometimes we need to act immediately. We know what to do, as in march up to a scary looking dude with a huge sword and ask him, “Are you for me or against me?” No hesitation because, well, we know what we are supposed to do… whatever is right and true and fearless. In love.

But there are moments to pause. To release the busy clutter and plots of my mind, and fall down on my face and worship. Then leap into the overflowing Jordan. To leap into being the fulfillment of a long-ago promise. Even if it seems to be somewhat of a detour or roundabout way to victory. Or flat-out crazy. Certainly humbling. It almost always looks like marching silently around a watching city.

To trust. And obey.

Tonight Alan and I are going to face a bunch of university students and tell them what trust and obey looks like. It looks like a lot of faces. And each one of them is Jesus. The least of these.

 “What does my lord say to His servant?”