WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.280 I'm so glad that we get to be together this evening. 00:00:04.820 --> 00:00:11.240 In our church, you know, we have two campuses, if you will, 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:14.460 two congregations, one's in Northeast and one's in Northwest. 00:00:15.200 --> 00:00:18.800 We had a wonderful children and family service this morning in Northeast. 00:00:19.820 --> 00:00:23.600 But the opportunity to gather, so many people traveling and out of town, 00:00:24.100 --> 00:00:28.539 the opportunity to gather like this tonight in this kind of intimate setting 00:00:28.539 --> 00:00:30.899 with just a few of us gathered here. 00:00:31.019 --> 00:00:35.119 I don't know if there's something especially appropriate about it. 00:00:35.179 --> 00:00:38.840 It feels right to sort of have this intimate gathering. 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:41.659 If you're new to our church, my name is Tommy. 00:00:41.879 --> 00:00:43.240 I just want to welcome you. 00:00:43.700 --> 00:00:46.299 So glad that you're joining us for Christmas Eve. 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:47.799 It's a wonderful night. 00:00:48.700 --> 00:00:52.219 So much that we could talk about this evening. 00:00:52.739 --> 00:00:55.519 One of the things I want to meditate on for just a few minutes 00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:58.680 is the person of Mary. 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:05.600 The Christmas story is this story that we, if you grow up in our country, 00:01:05.740 --> 00:01:09.500 you hear and you tell again and again and again and again. 00:01:09.939 --> 00:01:11.159 It becomes rote. 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:13.520 We hear it so many times. 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:17.759 And it's easy to forget or to lose sight of the fact 00:01:17.759 --> 00:01:28.439 that Christmas is the answer to a mystery that spanned thousands of years. 00:01:29.140 --> 00:01:34.280 That if you read the Old Testament from the beginning all the way through the book of Malachi, 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:37.340 it is asking this great question. 00:01:37.539 --> 00:01:41.340 It's telling this story, but it's withholding the answer. 00:01:41.340 --> 00:01:47.859 From the earliest pages of Scripture, there's this promise that one day God is going to come 00:01:47.859 --> 00:01:50.380 and he's going to rescue his people. 00:01:50.939 --> 00:01:52.460 He's going to be their shepherd. 00:01:53.060 --> 00:01:54.880 He's going to restore the world. 00:01:55.320 --> 00:01:57.140 And he's going to restore human beings. 00:01:58.300 --> 00:02:03.280 And yet at the same time, there's this question of God's anger at sin 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:07.560 and his desire to bring justice and judgment. 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:12.199 And so this mystery is set up from the earliest pages of Scripture. 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:14.500 How is God going to accomplish all of this? 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:15.599 What's it going to look like? 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:18.199 Is it going to be mercy or is it going to be judgment? 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:19.479 What's going to happen? 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:25.439 We can't overstate the importance of the fact 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:33.960 that the first person in history to be let in on the answer to that mystery, 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:41.219 a mystery that Ephesians says the angels longed to look upon the answer to this mystery. 00:02:41.580 --> 00:02:43.120 No one knew what was going to happen. 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:49.680 And the first being in existence to be let in on the answer was Mary. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:56.580 Not some great prophet, not some king, not some important leader, 00:02:56.780 --> 00:02:59.260 but a 14-year-old girl. 00:02:59.259 --> 00:03:02.780 And I think that tells you a lot about the heart of Christianity, 00:03:03.019 --> 00:03:07.280 that the very first person to be told, to be let in on the secret, 00:03:07.979 --> 00:03:12.479 was a young, mostly probably uneducated teenage girl. 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:17.759 And so we're going to look at her because she is extremely important. 00:03:18.340 --> 00:03:20.699 We can't overstate the importance of Mary, 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:24.000 not only for Christians but for seekers 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:28.300 and people who are trying to figure out what they believe 00:03:28.300 --> 00:03:30.319 about Christmas and about Jesus. 00:03:31.139 --> 00:03:32.900 She's immortalized in Scripture 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:35.840 as the first human being ever to hear the name Jesus 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:40.840 and the first person ever to have a chance to respond to the gospel message. 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:44.060 She's the first one ever to have an opportunity to hear 00:03:44.060 --> 00:03:46.659 and to respond to the gospel message 00:03:46.659 --> 00:03:48.479 at the heart of the Christian faith. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:51.520 And so in many ways, she is the first Christian. 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:56.700 And she's a paradigm for us as we look at this passage 00:03:56.700 --> 00:04:00.800 for what it looks like to follow Jesus in this world. 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:05.340 So I just want to focus in on a couple of qualities 00:04:05.340 --> 00:04:08.200 that we see in Mary in Luke chapter 1 00:04:08.200 --> 00:04:12.340 that I think are qualities that we should all hope to emulate. 00:04:12.980 --> 00:04:15.439 The first is that she's spiritually open. 00:04:16.400 --> 00:04:18.759 And the second is that she's humbly obedient. 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:22.420 So spiritual openness and humble obedience. 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:23.339 Let's pray. 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:26.879 Our Father, we thank you for your word 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:29.560 and we thank you of all nights for this night, Lord, 00:04:30.060 --> 00:04:36.019 where we celebrate this great mystery of you, Lord, becoming flesh 00:04:36.019 --> 00:04:39.060 so that you could fulfill your promise to be the God 00:04:39.060 --> 00:04:41.300 who dwells with your people, Emmanuel. 00:04:42.980 --> 00:04:46.139 And because you are with us, we know that you can speak to us. 00:04:46.139 --> 00:04:48.199 And so we pray for your word now, Lord, 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:52.279 that our hope rests not in human wisdom or rhetoric, 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:56.620 but rather in your eternal word, your Son, Jesus Christ. 00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:58.779 It's in his name that we pray. Amen. 00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:04.240 So first of all, Mary has a spiritual openness. 00:05:04.599 --> 00:05:07.800 And let's read the first few verses in this passage. 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:08.800 It says, 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:13.020 In the sixth month, which is, by the way, referring to Elizabeth's pregnancy. 00:05:13.340 --> 00:05:14.560 She's six months pregnant. 00:05:14.699 --> 00:05:16.000 That's what it's talking about there. 00:05:16.400 --> 00:05:19.360 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:21.480 to a city of Galilee named Nazareth 00:05:21.480 --> 00:05:25.420 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. 00:05:25.840 --> 00:05:27.139 Betrothal was a little like, 00:05:27.379 --> 00:05:29.699 it was more than engagement but less than marriage. 00:05:29.780 --> 00:05:32.280 It was somewhere between engagement and marriage. 00:05:32.340 --> 00:05:35.280 Much more formal than our engagement would be 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:37.339 and yet not quite fully consummated. 00:05:37.659 --> 00:05:38.799 So somewhere in between. 00:05:40.159 --> 00:05:42.859 Betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. 00:05:43.459 --> 00:05:45.079 And the virgin's name was Mary. 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:47.979 And he came to her and said, 00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:50.379 Greetings, O favored one. 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:51.899 The Lord is with you. 00:05:52.859 --> 00:05:54.459 But she was greatly troubled. 00:05:54.879 --> 00:05:56.279 And that means terrified. 00:05:56.519 --> 00:05:58.379 Another translation would be she's terrified. 00:05:58.379 --> 00:06:00.480 At the saying. 00:06:00.719 --> 00:06:04.219 And tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 00:06:04.300 --> 00:06:06.579 In other words, she's trying to figure out if her life is in danger. 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:11.779 It's an overwhelming experience that she's encountering. 00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:15.779 You know, it's easy to imagine Mary as this great woman. 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:18.600 As this, like, exceedingly holy person. 00:06:18.779 --> 00:06:20.740 This sort of walking saint. 00:06:21.100 --> 00:06:24.199 And a lot of traditions have risen up around Mary 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:26.300 in the last couple of centuries to that end. 00:06:26.300 --> 00:06:31.720 There's a tradition that was codified in the mid-1800s in the Catholic Church 00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:34.460 that says that Mary was born sinless. 00:06:34.579 --> 00:06:38.079 That's the Immaculate Conception doctrine. 00:06:38.500 --> 00:06:40.360 And so that tradition is fairly recent. 00:06:40.460 --> 00:06:42.939 Last couple of hundred years is when that gained prominence. 00:06:43.220 --> 00:06:47.780 There's another tradition that says that Mary remained perpetually a virgin. 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:51.699 And all of these traditions have risen up around the idea 00:06:51.699 --> 00:06:53.199 that Mary must have been, 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:55.600 she must have been extraordinary in some way. 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:58.560 There must have been something extra holy about her. 00:06:59.980 --> 00:07:01.420 But the thing is, 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:04.100 when you actually look at what Scripture tells us, 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:06.379 if anything, it emphasizes the opposite. 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:09.420 That she's profoundly ordinary. 00:07:10.460 --> 00:07:11.320 Profoundly ordinary. 00:07:12.700 --> 00:07:13.740 If you look at, 00:07:14.020 --> 00:07:16.460 she's living at home with her parents 00:07:16.460 --> 00:07:18.780 in Nazareth, in Galilee. 00:07:18.779 --> 00:07:20.000 As I said, 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:21.339 she's a young teenager, 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:23.119 probably 14 years old. 00:07:23.579 --> 00:07:25.119 Could have been as young as 12, 00:07:25.239 --> 00:07:26.779 but probably more like 13 or 14. 00:07:27.359 --> 00:07:28.119 It's a young girl. 00:07:28.799 --> 00:07:28.939 Right? 00:07:29.179 --> 00:07:30.039 She's not married. 00:07:30.139 --> 00:07:31.099 She's betrothed. 00:07:31.599 --> 00:07:32.419 Most likely, 00:07:32.539 --> 00:07:34.899 she has no formal education of any kind. 00:07:36.159 --> 00:07:37.699 She's from the house of David, 00:07:37.699 --> 00:07:39.819 but by this point in history, 00:07:39.819 --> 00:07:43.120 there's a lot of people who can trace their lineage back to David, 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:45.300 and that doesn't really mean anything that important. 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:47.479 She's certainly not an upper class person. 00:07:49.420 --> 00:07:51.219 She's betrothed to Joseph, 00:07:51.219 --> 00:07:54.339 so she's probably preparing for marriage and kids, 00:07:54.419 --> 00:07:54.800 and kind of, 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:55.199 you know, 00:07:55.240 --> 00:07:56.039 in that mindset, 00:07:56.199 --> 00:07:57.579 and some of you know what that's like. 00:07:57.659 --> 00:08:01.099 You're sort of all wrapped up in all the ways that your life is about to change, 00:08:01.139 --> 00:08:02.259 and planning for your family, 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:03.120 and all that kind of stuff. 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:07.120 So she's in the midst of a very normal life. 00:08:08.360 --> 00:08:09.399 And then out of the blue, 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:12.780 she has this face-to-face encounter with the supernatural. 00:08:13.899 --> 00:08:15.840 The angel Gabriel appears to her, 00:08:16.100 --> 00:08:21.079 and announces the coming of Jesus through her womb into the world. 00:08:22.660 --> 00:08:24.639 And what you see if you read this account is, 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:25.680 is that on the one hand, 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:26.480 she's terrified. 00:08:26.699 --> 00:08:27.699 She's deeply troubled. 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:28.459 At first, 00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:29.660 she doesn't know what's going to happen. 00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:31.019 And yet, 00:08:31.139 --> 00:08:31.840 below that, 00:08:31.899 --> 00:08:32.620 there's an openness. 00:08:34.019 --> 00:08:34.580 In other words, 00:08:34.659 --> 00:08:35.580 she doesn't run away. 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:36.980 She doesn't close herself off to it. 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:37.799 She remains, 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:39.740 and she wants to know more. 00:08:40.460 --> 00:08:41.200 She's curious. 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:44.080 Help me understand how this is going to happen. 00:08:44.740 --> 00:08:45.679 I'm still a virgin. 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:46.820 Help me understand. 00:08:46.940 --> 00:08:47.700 I don't understand. 00:08:47.980 --> 00:08:48.779 There's an openness, 00:08:48.940 --> 00:08:50.200 and a desire to know more. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:52.159 So, 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:57.740 this is the first thing that I just want to reflect on for a few minutes. 00:08:57.940 --> 00:08:59.240 As I think about myself, 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:02.820 as you maybe reflect on your own heart, 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:06.259 are we spiritually open? 00:09:07.460 --> 00:09:12.220 Are we open to the possibility of things that go beyond what we can see, 00:09:12.340 --> 00:09:12.700 and hear, 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:13.240 and touch, 00:09:13.539 --> 00:09:14.159 and taste, 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:15.440 and feel? 00:09:15.580 --> 00:09:22.779 Are we spiritually open to spiritual realities that are well beyond what our senses can detect? 00:09:22.779 --> 00:09:30.679 Abraham Kuyper was a great Dutch theologian and politician and writer and thinker. 00:09:30.679 --> 00:09:31.539 And, 00:09:31.579 --> 00:09:35.679 he says that there are essentially two ways of being conscious in the world. 00:09:36.739 --> 00:09:38.319 There's two ways of being conscious in the world. 00:09:39.479 --> 00:09:39.779 He says, 00:09:39.779 --> 00:09:40.500 many people, 00:09:40.579 --> 00:09:43.039 before they even begin to make sense of reality, 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:50.480 most people begin with the assumption that the material world is all there is. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:53.919 That if I can't sense it, 00:09:54.019 --> 00:09:57.299 if we can't detect it and measure it and explain it, 00:09:57.579 --> 00:09:58.480 then it's not real. 00:09:59.259 --> 00:09:59.600 So, 00:09:59.659 --> 00:10:02.839 most people begin that way in our modern era. 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:03.620 Things are, 00:10:04.959 --> 00:10:06.000 as they appear to be, 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:07.259 there's nothing beyond this world. 00:10:07.659 --> 00:10:08.059 Materialism. 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:09.539 And then he says, 00:10:09.580 --> 00:10:10.980 there's a different kind of person. 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:12.720 The other way of being conscious. 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:16.799 These are people who have experienced some kind of break. 00:10:18.100 --> 00:10:18.220 So, 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:18.460 he says, 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:19.679 some people have, 00:10:19.779 --> 00:10:20.559 in the course of their life, 00:10:20.620 --> 00:10:21.580 maybe they were materialists, 00:10:21.620 --> 00:10:23.179 but then they had an encounter. 00:10:24.220 --> 00:10:29.419 They experienced something that fell outside of what they believed to be possible. 00:10:29.860 --> 00:10:35.279 And it has caused them to have to re-evaluate their assumptions about the nature of reality. 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:36.419 And they become open. 00:10:36.519 --> 00:10:39.319 They become open to the possibility of the divine, 00:10:39.439 --> 00:10:40.279 the transcendent, 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:40.959 the spiritual. 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:43.759 Their world is kind of cracked. 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:47.419 And a divine light begins to shine through into it. 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:50.579 And I think that if we think about our lives, 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:55.139 our lives are full of these glimpses of the supernatural. 00:10:55.559 --> 00:11:02.480 These cracks through which the possibility of the divine shines through. 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:04.279 The question is, 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:06.539 are we open to those experiences? 00:11:06.800 --> 00:11:08.060 Are we receptive to them? 00:11:08.139 --> 00:11:10.519 Do we even notice them when they happen? 00:11:11.560 --> 00:11:11.720 Now, 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:16.240 it will probably not be an angel appearing in the middle of the night in your bedroom. 00:11:16.379 --> 00:11:16.519 You know, 00:11:16.560 --> 00:11:17.240 that happened to Mary. 00:11:17.379 --> 00:11:18.800 Probably not going to happen to us. 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:20.519 I'm totally fine with that. 00:11:20.680 --> 00:11:29.200 But that doesn't mean that there aren't other ways that the possibility of the divine might shine into our lives. 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:31.180 For Leonard Bernstein, 00:11:31.400 --> 00:11:32.320 the great composer, 00:11:33.320 --> 00:11:34.840 it didn't come in the form of an angel. 00:11:35.460 --> 00:11:37.960 It came in the form of Beethoven's Fifth. 00:11:39.400 --> 00:11:40.080 Leonard Bernstein, 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:40.520 when he, 00:11:40.640 --> 00:11:41.100 he says, 00:11:41.180 --> 00:11:42.820 when he hears Beethoven's Fifth, 00:11:43.259 --> 00:11:44.680 it leads him to believe that, 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:44.979 quote, 00:11:44.979 --> 00:11:47.279 there is something right in the world, 00:11:47.739 --> 00:11:50.939 something that follows its own laws consistently, 00:11:51.359 --> 00:11:52.879 something that checks throughout, 00:11:53.379 --> 00:11:55.019 something that will never let us down. 00:11:55.739 --> 00:11:56.099 So, 00:11:56.179 --> 00:11:57.239 he hears the music, 00:11:57.500 --> 00:12:00.879 and there's something in that music that makes him think, 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:02.519 or rather know, 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:06.219 there has to be something more out there. 00:12:06.699 --> 00:12:06.879 Now, 00:12:06.919 --> 00:12:07.620 he's not a Christian, 00:12:07.620 --> 00:12:10.519 but the music, 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:11.639 for him, 00:12:11.679 --> 00:12:12.399 is a crack, 00:12:12.940 --> 00:12:16.700 where he begins to see beyond the material to something more. 00:12:17.500 --> 00:12:18.200 For Bob Dylan, 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:20.120 I don't know if you've read much about Bob Dylan, 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:21.039 especially since he, 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:21.500 you know, 00:12:21.539 --> 00:12:22.679 has been in the press, 00:12:22.740 --> 00:12:24.200 and received the prize, 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:24.779 and all that. 00:12:25.320 --> 00:12:28.259 But Bob Dylan talks a lot about the power of art in his life. 00:12:28.940 --> 00:12:32.680 He believes that all art leads us to God. 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:34.419 He says, 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:35.600 if it doesn't lead us to God, 00:12:35.639 --> 00:12:36.659 it leads us somewhere else. 00:12:36.659 --> 00:12:37.779 But no art is neutral. 00:12:37.980 --> 00:12:38.639 And for him, 00:12:39.659 --> 00:12:45.559 art has been a massive way that God has drawn him to himself. 00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:48.279 For many people, 00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:48.860 I think, 00:12:49.139 --> 00:12:50.839 that glimpse of the supernatural, 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:51.500 that glimpse, 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:53.240 the idea that there's something, 00:12:53.379 --> 00:12:55.419 has to be something more than this, 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:57.600 came in 2006, 00:12:57.939 --> 00:13:00.879 when Charles Carl Roberts IV, 00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:03.839 walked into an Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, 00:13:04.179 --> 00:13:04.959 armed to the teeth. 00:13:04.959 --> 00:13:06.360 He shot eight girls, 00:13:06.659 --> 00:13:07.360 killed five, 00:13:07.579 --> 00:13:08.699 and then he took his own life. 00:13:09.839 --> 00:13:10.039 Now, 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:11.659 that wasn't the part that got people. 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:14.600 What got people is what happened within hours of that shooting. 00:13:15.500 --> 00:13:17.219 The very same day, 00:13:17.779 --> 00:13:19.079 the very same day, 00:13:19.879 --> 00:13:20.879 that this shooting happened, 00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:24.120 families of the victims reached out 00:13:24.120 --> 00:13:26.199 to the family of the gunman 00:13:26.199 --> 00:13:27.360 to offer their care, 00:13:27.899 --> 00:13:28.539 their comfort, 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:30.039 to express their forgiveness. 00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:36.219 They even set up a fund to care for the family of the shooter long term, 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:38.279 to make sure that they were provided for. 00:13:38.819 --> 00:13:40.500 And many people read this story, 00:13:40.599 --> 00:13:41.000 and they said, 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:42.320 this cannot be possible. 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:45.379 This is not the kind of thing that happens in our world. 00:13:45.620 --> 00:13:46.720 People don't do this. 00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:47.840 It's just not reality. 00:13:48.700 --> 00:13:48.940 And yet, 00:13:49.019 --> 00:13:50.960 what they see unfolding before them 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:52.419 is that very thing. 00:13:53.299 --> 00:13:53.679 And that, 00:13:53.799 --> 00:13:53.940 I think, 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:54.639 for many people, 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:56.960 was a profound glimpse 00:13:56.960 --> 00:13:58.580 into a world 00:13:58.580 --> 00:13:59.960 that goes well beyond 00:13:59.960 --> 00:14:01.720 what we can make sense of 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:03.379 with our five senses. 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:04.940 There has to be something more 00:14:04.940 --> 00:14:07.340 to explain that kind of forgiveness. 00:14:07.340 --> 00:14:09.160 You know, 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:09.620 for me, 00:14:09.780 --> 00:14:10.780 one such experience 00:14:10.780 --> 00:14:13.200 came in the form of a wreck. 00:14:13.420 --> 00:14:13.580 You know, 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:16.120 Laura and I were driving out to Seattle. 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:16.560 We were, 00:14:16.740 --> 00:14:17.580 this is my wife Laura, 00:14:17.879 --> 00:14:20.759 we were like 21 and 22, 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:22.740 and we're driving cross-country to Seattle. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:24.800 And at this one point in the drive, 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:27.220 for lots of stupid reasons, 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:28.960 neither one of us were buckled in. 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:31.139 And we're in a suburban with a bench seat. 00:14:31.560 --> 00:14:33.060 And the cruise control is set 00:14:33.060 --> 00:14:34.519 at about 75 miles an hour. 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:37.080 And we're loaded to the, 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:37.520 to the, 00:14:37.800 --> 00:14:37.980 you know, 00:14:37.980 --> 00:14:38.759 packed to the gills 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:39.740 with everything we own. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:40.480 You know, 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:42.660 this suburban is massively overloaded. 00:14:42.860 --> 00:14:44.000 My best friend is asleep 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:44.759 in the back seat, 00:14:45.100 --> 00:14:46.740 just on a pile of our junk. 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:48.460 And we lose control of the car. 00:14:49.400 --> 00:14:50.680 And we start fishtailing, 00:14:50.800 --> 00:14:51.139 fishtailing, 00:14:51.259 --> 00:14:51.639 fishtailing. 00:14:51.920 --> 00:14:52.139 We, 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:53.740 we turn into a skid. 00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:56.480 We skid across in front of a semi-truck, 00:14:56.759 --> 00:14:57.360 hit a ditch, 00:14:57.400 --> 00:14:58.720 and roll three and a half times 00:14:58.720 --> 00:14:59.480 into a cornfield. 00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:03.060 And our stuff just goes everywhere. 00:15:03.060 --> 00:15:03.860 Just out of every, 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:05.480 all the glass is smashed out. 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:07.340 Our stuff is firing out 00:15:07.340 --> 00:15:09.019 all over the sidewalk and everything. 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:11.440 So we come to a rest on our side. 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:15.519 And I climb out of where the windshield used to be. 00:15:15.800 --> 00:15:17.080 I have to kind of climb out that way 00:15:17.080 --> 00:15:18.440 because everything's smashed up. 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:20.159 As I'm climbing out, 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:21.300 I turn around and I grab Laura 00:15:21.300 --> 00:15:22.519 and I kind of pull her out. 00:15:22.820 --> 00:15:24.420 And then we hear my friend groan. 00:15:24.500 --> 00:15:26.060 And he sort of climbs out, 00:15:26.220 --> 00:15:28.279 digs out from being completely buried 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:29.960 in all of our junk that was on top of him. 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:31.280 So we all kind of crawl out. 00:15:31.740 --> 00:15:32.980 And I remember sitting there 00:15:32.980 --> 00:15:34.180 just sort of shaking 00:15:34.180 --> 00:15:36.980 broken glass out of my hair 00:15:36.980 --> 00:15:38.620 all over the, 00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:39.400 all over the ground. 00:15:39.540 --> 00:15:40.940 And a couple of minutes later, 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:42.580 a highway patrol guy comes up 00:15:42.580 --> 00:15:44.400 and he looks at us. 00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:45.000 He looks at the car. 00:15:45.060 --> 00:15:45.680 He looks at us. 00:15:46.019 --> 00:15:46.800 And he says, 00:15:46.900 --> 00:15:48.620 who else is in the car? 00:15:48.700 --> 00:15:49.120 We said, 00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:50.280 it was just us. 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:51.220 And he says, 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:51.720 just you? 00:15:51.820 --> 00:15:52.300 And we said, 00:15:52.340 --> 00:15:52.519 yeah. 00:15:52.620 --> 00:15:53.559 The ambulance arrives. 00:15:53.620 --> 00:15:54.399 They check us out. 00:15:55.699 --> 00:15:55.819 I, 00:15:56.139 --> 00:15:56.960 you know, 00:15:57.019 --> 00:15:57.199 was, 00:15:57.319 --> 00:15:59.199 we were essentially 00:15:59.199 --> 00:16:00.299 completely unharmed. 00:16:00.899 --> 00:16:03.039 Few scars from climbing out of the car. 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:04.579 But that was it. 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:05.340 And I got it. 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:06.919 I remember getting in the front seat of the car 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:08.899 and the highway patrol guy 00:16:08.899 --> 00:16:09.600 is writing his report, 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:10.139 writing his report. 00:16:10.199 --> 00:16:11.220 And I'm just sitting there quietly. 00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:11.579 I'm, 00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:12.019 you know, 00:16:12.059 --> 00:16:13.840 what do you say after something like that happens? 00:16:13.879 --> 00:16:14.620 I don't know what to say. 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:15.559 So I was just sitting quietly. 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:17.120 And he just stops writing 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:18.139 and he looks at me 00:16:18.139 --> 00:16:18.419 and he says, 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:18.819 are you, 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:19.500 are you religious? 00:16:20.319 --> 00:16:20.960 And I said, 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:22.400 well, 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:22.639 yeah. 00:16:22.780 --> 00:16:22.940 I mean, 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:24.420 I actually had become a Christian 00:16:24.420 --> 00:16:25.960 like earlier that year. 00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:26.820 And so I said, 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:27.460 yeah, 00:16:27.500 --> 00:16:27.920 I am. 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:28.440 And he said, 00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:28.740 well, 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:29.120 he said, 00:16:29.139 --> 00:16:30.519 I'm not a religious person. 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:31.460 And he said, 00:16:31.500 --> 00:16:31.620 I, 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:32.160 you know, 00:16:32.180 --> 00:16:33.720 I haven't been religious since I was a kid. 00:16:34.259 --> 00:16:34.759 He said, 00:16:34.780 --> 00:16:36.620 but I've been doing this for 15 years. 00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:37.300 And he says, 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:38.980 I've never seen a wreck like that. 00:16:39.379 --> 00:16:40.600 Ever seen a wreck like that. 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:42.360 Where there weren't bodies. 00:16:43.220 --> 00:16:43.519 And he said, 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:44.960 what happened to your car? 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:47.280 And the fact that all of you survived 00:16:47.280 --> 00:16:48.519 and more than survived. 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:48.740 I mean, 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:49.620 I didn't have a bruise. 00:16:49.680 --> 00:16:50.480 I didn't have a scratch. 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:51.360 I wasn't sore. 00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:52.820 He said, 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:54.000 I don't know what you believe 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:55.019 or how religious you are, 00:16:55.100 --> 00:16:57.080 but somebody out there was taking care of you. 00:16:57.700 --> 00:16:58.539 That's all I know. 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:00.620 And we just sat there for the long, 00:17:00.680 --> 00:17:01.560 this longest time. 00:17:01.580 --> 00:17:03.180 And he was so touched by this experience 00:17:03.180 --> 00:17:03.720 that he then, 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:04.380 you know, 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:06.180 basically drove us around town 00:17:06.180 --> 00:17:07.799 and took us and made sure we got a hotel 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:09.339 and make sure all of our needs were met 00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:10.579 and couldn't believe it. 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:10.900 And anyway, 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:12.059 this was his experience 00:17:12.059 --> 00:17:13.539 that Laura and I come back to again and again. 00:17:13.559 --> 00:17:13.980 And we say, 00:17:14.099 --> 00:17:17.360 we were miraculously preserved that day. 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:19.099 Now that doesn't always happen. 00:17:19.259 --> 00:17:20.839 Angels don't always show up in bedrooms. 00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:22.539 Miracles don't always happen, right? 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:25.179 The question that we need to wrestle with is, 00:17:25.639 --> 00:17:27.479 when something like that does happen, 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:29.699 do we just write it off? 00:17:30.199 --> 00:17:30.439 We say, 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:30.659 well, 00:17:30.679 --> 00:17:31.219 we got lucky. 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:32.000 Well, 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:33.259 the wreck wasn't as bad as it looked. 00:17:34.019 --> 00:17:34.859 Or do we stop 00:17:34.859 --> 00:17:35.799 and do we pay attention? 00:17:36.259 --> 00:17:37.819 Are we open to the possibility 00:17:37.819 --> 00:17:40.179 that something more is happening, 00:17:40.399 --> 00:17:42.079 that we need to pay attention to it? 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:45.980 This is the first question. 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:47.199 Are we spiritually open? 00:17:47.500 --> 00:17:47.659 You know, 00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:48.139 for Moses, 00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:48.859 it wasn't an angel, 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:49.639 it was a burning bush. 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:51.439 He looked and he saw something 00:17:51.439 --> 00:17:52.460 that shouldn't have been possible. 00:17:54.679 --> 00:17:56.500 You familiar with dark matter 00:17:56.500 --> 00:17:57.199 and dark energy? 00:17:59.899 --> 00:18:02.220 When scientists try to measure the universe, 00:18:02.839 --> 00:18:03.799 planetary motion, 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:05.819 expansion of the universe and all that, 00:18:06.279 --> 00:18:07.779 all of the visible things 00:18:07.779 --> 00:18:09.679 that we can measure, 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:11.759 when you add all of those numbers up, 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:14.519 what we observe in the universe 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:15.379 doesn't make sense. 00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:17.859 The only way to explain it 00:18:17.859 --> 00:18:20.200 is if you build in the idea 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:21.700 of dark matter and dark energy. 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:22.180 Essentially, 00:18:22.339 --> 00:18:23.000 matter and energy 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:24.019 that we cannot see, 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:24.759 we cannot measure, 00:18:24.859 --> 00:18:26.000 we have no way of knowing 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:27.680 even really what it is. 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:30.839 But unless we allow the possibility 00:18:30.839 --> 00:18:32.240 of dark matter and dark energy, 00:18:32.379 --> 00:18:33.740 the numbers simply don't add up. 00:18:34.980 --> 00:18:36.039 And so what I'm saying to you 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:37.539 is that the same is true spiritually. 00:18:38.059 --> 00:18:39.440 When you look at your life, 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:41.200 when you look at human existence, 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:44.079 if you go purely on what we can see, 00:18:44.200 --> 00:18:46.619 touch, hear, taste, feel, 00:18:47.420 --> 00:18:49.079 life doesn't add up. 00:18:49.859 --> 00:18:51.200 When you look at something like 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:52.599 the Amish forgiving the shooter, 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:55.480 when you look at some of these breaks, 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:57.400 the power of Beethoven's fifth, 00:18:57.940 --> 00:18:58.920 the power of art, 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:01.619 the yearning to create and experience beauty, 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:03.579 love, altruism, 00:19:03.579 --> 00:19:06.199 unless we allow for the possibility 00:19:06.199 --> 00:19:07.839 of the divine. 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:10.139 Even if we can't fully understand it, 00:19:10.199 --> 00:19:11.919 even if we can't measure it or detect it, 00:19:12.539 --> 00:19:13.439 it doesn't add up. 00:19:14.679 --> 00:19:16.419 So we need to be spiritually open. 00:19:16.539 --> 00:19:17.659 Mary's spiritually open. 00:19:18.439 --> 00:19:20.079 The next quality that you see in Mary, 00:19:20.179 --> 00:19:21.019 the second quality, 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:22.579 is that along with her openness, 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:23.919 she is humbly obedient. 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:26.000 She's humbly obedient. 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:27.139 It says in verse 30, 00:19:27.140 --> 00:19:28.259 And the angel said to her, 00:19:28.460 --> 00:19:29.920 Do not be afraid, Mary, 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:32.180 for you have found favor with God. 00:19:32.920 --> 00:19:33.480 And behold, 00:19:33.560 --> 00:19:34.640 you will conceive in your womb 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:35.360 and bear a son, 00:19:35.420 --> 00:19:37.540 and you shall call his name Jesus. 00:19:38.620 --> 00:19:39.600 He will be great. 00:19:39.940 --> 00:19:41.660 He will be called the Son of the Most High. 00:19:42.140 --> 00:19:43.500 And the Lord God will give to him 00:19:43.500 --> 00:19:44.820 the throne of his father David. 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:47.440 And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, 00:19:47.540 --> 00:19:49.860 and of his kingdom there will be no end. 00:19:49.859 --> 00:19:52.919 So this angel says to Mary 00:19:52.919 --> 00:19:55.079 that God has a specific purpose for her 00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:57.379 to play in his great plan. 00:19:57.740 --> 00:19:59.199 That she's going to be the one 00:19:59.199 --> 00:20:01.479 to bear God's son into the world. 00:20:02.719 --> 00:20:04.359 And even though she's full of fear, 00:20:04.719 --> 00:20:05.959 and even though she's full of questions, 00:20:06.039 --> 00:20:06.859 How's this going to happen? 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:07.699 I'm a virgin. 00:20:07.979 --> 00:20:08.639 What do you mean? 00:20:09.659 --> 00:20:13.199 Even though she has all of these fears 00:20:13.199 --> 00:20:14.719 and doubts and uncertainties, 00:20:15.659 --> 00:20:17.059 in the midst of that, 00:20:17.059 --> 00:20:19.759 her response has become the paradigm 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:21.700 for the entire Christian life. 00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:23.079 This is it, in a nutshell. 00:20:23.559 --> 00:20:25.279 The Christian life boiled down to one sentence. 00:20:26.659 --> 00:20:28.980 Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:31.759 Let it be to me according to your word. 00:20:32.940 --> 00:20:33.460 That's it. 00:20:34.659 --> 00:20:36.099 So the thing we need to understand is, 00:20:36.179 --> 00:20:36.659 on the one hand, 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:39.200 spiritual openness makes it possible 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:40.599 for us to encounter God. 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:42.940 But if you really want to know God, 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:44.500 if you really want to have a relationship with God, 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:45.319 that's not possible. 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:47.480 Unless at some point, 00:20:47.939 --> 00:20:49.619 you reach the place where you're willing 00:20:49.619 --> 00:20:51.399 to humble yourself, 00:20:52.019 --> 00:20:53.399 and to become obedient 00:20:53.399 --> 00:20:55.639 to following where God leads. 00:20:57.200 --> 00:20:59.519 You know, G.K. Chesterton has that great quote about, 00:20:59.879 --> 00:21:00.379 he says, 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:03.119 an open mind is a lot like an open mouth. 00:21:04.220 --> 00:21:04.559 You know, 00:21:04.740 --> 00:21:06.519 it's great to open your mouth, 00:21:06.619 --> 00:21:07.939 but you open it so that you can eventually 00:21:07.939 --> 00:21:09.119 close it on something. 00:21:09.919 --> 00:21:11.339 And a mind is very similar. 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:12.859 It's good to be spiritually open, 00:21:12.859 --> 00:21:13.659 but at some point, 00:21:14.919 --> 00:21:16.259 an open mind is open 00:21:16.259 --> 00:21:17.859 because we're meant to receive something. 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:22.599 We're meant to clamp down on something 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:25.939 that comes along that we believe is true. 00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:28.159 And so, 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:29.479 in the same way, 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:30.439 you know, 00:21:30.500 --> 00:21:31.819 God doesn't come to us and say, 00:21:31.939 --> 00:21:33.579 you're going to bear my son into the world 00:21:33.579 --> 00:21:34.779 in the way he did to Mary, 00:21:34.879 --> 00:21:36.000 but in many ways he does. 00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:37.640 That's the invitation 00:21:37.640 --> 00:21:40.099 of the Christian life, 00:21:40.220 --> 00:21:41.859 is that God desires to bear 00:21:41.859 --> 00:21:43.279 the presence of his son 00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:45.160 into the world through us. 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:46.420 And so, 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:46.819 in a way, 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:47.660 God comes to us 00:21:47.660 --> 00:21:49.240 the way he came to Mary. 00:21:49.319 --> 00:21:50.380 There's this invitation. 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:51.859 You know, 00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:52.220 he says, 00:21:52.279 --> 00:21:52.400 you know, 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:54.079 the whole Bible is this great story 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:55.279 of God's plan to save 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:56.299 and restore the world. 00:21:56.920 --> 00:21:57.059 You know, 00:21:57.059 --> 00:21:58.039 so all racism, 00:21:58.220 --> 00:21:58.740 all injustice, 00:21:58.900 --> 00:21:59.420 all poverty, 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:00.019 all disease, 00:22:00.619 --> 00:22:01.819 the whole Bible is the story 00:22:01.819 --> 00:22:03.539 of how God is one day going to end it. 00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:03.799 And so, 00:22:03.859 --> 00:22:05.920 the invitation that he extends to us 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:06.420 is whether or not 00:22:06.420 --> 00:22:07.259 we want to be a part 00:22:07.259 --> 00:22:08.700 of that plan 00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:09.519 that is unfolding 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:10.560 in the world. 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:12.519 And each human being 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:13.660 has a part to play 00:22:13.660 --> 00:22:15.000 in that plan of renewal. 00:22:15.539 --> 00:22:15.660 You know, 00:22:15.700 --> 00:22:16.160 for Mary, 00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:17.360 it was bearing Jesus 00:22:17.360 --> 00:22:18.039 into the world. 00:22:18.320 --> 00:22:19.259 But each of us 00:22:19.259 --> 00:22:20.460 has a part to play. 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:22.640 So that should make us 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:23.820 think about our lives 00:22:23.820 --> 00:22:25.100 and how we think about our lives. 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:26.779 And I know that 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:27.980 everyone here 00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:29.740 has some sense 00:22:29.740 --> 00:22:30.440 of the way 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:31.539 you hope your life 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:32.160 will be. 00:22:32.600 --> 00:22:32.779 Right? 00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:34.120 You have some sense 00:22:34.120 --> 00:22:34.920 of the kind of life 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:35.580 you want to have. 00:22:35.579 --> 00:22:35.879 I mean, 00:22:36.220 --> 00:22:37.159 I know some people 00:22:37.159 --> 00:22:38.220 who they say, 00:22:38.339 --> 00:22:38.359 well, 00:22:38.379 --> 00:22:39.039 I really want to have 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:39.899 an adventurous life. 00:22:39.980 --> 00:22:40.379 I want to have 00:22:40.379 --> 00:22:42.379 a lot of diverse experiences. 00:22:42.500 --> 00:22:43.079 I want to travel. 00:22:43.179 --> 00:22:43.699 I want to meet lots 00:22:43.699 --> 00:22:44.559 of different kinds of people. 00:22:44.659 --> 00:22:45.319 I want excitement. 00:22:45.539 --> 00:22:45.859 I want, 00:22:46.019 --> 00:22:46.839 that's the kind of life 00:22:46.839 --> 00:22:47.559 I hope to live. 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:49.579 Other people are the opposite. 00:22:49.819 --> 00:22:50.019 You know, 00:22:50.099 --> 00:22:51.839 they want security. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:52.859 They want safety. 00:22:53.579 --> 00:22:55.039 They want predictability. 00:22:55.139 --> 00:22:55.639 They want to make sure, 00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:55.759 well, 00:22:55.779 --> 00:22:56.460 I just want to make sure 00:22:56.460 --> 00:22:57.379 I have a good place to live. 00:22:57.460 --> 00:22:57.919 I'm safe. 00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:58.619 My needs are met. 00:22:58.659 --> 00:22:59.359 I make enough money. 00:22:59.419 --> 00:23:00.379 That's what I really care about. 00:23:01.500 --> 00:23:01.699 You know, 00:23:01.699 --> 00:23:02.439 some people say, 00:23:02.439 --> 00:23:02.619 well, 00:23:02.659 --> 00:23:04.319 I don't care about anything else. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:05.279 I just want a big family 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:06.079 with lots of kids. 00:23:06.139 --> 00:23:06.720 That's what I really want. 00:23:06.740 --> 00:23:07.059 I just want to have 00:23:07.059 --> 00:23:07.720 a lot of kids. 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:08.899 Other people say, 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:09.039 well, 00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:10.419 I don't really know about kids. 00:23:10.679 --> 00:23:12.480 I really want a successful career. 00:23:12.579 --> 00:23:13.500 I really want to make that happen. 00:23:13.579 --> 00:23:14.000 Some people say, 00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:14.819 I want a lot of kids 00:23:14.819 --> 00:23:16.179 and a successful career. 00:23:16.899 --> 00:23:17.639 Some people say, 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:18.919 I want to be successful. 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:19.740 I want to be famous. 00:23:19.859 --> 00:23:20.319 Some people say, 00:23:20.379 --> 00:23:21.339 I don't care about being famous. 00:23:21.419 --> 00:23:22.399 I just want to make a difference. 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:24.019 But the point is, 00:23:24.080 --> 00:23:25.220 everybody has some sense 00:23:25.220 --> 00:23:26.120 of how they hope 00:23:26.120 --> 00:23:27.000 their life will go. 00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:28.600 I think all of us 00:23:28.600 --> 00:23:29.300 have lived long enough 00:23:29.300 --> 00:23:30.480 to develop those expectations. 00:23:31.860 --> 00:23:32.900 Some people here, 00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:33.740 some people here 00:23:33.740 --> 00:23:35.040 have lived even longer 00:23:35.040 --> 00:23:37.440 and you've lived just long enough 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:38.380 to begin to realize 00:23:38.380 --> 00:23:40.080 that very rarely 00:23:40.080 --> 00:23:41.380 does life actually pay 00:23:41.380 --> 00:23:42.720 any attention to our plans. 00:23:43.740 --> 00:23:45.660 That the vast majority of the time, 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:46.820 things do not play out 00:23:46.820 --> 00:23:47.940 the way we hope, 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:48.820 which is a clear sign 00:23:48.819 --> 00:23:50.460 that we're not in fact 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:51.539 in control 00:23:51.539 --> 00:23:53.579 the way we think we are. 00:23:53.700 --> 00:23:55.399 Best proof that we're not God 00:23:55.399 --> 00:23:56.819 is that our lives 00:23:56.819 --> 00:23:58.079 have nothing to do 00:23:58.079 --> 00:23:58.759 with our plans. 00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:00.220 That our lives do 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:01.139 what they want to do. 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:02.119 That things happen to us 00:24:02.119 --> 00:24:03.419 that are outside of our control. 00:24:04.679 --> 00:24:05.720 And so if you've lived long enough 00:24:05.720 --> 00:24:07.240 to actually realize that, 00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:08.980 and even if you look 00:24:08.980 --> 00:24:09.500 at your life now, 00:24:09.559 --> 00:24:09.960 you may say, 00:24:10.019 --> 00:24:11.099 man, I thought I would be here 00:24:11.099 --> 00:24:14.859 and tonight, Christmas Eve, 00:24:14.919 --> 00:24:15.379 I'm here. 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:16.519 And what do I do with that? 00:24:16.919 --> 00:24:17.519 You begin to realize 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:18.839 the real choice in life 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:20.420 is not to lay out the plan 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:21.099 for the kind of life 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:21.819 we want to have. 00:24:22.019 --> 00:24:23.639 The real choice boils down 00:24:23.639 --> 00:24:24.099 to the choice 00:24:24.099 --> 00:24:25.059 that Mary had to make. 00:24:26.220 --> 00:24:27.839 Do I continue trying 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:28.960 to make life 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:30.279 into what I hope it will be? 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:32.660 Or do I surrender? 00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:35.099 And do I allow the Lord 00:24:35.099 --> 00:24:37.559 to graft me into the plan 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:38.940 that He is enacting 00:24:38.940 --> 00:24:39.400 in the world? 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:41.700 Do I try to clutch at 00:24:41.700 --> 00:24:43.160 my agenda? 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:45.279 Or do I abandon myself 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:46.299 to His agenda? 00:24:46.299 --> 00:24:47.539 And you know, 00:24:47.619 --> 00:24:48.740 a lot of Christians 00:24:48.740 --> 00:24:50.159 try to have it both ways. 00:24:50.259 --> 00:24:50.940 We try to, you know, 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:51.740 I follow Jesus 00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:52.399 and I go to church 00:24:52.399 --> 00:24:52.980 and do all the things 00:24:52.980 --> 00:24:53.639 I'm supposed to do 00:24:53.639 --> 00:24:54.779 and yet at the same time, 00:24:54.919 --> 00:24:56.000 I kind of want to live life 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:56.599 on my terms. 00:24:57.720 --> 00:24:58.659 But the only way 00:24:58.659 --> 00:24:59.720 we can really do this 00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:00.440 is if we say 00:25:00.440 --> 00:25:01.339 what Mary said. 00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:02.319 You know, 00:25:02.659 --> 00:25:03.159 behold, 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:04.440 I'm the servant 00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:04.980 of the Lord. 00:25:05.319 --> 00:25:06.299 Let it be to me 00:25:06.299 --> 00:25:07.399 according to your word. 00:25:09.379 --> 00:25:10.399 So the question I think 00:25:10.399 --> 00:25:12.240 that we need to end with here 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:12.980 is are we willing 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:14.419 to do what Mary did? 00:25:14.420 --> 00:25:15.120 Which is essentially 00:25:15.120 --> 00:25:16.000 to give God 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:16.759 a blank check. 00:25:18.060 --> 00:25:18.360 You know, 00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:19.160 here's my life. 00:25:19.960 --> 00:25:20.779 I'm going to give this check 00:25:20.779 --> 00:25:21.200 to you 00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:22.560 and I'm going to say yes 00:25:22.560 --> 00:25:23.960 and I'm going to promise 00:25:23.960 --> 00:25:24.700 that I will cash, 00:25:24.940 --> 00:25:25.140 you know, 00:25:25.320 --> 00:25:26.320 whatever you write 00:25:26.320 --> 00:25:27.019 on that check. 00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:27.920 I'm going to agree 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:28.660 to it beforehand. 00:25:29.140 --> 00:25:30.160 And that's a scary thing 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:30.640 to say. 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:32.759 And yet that's the invitation 00:25:32.759 --> 00:25:33.480 that God extends 00:25:33.480 --> 00:25:34.580 to Mary and to us. 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:37.259 So someone asks, 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:37.539 you know, 00:25:37.600 --> 00:25:38.460 well why does it have to be 00:25:38.460 --> 00:25:39.380 so black and white? 00:25:39.500 --> 00:25:40.860 Why is it so all or none? 00:25:40.979 --> 00:25:41.099 I mean, 00:25:41.219 --> 00:25:42.019 this is such black 00:25:42.019 --> 00:25:42.639 and white thinking. 00:25:42.779 --> 00:25:43.679 Why can't you be more 00:25:43.679 --> 00:25:44.599 nuanced about this? 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:45.819 And I would say, 00:25:45.879 --> 00:25:46.039 well, 00:25:46.099 --> 00:25:46.839 I love nuance 00:25:46.839 --> 00:25:47.859 as much as the next guy 00:25:47.859 --> 00:25:48.659 but when it comes 00:25:48.659 --> 00:25:49.319 to what we believe 00:25:49.319 --> 00:25:49.819 about Jesus, 00:25:49.979 --> 00:25:50.639 there's no room 00:25:50.639 --> 00:25:51.219 for nuance. 00:25:52.119 --> 00:25:53.500 If you look at the claims 00:25:53.500 --> 00:25:54.139 that are being made 00:25:54.139 --> 00:25:54.719 about Jesus 00:25:54.719 --> 00:25:55.919 to Mary, 00:25:57.059 --> 00:25:57.799 here are the claims. 00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:58.779 He's not just going 00:25:58.779 --> 00:25:59.559 to be godly, 00:25:59.659 --> 00:26:00.679 he's going to be God, 00:26:01.079 --> 00:26:02.240 the son of the most high. 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:04.439 He's not just going 00:26:04.439 --> 00:26:05.059 to live a great life, 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:06.079 he's going to live forever. 00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:08.619 He's going to become 00:26:08.619 --> 00:26:09.639 the greatest king 00:26:09.639 --> 00:26:10.699 of the world 00:26:10.700 --> 00:26:11.240 and his kingdom 00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:12.700 will have no end. 00:26:13.059 --> 00:26:13.240 Now, 00:26:13.580 --> 00:26:14.799 those claims go way 00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:16.759 beyond any human being. 00:26:16.900 --> 00:26:17.720 They're so massive 00:26:17.720 --> 00:26:18.640 that they demand 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:20.259 an all or none response. 00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:21.620 In other words, 00:26:21.660 --> 00:26:23.400 you either hear that 00:26:23.400 --> 00:26:24.440 and reject it outright 00:26:24.440 --> 00:26:25.660 and say, 00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:25.779 well, 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:26.319 there's no way 00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:26.940 that could be true. 00:26:27.960 --> 00:26:28.680 And if that's the case, 00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:29.340 you walk away. 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:30.740 I do not understand 00:26:30.740 --> 00:26:31.460 people who say, 00:26:31.539 --> 00:26:31.799 well, 00:26:31.900 --> 00:26:32.039 you know, 00:26:32.080 --> 00:26:32.600 I don't believe 00:26:32.600 --> 00:26:33.539 that Jesus was actually 00:26:33.539 --> 00:26:34.440 the son of God, 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:35.120 I don't believe 00:26:35.120 --> 00:26:35.900 that Jesus actually 00:26:35.900 --> 00:26:37.500 rose bodily from the grave, 00:26:37.500 --> 00:26:38.620 but I still appreciate 00:26:38.620 --> 00:26:39.440 Christian tradition 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:40.460 and so I still 00:26:40.460 --> 00:26:41.279 want to be a Christian. 00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:42.480 Do not do that. 00:26:42.539 --> 00:26:42.920 You know why? 00:26:43.180 --> 00:26:44.519 Christianity is way too hard. 00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:46.279 It's way too inconvenient. 00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:49.940 It asks way too much of us 00:26:49.940 --> 00:26:51.180 to do it 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:51.900 if this isn't true. 00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:53.059 So, 00:26:53.140 --> 00:26:53.920 if it's not true, 00:26:54.039 --> 00:26:55.080 I say walk away. 00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:57.140 You know, 00:26:57.180 --> 00:26:57.460 Buddhism 00:26:57.460 --> 00:26:58.960 is a great religion 00:26:58.960 --> 00:26:59.500 to explore. 00:26:59.840 --> 00:27:00.740 There's lots of religions 00:27:00.740 --> 00:27:02.440 that are very enjoyable, 00:27:02.539 --> 00:27:03.480 a lot of health benefits. 00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:05.460 Christianity, 00:27:05.860 --> 00:27:06.559 way too hard. 00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:07.200 Don't do it 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:07.839 if it's not true. 00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:09.779 But if it is true, 00:27:10.899 --> 00:27:11.919 if it is true, 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:13.859 if Christmas is true, 00:27:14.440 --> 00:27:16.480 if the eternal, 00:27:16.700 --> 00:27:17.940 creative God 00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:18.740 of the universe 00:27:18.740 --> 00:27:19.919 actually has entered 00:27:19.919 --> 00:27:21.679 into our world 00:27:21.679 --> 00:27:23.299 and become flesh, 00:27:23.700 --> 00:27:24.619 become one of us 00:27:24.619 --> 00:27:25.440 to save us 00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:26.839 and to rescue the world, 00:27:26.980 --> 00:27:28.379 if that is indeed true, 00:27:28.940 --> 00:27:29.899 if he is indeed 00:27:29.899 --> 00:27:30.919 the son of the most high, 00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:31.940 then we should 00:27:31.940 --> 00:27:33.879 abandon everything else 00:27:33.880 --> 00:27:35.780 and completely reorient 00:27:35.780 --> 00:27:36.740 our lives around him. 00:27:37.780 --> 00:27:37.980 Right? 00:27:38.040 --> 00:27:39.120 That's the kind of response 00:27:39.120 --> 00:27:39.520 it merits. 00:27:39.740 --> 00:27:40.500 It's either one 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:40.880 or the other. 00:27:41.120 --> 00:27:42.040 The one option 00:27:42.040 --> 00:27:43.020 that Jesus does not 00:27:43.020 --> 00:27:44.280 leave open to us 00:27:44.280 --> 00:27:45.020 is to say, 00:27:45.100 --> 00:27:45.460 well, you know, 00:27:45.520 --> 00:27:46.600 I really respect him. 00:27:47.820 --> 00:27:47.980 You know, 00:27:47.980 --> 00:27:48.540 I think, you know, 00:27:48.560 --> 00:27:49.480 he had some nice things 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:49.960 to say. 00:27:50.960 --> 00:27:52.160 He just doesn't allow 00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:52.920 that possibility. 00:27:53.100 --> 00:27:53.900 You either completely 00:27:53.900 --> 00:27:54.540 reject him 00:27:54.540 --> 00:27:55.640 as a lunatic, 00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:58.660 as a crazy person, 00:27:59.320 --> 00:28:00.780 or as an evil person, 00:28:00.779 --> 00:28:02.279 or as a myth, 00:28:02.879 --> 00:28:04.759 or if you accept 00:28:04.759 --> 00:28:05.700 what Christmas says 00:28:05.700 --> 00:28:06.180 about him, 00:28:06.539 --> 00:28:07.700 then you fall to your face 00:28:07.700 --> 00:28:08.420 and you worship him. 00:28:09.059 --> 00:28:09.899 It's one or the other. 00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:15.259 Of course, 00:28:16.259 --> 00:28:17.220 no one gets it right 00:28:17.220 --> 00:28:17.779 all the time. 00:28:18.639 --> 00:28:19.559 And even those of us 00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:19.879 who say, 00:28:20.059 --> 00:28:21.160 I want to give my life 00:28:21.160 --> 00:28:21.539 to him. 00:28:21.660 --> 00:28:22.579 I want to worship him. 00:28:23.399 --> 00:28:24.319 Again and again and again, 00:28:24.359 --> 00:28:24.799 we come back 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:25.579 to our own agendas. 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:26.519 Again and again and again, 00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:27.680 we try to have it both ways. 00:28:28.119 --> 00:28:28.720 We try to say, 00:28:29.139 --> 00:28:30.440 let it be according to 00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:32.019 both of our words, 00:28:32.180 --> 00:28:32.460 right? 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:34.700 That's the game we play. 00:28:35.840 --> 00:28:36.880 And so that's why 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:38.140 Christmas is such 00:28:38.140 --> 00:28:39.340 a great source of hope 00:28:39.340 --> 00:28:41.200 and what sets Christianity 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:42.559 apart from all other religions. 00:28:43.019 --> 00:28:44.019 Because all other 00:28:44.019 --> 00:28:44.960 major world religions 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:46.120 say that our hope, 00:28:46.420 --> 00:28:47.120 our salvation, 00:28:47.620 --> 00:28:48.240 our future, 00:28:48.340 --> 00:28:49.580 it all hinges on us. 00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:50.880 It hinges on my ability 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:52.160 to make promises to God 00:28:52.160 --> 00:28:52.840 and to keep them, 00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:54.660 to follow God's rules 00:28:54.660 --> 00:28:55.200 and laws, 00:28:55.360 --> 00:28:56.740 to live up to God's standards, 00:28:56.840 --> 00:28:58.019 that it all hinges on me. 00:28:58.259 --> 00:28:59.100 And if I fail 00:28:59.100 --> 00:29:00.059 or if I fall short, 00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:03.080 I have no hope. 00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:05.200 But Christianity 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:06.360 is the exact opposite. 00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:07.420 Because it says 00:29:07.420 --> 00:29:07.960 that our hope 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:09.140 isn't based on us, 00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:10.360 it's actually based 00:29:10.360 --> 00:29:11.380 on God himself. 00:29:12.380 --> 00:29:12.640 You know, 00:29:12.680 --> 00:29:13.620 when the angel comes, 00:29:13.740 --> 00:29:14.539 Mary's terrified. 00:29:15.400 --> 00:29:15.580 You know, 00:29:15.620 --> 00:29:16.620 who knows what she's thinking, 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:17.700 but she's probably thinking, 00:29:17.900 --> 00:29:19.100 I have not lived up 00:29:19.100 --> 00:29:19.740 to God's standard, 00:29:19.840 --> 00:29:20.559 I have not lived up 00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:21.080 to his law, 00:29:21.220 --> 00:29:22.200 and now he's here 00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:23.460 and he's going to strike me dead. 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:24.539 Lightning's going to strike. 00:29:24.759 --> 00:29:24.900 You know, 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:25.840 God saw the things 00:29:25.840 --> 00:29:26.460 I was thinking 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:27.600 about my family, 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:28.480 God saw the things 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:29.299 I was thinking about, 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:30.619 my soon-to-be husband, 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:32.179 God saw all the ways 00:29:32.179 --> 00:29:33.240 that I fail 00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:34.059 and I doubt 00:29:34.059 --> 00:29:36.039 and I question 00:29:36.039 --> 00:29:36.839 and, you know, 00:29:36.939 --> 00:29:38.299 I, you know, 00:29:38.359 --> 00:29:39.099 all the ways 00:29:39.099 --> 00:29:39.819 that I fall short. 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:40.980 And now God 00:29:40.980 --> 00:29:41.719 has fed up with me 00:29:41.719 --> 00:29:42.959 and Gabriel's here 00:29:42.959 --> 00:29:44.039 and lightning's going to strike 00:29:44.039 --> 00:29:44.539 and I'm just going to be 00:29:44.539 --> 00:29:45.240 a smoking hole 00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:45.699 in the ground. 00:29:47.099 --> 00:29:48.059 She's terrified. 00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:50.539 And what does Gabriel say? 00:29:51.879 --> 00:29:52.879 Don't worry, Mary. 00:29:53.319 --> 00:29:54.179 Here's the standard 00:29:54.179 --> 00:29:55.500 and you just barely made it. 00:29:55.500 --> 00:29:56.799 So you've got nothing 00:29:56.799 --> 00:29:57.440 to worry about. 00:29:58.220 --> 00:29:58.559 No. 00:29:59.720 --> 00:30:00.380 He says, 00:30:01.259 --> 00:30:02.880 you have found favor with God. 00:30:04.039 --> 00:30:05.539 You have found favor with God. 00:30:06.380 --> 00:30:07.380 Your hope isn't based 00:30:07.380 --> 00:30:08.279 in your own goodness. 00:30:08.519 --> 00:30:09.579 It's in God's favor. 00:30:10.420 --> 00:30:11.200 God looked at you 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:11.619 and he said, 00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:13.079 I want her to belong to me. 00:30:13.319 --> 00:30:14.200 And he has placed 00:30:14.200 --> 00:30:15.359 his favor on you. 00:30:17.240 --> 00:30:17.680 Right? 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:19.039 So this is the Christmas hope. 00:30:20.779 --> 00:30:21.940 Our hope isn't based 00:30:21.940 --> 00:30:22.559 on our ability 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:23.380 to obey God. 00:30:23.460 --> 00:30:24.559 It's based on God's willingness 00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:25.599 to extend grace. 00:30:26.839 --> 00:30:27.779 So at Christmas, 00:30:28.139 --> 00:30:29.379 you see God becoming 00:30:29.379 --> 00:30:30.720 in every way like us 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:32.980 so that through the death 00:30:32.980 --> 00:30:33.639 and the resurrection, 00:30:34.159 --> 00:30:35.359 we might one day become 00:30:35.359 --> 00:30:37.079 in every way like him. 00:30:38.019 --> 00:30:39.119 So this Christmas Eve, 00:30:39.179 --> 00:30:40.299 I pray that we would all 00:30:40.299 --> 00:30:41.480 be spiritually open 00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:42.500 to the hope of the gospel. 00:30:43.599 --> 00:30:45.000 And I pray that we would all 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:45.899 have the courage 00:30:45.899 --> 00:30:46.759 that Mary did 00:30:46.759 --> 00:30:48.579 to be humbly obedient, 00:30:49.179 --> 00:30:50.159 to allow ourselves 00:30:50.159 --> 00:30:51.659 to become part of God's plan 00:30:51.659 --> 00:30:52.700 to make all things new. 00:30:53.500 --> 00:30:54.179 Let's pray. 00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:55.859 пр migrant people 00:30:55.859 --> 00:30:56.179 twins who end up 00:30:56.179 --> 00:31:00.720 marriage 00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:01.859 being part of God's plan 00:31:01.859 --> 00:31:02.720 to make sure 00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:03.559 you put yourself 00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:04.159 to the组 CUHA 00:31:04.339 --> 00:31:04.779 and to be 미� damage 00:31:04.779 --> 00:31:05.159 and being the most 00:31:05.179 --> 00:31:05.919 person. 00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:07.379 And I pray horribly 00:31:07.379 --> 00:31:08.339 to come out from God's plan 00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:10.379 and Church 00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:11.639 doing some miaf 00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:13.240 boring game 00:31:13.940 --> 00:31:14.039 which can make 00:31:14.119 --> 00:31:14.519 Halloween 00:31:14.519 --> 00:31:16.059 a year 00:31:16.059 --> 00:31:17.720 and peace 00:31:18.019 --> 00:31:18.619 is really 00:31:18.619 --> 00:31:19.379 we will all 00:31:19.819 --> 00:31:20.559 kind of 00:31:21.559 --> 00:31:22.879 you