Hello,
Did you know that if a girl sees a yellow finch on Valentine’s Day that
means that she will marry a rich man?
On my way over the ridge on Sunday mornings I listen to a radio program
on NPR called “Sunday Baroque”. I
find it a helpful way to get myself in a worshipful mindset. Yesterday, as I was listening, the
announcer introduces a piece of music by saying that in the Baroque period, it
was said that if a girl saw a gold finch on Valentine’s day, that would mean
that she would marry a rich man.
The piece that followed was an extension of that saying as it was a
piece featuring a piccolo imitating the sound of a gold finch. I can’t say that I have ever heard the
chirping of a gold finch….or if I did I didn’t know the bird from which it came….but
the as the piccolo tweeted its tune, I could imagine a gold finch sounding
forth on a tree branch.
So, I got to thinking…..when was the last time that I saw a gold finch
in the winter? As I think about
it, I don’t think that I ever have.
I’ve seen plenty of them darting around in our fields when flowers and
berries cover the ground, but when the snow blankets the fields covering all
the potential eating fare, it seems as though there’s not a gold finch to be
found.
So, if it is true that if a girl spots a gold finch on Valentine’s day,
a day in the middle of the winter, that she will marry a rich man, then it is
also true that the likelihood of that happening is very remote if not
completely nonexistent.
Empty words of hope.
When I listen to the voices of the world, I find myself hearing a lot of
things that contain as about as much hope as seeing a gold finch in the
winter. “Vote for me and
everything will be fixed.” “Marry
me and I will make your life complete.”
“Work here and you’ll never be sorry.” “Eat this and your health will be secured.” “Drive this and everyone will want you
as a friend.”
Truth is that much of what the world says does bring some hope…thing is,
though, often it cannot deliver the hope that it promises or at least it can
only deliver a limited hope.
Although we know this truth in our hearts, I think that it is still true
that when the world doesn’t live up to the hope it promises, we find ourselves
disappointed and let down.
That is what the first Christians were told about the hopes they were
hearing from the mouth of Jesus.
“He won’t deliver on his word.”
“Don’t trust in Jesus. The
only one you can trust in is yourself.”
To those words of the world the Apostle
Paul wrote in Romans 10, “11The
scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ 12For
there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and
is generous to all who call on him. 13For,
‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Upon what footing did Paul stake these
words? The answer: his encounter
with Jesus. Jesus had, for him,
lived up to Jesus’ words. When
Paul’s life was heading for a dead end road, he saw his life opening up with
life as he followed Jesus. When
the world came crushing down on him, he discovered that Jesus’ present grace
was sufficient to keep from being crushed. When he found himself
facing things that magnified his weaknesses, he likewise came face to
face with the unyielding grip of God on his life. Paul could say, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved,” because he – he who names himself a “wretch” - had called upon the name of the Lord,
and the Lord had saved the likes of him.
I find myself walking in Paul’s shoes. Before I ever had a mouth to call upon the Lord, Jesus died
for me. Before I had a voice to
call upon the Lord, Jesus named me as his. Every time that I have messed up…be it a minor mess or a
massive one…I hear the same words, “You are forgiven.” Whenever I have worried and worn myself
out trying to keep the roof from falling in, I have discovered that when it
falls the embrace of Jesus has kept me from being crushed.. It is my encounter with Jesus that has
shown me, as it showed Paul, that the world’s warnings were all wrong.
Jesus hasn’t let me down. I
can count on him….more than I can count on myself.
And so I do. I count on
Jesus to lead me through this day.
I count on Jesus to lead me through tomorrow. And I count on Jesus to lead me through the last day of this
life.
That is why I, like the Apostle Paul, say, “Everyone (even the likes of
me) who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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