WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.839 Last weekend, I was on a prayer retreat, and one of the speakers was describing the spiritual 00:00:10.839 --> 00:00:17.140 journey that people make over the course of their lives and how one season of your life 00:00:17.140 --> 00:00:19.760 can look so different from another. 00:00:20.080 --> 00:00:26.120 And I was reminded of a famous study that explored some of these realities. 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:28.539 It's known as the Grant Study. 00:00:28.539 --> 00:00:38.259 In the late 1930s, about 270 or so undergraduates at Harvard were selected to be part of this 00:00:38.259 --> 00:00:41.679 massive longitudinal study. 00:00:41.780 --> 00:00:47.099 And the ones selected were judged to be among the most well-adjusted, the most likely to 00:00:47.099 --> 00:00:56.560 succeed, and they agreed to be poked and prodded and interviewed every single year for the 00:00:56.560 --> 00:00:57.420 rest of their lives. 00:00:57.420 --> 00:01:00.320 Massive longitudinal study. 00:01:00.660 --> 00:01:05.299 And even though their identities were kept secret in recent years, it's come out that 00:01:05.299 --> 00:01:10.560 two of those participants in that Harvard study from the late 30s, one went on to be president, 00:01:11.240 --> 00:01:11.560 John F. 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:18.560 Kennedy, and the other ended up being the editor of the Washington Post during the Watergate 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:20.140 era, Ben Bradley. 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:24.620 Found out those were two of the study participants. 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:29.700 And as you can imagine, this study has been looked at and written up in books and magazines, 00:01:29.819 --> 00:01:35.219 most recently in the Atlantic, seeking to understand the insights and the lessons to be learned. 00:01:35.219 --> 00:01:42.640 And here's one of the most surprising lessons, at least for the researchers. 00:01:43.099 --> 00:01:52.680 The lives of these young men played out in ways that defied predictability. 00:01:52.680 --> 00:02:01.020 Those that started life with certain advantages did not necessarily lead to later success. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:07.840 And conversely, those who started with certain deficits or who experienced certain defeats along 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:10.659 the way did not necessarily end in failure. 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:16.039 Two examples written up from this study. 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:23.520 One man was especially gifted and grew up in Manhattan as the son of a rich doctor and an artistic mother. 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:28.939 While he was in college, the researchers wrote, perhaps more than any other boy who has been in the grand study, 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:37.460 this participant exemplifies the qualities of a superior personality, stability, intelligence, and good judgment. 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:46.080 Yet, by age 31, for no apparent reason, he developed feelings of bitterness towards the world, 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:50.540 dropped out of the study, and died at a young age. 00:02:50.539 --> 00:02:56.620 His life was described by those who knew him as wandering and without purpose. 00:02:59.879 --> 00:03:05.840 Another young man in the study was raised in a working class family by what the researchers described 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:09.979 as an angry, alcoholic father and an anxious, irritable mother. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:16.199 Yet, this man went on to become a national leader in the civil rights movement. 00:03:16.379 --> 00:03:19.879 He was loved by his co-workers, and by the time he was in his late 40s, 00:03:19.879 --> 00:03:28.379 he was ranked by researchers as among the top fifth in the study with regard to psychological health. 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:35.699 He lived into an old age, and he was celebrated in his obituaries as a hero of the civil rights movement. 00:03:35.699 --> 00:03:46.639 Where someone started out was no predictor of where they would end up. 00:03:49.139 --> 00:03:55.620 Decades later, the primary researcher reflected that if there was one theme that emerged from the study, it was this. 00:03:55.620 --> 00:04:03.319 The course of these people's lives had little to do with how much or how little trouble they encountered, 00:04:03.700 --> 00:04:07.259 but how they responded to that trouble. 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:15.219 The study's author writes that this central insight is best captured in the story of a father 00:04:15.219 --> 00:04:20.459 who on Christmas Eve puts into one son's stocking an expensive gold watch 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:24.159 and into another son's stocking a pile of horse manure. 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:27.279 The next morning, the first boy comes to his father and says, 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:30.439 Dad, I just don't know what I'll do with this watch. 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:31.839 It's so fragile. 00:04:32.099 --> 00:04:32.839 It could break. 00:04:33.579 --> 00:04:36.059 The other boy runs to him and says, 00:04:36.159 --> 00:04:39.339 Daddy, Daddy, Santa left me a pony. 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:40.959 If only I can just find it. 00:04:45.039 --> 00:04:51.479 What is it that causes one person to receive a gold watch 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:54.400 and to respond with fear and caution? 00:04:54.960 --> 00:04:58.080 And another to receive something that nobody wants 00:04:58.080 --> 00:05:02.660 and yet interpret it in the most positive and constructive of ways. 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:10.420 Psychologists have studied the factors behind the different ways people respond to trouble 00:05:10.420 --> 00:05:11.439 and difficulties in life. 00:05:11.580 --> 00:05:14.640 And in recent years, they've determined that one of the key factors 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:22.319 is behind how we respond are the stories that we have been told. 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:26.079 The stories that we absorb from the broader culture 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:29.479 and the stories that we tell ourselves to build our identities 00:05:29.479 --> 00:05:31.919 and to give us a sense of who we are. 00:05:33.180 --> 00:05:36.300 To give just one example, a team at Emory University 00:05:36.300 --> 00:05:39.139 studied emotional well-being in children 00:05:39.139 --> 00:05:43.939 and they discovered that one of the biggest predictors of emotional health in a child 00:05:43.939 --> 00:05:47.860 was the family story they heard growing up. 00:05:48.699 --> 00:05:53.100 The researchers noted that all families have a narrative 00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:57.040 and they tend to take one of three basic shapes. 00:05:57.560 --> 00:06:01.819 The first shape is the ascending family narrative. 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:03.319 We came from nothing. 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:04.279 We worked hard. 00:06:04.659 --> 00:06:05.459 We made it big. 00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:07.120 And now, Junior, it's your turn. 00:06:09.259 --> 00:06:12.459 Another is the descending narrative. 00:06:12.459 --> 00:06:16.399 We used to have it all, but then we lost everything. 00:06:16.819 --> 00:06:20.359 Life isn't fair and whatever you try probably isn't going to work. 00:06:22.159 --> 00:06:25.719 The most helpful narrative, they said, is a third one, 00:06:25.779 --> 00:06:28.120 which they called the oscillating family narrative. 00:06:28.299 --> 00:06:31.759 That narrative said we've had ups and downs in our family. 00:06:32.120 --> 00:06:33.399 We've built a family business. 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:35.539 Your grandfather was a pillar of the community. 00:06:35.679 --> 00:06:37.399 Your mother was on the board of the hospital. 00:06:37.399 --> 00:06:40.199 But we also had setbacks. 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:42.659 You had an uncle who was once arrested. 00:06:42.859 --> 00:06:44.120 You had a house burned down. 00:06:44.459 --> 00:06:46.159 Your father lost a job. 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:50.439 But no matter what happened, we persevered and we stuck together. 00:06:50.439 --> 00:07:00.839 What are the stories that have shaped your identity, 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:03.519 that have shaped my identity? 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:07.519 We get them from our families, of course. 00:07:07.980 --> 00:07:15.220 We also get them from school, from college, from friends, from TikTok. 00:07:15.220 --> 00:07:20.120 One way of thinking about this is by asking, 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:24.120 when things are hard, when trouble comes, 00:07:24.440 --> 00:07:28.460 what's the story that helps you make sense of it? 00:07:28.459 --> 00:07:39.239 In our passage this morning, in our gospel reading from Luke 24, 00:07:39.419 --> 00:07:44.299 a group of friends is asking that very question. 00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:52.299 Luke 24 is a chapter about disciples trying to make sense of trauma. 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:57.359 Earlier in the chapter, we encounter two disciples 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:00.420 walking along the road to Emmaus and they are distraught. 00:08:01.100 --> 00:08:02.980 The person that they loved and followed, 00:08:03.080 --> 00:08:05.660 who they thought was going to change everything, 00:08:05.900 --> 00:08:08.759 has been crucified and they feel hopeless. 00:08:11.220 --> 00:08:13.300 And now in this morning's reading, 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:16.920 another group of disciples have gathered 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:20.720 and they are also trying to make sense of loss 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:24.680 and to process the trauma of Christ's crucifixion. 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:29.500 And in the midst of this gathering, 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:33.720 Jesus suddenly appears. 00:08:36.539 --> 00:08:37.899 Verse 37 says, 00:08:38.060 --> 00:08:39.560 they are shocked and scared 00:08:39.560 --> 00:08:41.320 because they are suddenly confronted 00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:45.600 by something that they didn't have a narrative for. 00:08:47.460 --> 00:08:50.220 That didn't fit into any of the stories 00:08:50.220 --> 00:08:52.899 about how they interpreted reality. 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:55.399 The person that they had watched be executed 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:56.899 and buried in a tomb 00:08:56.899 --> 00:08:59.660 is now standing in front of them. 00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:06.899 This raw data was important for the disciples 00:09:06.899 --> 00:09:10.259 and I think it remains important for us. 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:13.700 Just as the disciples took on board 00:09:13.700 --> 00:09:16.780 the reality of Jesus standing before him, 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:19.379 we also will rely on the fact 00:09:19.379 --> 00:09:21.740 that at some point in our lives, 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:24.980 we've had an encounter with Jesus. 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:30.840 We've become convinced that Jesus is real, 00:09:31.400 --> 00:09:32.200 that he's alive, 00:09:33.140 --> 00:09:35.820 and that there is no better teacher, 00:09:36.379 --> 00:09:38.520 no safer person. 00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:45.679 Or perhaps we haven't yet 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:47.840 had an encounter with Jesus, 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:51.179 but we're moving in that direction. 00:09:52.939 --> 00:09:55.980 We're becoming curious about Jesus. 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:58.319 And like the disciples in the room, 00:09:58.419 --> 00:10:01.439 we find ourselves becoming open to the fact 00:10:01.439 --> 00:10:05.079 that the resurrected Christ might be right here. 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:09.560 The same person who showed the wounds 00:10:09.560 --> 00:10:10.520 to his disciples, 00:10:10.740 --> 00:10:12.580 who ate some food to prove 00:10:12.580 --> 00:10:15.280 that he wasn't just some figment of an imagination 00:10:15.280 --> 00:10:16.740 or disembodied spirit 00:10:16.740 --> 00:10:21.280 is present and available to us right now. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:27.280 But notice in the passage, 00:10:28.340 --> 00:10:31.800 Jesus does more than just give them himself. 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:35.759 He also gives them a new story 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:37.939 to make sense of their lives. 00:10:39.079 --> 00:10:41.659 Verse 45 says that Jesus opened their minds 00:10:41.659 --> 00:10:45.759 to reinterpret everything that happened in their past, 00:10:45.959 --> 00:10:48.620 to reconsider their experience of loss 00:10:48.620 --> 00:10:49.599 and disappointment 00:10:49.599 --> 00:10:51.979 through the lens of a different story. 00:10:53.459 --> 00:10:54.759 And the new story, 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:57.359 Jesus tells his disoriented disciples 00:10:57.359 --> 00:11:00.199 in verse 46 is this. 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:04.839 That the Christ should suffer 00:11:04.839 --> 00:11:09.579 and on the third day rise from the dead 00:11:09.579 --> 00:11:13.959 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins 00:11:13.959 --> 00:11:17.059 should be proclaimed in his name 00:11:17.059 --> 00:11:19.779 to all the nations starting in Jerusalem. 00:11:21.699 --> 00:11:23.639 The new story that Jesus gives them, 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:24.219 in other words, 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:27.599 is a story that makes sense of loss 00:11:27.599 --> 00:11:30.479 and disappointment and hopelessness. 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:32.100 It's a story of three things. 00:11:32.779 --> 00:11:33.180 Cross, 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:34.879 resurrection, 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:36.920 and mission. 00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:43.460 Up until this point, 00:11:43.580 --> 00:11:46.460 the disciples don't have this as their story. 00:11:47.300 --> 00:11:48.080 As Jews, 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:49.840 what they have at this point 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:52.720 is a really confusing family story. 00:11:52.980 --> 00:11:55.019 A story of being called by God 00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:56.720 to be a light to the nations 00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:58.360 and yet failing to live up to that 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:01.480 and worshiping the gods of these other nations instead. 00:12:02.580 --> 00:12:05.879 It's a story marked by moments of triumph 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:08.779 with military victories under King David 00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:11.639 and fame and riches under King Solomon. 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:16.600 And yet it eventually leads to exile in Babylon. 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:23.220 It's a story of greatness never fully realized, 00:12:23.420 --> 00:12:27.600 of hope continuously disappointed. 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:37.120 And theirs is a story that many of us can identify with. 00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:43.360 Anyone who has experienced some longings for greatness 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:44.720 not fully realized 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:47.879 or had some hopes disappointed. 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:52.919 But Jesus gives a new story 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:55.100 by which to interpret all of those losses, 00:12:55.960 --> 00:12:56.340 cross, 00:12:57.139 --> 00:12:57.539 resurrection, 00:12:58.240 --> 00:12:58.899 and mission. 00:13:02.100 --> 00:13:05.039 The first part of the story is the cross. 00:13:07.460 --> 00:13:10.519 Our instinct is to keep the cross 00:13:10.519 --> 00:13:12.879 at several degrees 00:13:13.419 --> 00:13:14.759 of remove 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:15.259 remove 00:13:15.259 --> 00:13:16.340 from us 00:13:16.340 --> 00:13:16.939 for it 00:13:16.939 --> 00:13:19.120 not to become part of our story. 00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:20.419 The cross might be 00:13:20.419 --> 00:13:21.259 part of Jesus' 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:22.460 story 00:13:22.460 --> 00:13:23.759 and therefore 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:24.939 it's maybe part of my story 00:13:24.939 --> 00:13:26.360 in a theological sense 00:13:26.360 --> 00:13:28.100 but not in an experiential sense. 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:30.259 Or the cross 00:13:30.259 --> 00:13:31.059 might be 00:13:31.059 --> 00:13:31.919 part of 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:32.620 say 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:34.840 the martyr's 00:13:34.840 --> 00:13:35.639 story. 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:36.559 Someone who suffers 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:37.759 for sharing the gospel 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:38.299 in some 00:13:38.299 --> 00:13:39.899 hostile territory. 00:13:40.439 --> 00:13:41.299 Or the cross 00:13:41.299 --> 00:13:42.439 might be part of 00:13:42.439 --> 00:13:44.100 a monk's 00:13:44.100 --> 00:13:45.040 story. 00:13:45.139 --> 00:13:45.759 A particularly 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:46.960 holy person 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:48.340 dedicated to prayer 00:13:48.340 --> 00:13:49.540 and renunciation 00:13:49.540 --> 00:13:50.899 of worldly things. 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:52.080 But when Jesus says 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:52.480 the cross 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:52.960 is to become 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:53.960 the interpretive grid 00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:55.399 for my story, 00:13:55.940 --> 00:13:56.960 for our story, 00:13:57.440 --> 00:13:58.440 for everyday 00:13:58.440 --> 00:13:59.680 real life, 00:13:59.820 --> 00:14:00.980 what does he mean? 00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:07.720 A few months ago 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:08.320 I was talking 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:09.300 with a Trappist 00:14:09.300 --> 00:14:09.980 monk 00:14:09.980 --> 00:14:11.420 who I meet with 00:14:11.420 --> 00:14:12.379 on occasion 00:14:12.379 --> 00:14:13.300 for spiritual 00:14:13.300 --> 00:14:14.240 direction. 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:16.860 We were discussing 00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:18.000 humility 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.120 as the path 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:20.779 towards 00:14:20.779 --> 00:14:21.539 God. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:23.120 And I commented 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:24.560 on the clear 00:14:24.560 --> 00:14:25.360 route 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:26.259 to humility 00:14:26.259 --> 00:14:27.700 that he had 00:14:27.700 --> 00:14:28.379 as a result 00:14:28.379 --> 00:14:29.240 of his monastic 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:30.000 vows. 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:32.259 But when I said 00:14:32.259 --> 00:14:32.519 that 00:14:32.519 --> 00:14:32.920 he 00:14:32.920 --> 00:14:34.320 smiled. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:36.860 And his 00:14:36.860 --> 00:14:37.700 response to me 00:14:37.700 --> 00:14:38.379 was to say 00:14:38.379 --> 00:14:40.060 that he thought 00:14:40.060 --> 00:14:40.480 that his 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:41.480 path to humility 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:43.000 was not 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:44.180 nearly so 00:14:44.180 --> 00:14:44.980 strenuous 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:46.360 as those 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:46.720 of us 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:47.320 who are called 00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:47.860 to live 00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:48.680 in the secular 00:14:48.680 --> 00:14:49.020 world. 00:14:51.180 --> 00:14:52.040 He said 00:14:52.040 --> 00:14:52.860 think about 00:14:52.860 --> 00:14:53.620 what humility 00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:55.379 a parent learns 00:14:55.379 --> 00:14:56.340 when their child 00:14:56.340 --> 00:14:57.080 does not obey 00:14:57.080 --> 00:14:57.600 them in the way 00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:58.140 that they hoped. 00:14:58.139 --> 00:15:01.379 or when a 00:15:01.379 --> 00:15:01.919 colleague 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:03.000 very subtly 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:04.600 makes you look 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:05.139 bad in front 00:15:05.139 --> 00:15:05.740 of your boss. 00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:08.279 Or when a 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:09.159 career doesn't 00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:09.960 advance 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:10.539 in the way 00:15:10.539 --> 00:15:10.819 that you 00:15:10.819 --> 00:15:11.360 expected. 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:12.439 Or when 00:15:12.439 --> 00:15:13.340 your spouse 00:15:13.340 --> 00:15:14.679 doesn't notice 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:15.419 a good deed. 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:17.759 He said 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:19.279 for the person 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:20.580 living in the 00:15:20.580 --> 00:15:20.919 world 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:21.480 there are 00:15:21.480 --> 00:15:22.919 small experiences 00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:23.899 of the cross 00:15:23.899 --> 00:15:24.899 of suffering 00:15:24.899 --> 00:15:25.740 and sacrifice 00:15:25.740 --> 00:15:26.759 that can bring 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:27.500 about humility 00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:28.500 every single 00:15:28.500 --> 00:15:28.980 day. 00:15:31.059 --> 00:15:31.919 And if we 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:32.480 can notice 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:33.279 those moments 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:34.879 and receive 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:35.879 them in that 00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:36.240 way 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:38.059 those daily 00:15:38.059 --> 00:15:38.840 realities 00:15:38.840 --> 00:15:40.139 can form 00:15:40.139 --> 00:15:41.019 us into 00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:41.539 Christ 00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:43.120 just as much 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:44.259 as anything 00:15:44.259 --> 00:15:45.279 I do here 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:45.740 in the 00:15:45.740 --> 00:15:46.240 monastery. 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:53.279 And so 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:54.220 we might 00:15:54.220 --> 00:15:54.600 ask 00:15:54.600 --> 00:15:57.440 what 00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:57.660 what are 00:15:57.660 --> 00:15:58.020 those 00:15:58.020 --> 00:15:58.680 points 00:15:58.680 --> 00:15:59.080 of 00:15:59.080 --> 00:15:59.660 suffering 00:15:59.660 --> 00:16:00.700 or 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:01.240 sacrifice 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:01.860 in my 00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:02.080 own 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:02.340 life 00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:02.620 right 00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:02.940 now 00:16:02.940 --> 00:16:04.380 even the 00:16:04.380 --> 00:16:04.620 very 00:16:04.620 --> 00:16:05.160 smallest 00:16:05.160 --> 00:16:05.740 things 00:16:05.740 --> 00:16:07.160 that I 00:16:07.160 --> 00:16:07.400 might 00:16:07.400 --> 00:16:08.020 interpret 00:16:08.020 --> 00:16:09.520 through the 00:16:09.520 --> 00:16:09.900 lens of 00:16:09.900 --> 00:16:10.320 the cross. 00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:14.120 It doesn't 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:14.680 mean that 00:16:14.680 --> 00:16:16.840 I stop 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:17.520 praying for 00:16:17.520 --> 00:16:18.020 God to 00:16:18.020 --> 00:16:18.580 take those 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:18.920 troubles 00:16:18.920 --> 00:16:19.520 to take 00:16:19.520 --> 00:16:20.140 that suffering 00:16:20.140 --> 00:16:21.140 away because 00:16:21.140 --> 00:16:21.760 God is never 00:16:21.760 --> 00:16:22.240 the author 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:22.720 of evil. 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:22.779 people. 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:25.180 But Jesus' 00:16:25.420 --> 00:16:26.360 prayer in the 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:27.000 garden of 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:27.700 Gethsemane 00:16:27.700 --> 00:16:29.200 shows us what 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:30.139 this looks like. 00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:31.500 He prays for the 00:16:31.500 --> 00:16:32.420 cross to be 00:16:32.420 --> 00:16:33.580 taken from him 00:16:33.580 --> 00:16:35.139 even as he also 00:16:35.139 --> 00:16:36.560 places his life in 00:16:36.560 --> 00:16:37.420 the hands of his 00:16:37.420 --> 00:16:37.660 father. 00:16:40.660 --> 00:16:41.920 And so we begin to 00:16:41.920 --> 00:16:43.220 interpret any 00:16:43.220 --> 00:16:44.800 troubles that we 00:16:44.800 --> 00:16:45.940 experience even the 00:16:45.940 --> 00:16:47.240 smallest things 00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:48.759 through the lens of 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:49.240 the cross. 00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:52.180 a friend in 00:16:52.180 --> 00:16:52.740 school talking 00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:53.259 behind our 00:16:53.259 --> 00:16:53.560 back. 00:16:55.019 --> 00:16:55.820 A health 00:16:55.820 --> 00:16:56.820 issue that's 00:16:56.820 --> 00:16:57.320 not going 00:16:57.320 --> 00:16:57.879 away. 00:16:58.480 --> 00:16:59.080 A family 00:16:59.080 --> 00:17:00.600 situation that's 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:01.519 causing sleepless 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:01.879 nights. 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:04.200 And like 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:05.359 Jesus we will 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:06.220 pray Father 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:07.759 please take 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:08.660 this away. 00:17:09.579 --> 00:17:10.120 But we will 00:17:10.120 --> 00:17:11.039 also pray 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:12.620 Father so long 00:17:12.620 --> 00:17:13.720 as this continues 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:14.759 would you shape 00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:15.420 me by it? 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:17.299 Would you 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:18.339 form me into 00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:18.779 greater 00:17:18.779 --> 00:17:20.019 conformity to 00:17:20.019 --> 00:17:21.240 yourself through 00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:21.960 this experience? 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:26.460 And as we do 00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:27.960 that we will see 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:29.379 that the other 00:17:29.379 --> 00:17:30.519 two parts of the 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:31.359 story that Jesus 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:32.579 gave his disciples 00:17:32.579 --> 00:17:34.279 play out in our 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:35.680 lives as well. 00:17:36.299 --> 00:17:37.879 Resurrection and 00:17:37.879 --> 00:17:38.200 mission. 00:17:40.460 --> 00:17:41.500 As we learn to 00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:42.599 enter into 00:17:42.599 --> 00:17:43.720 experiences of the 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:44.839 cross in our 00:17:44.839 --> 00:17:46.519 lives we will 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:49.119 also experience 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:49.680 resurrection. 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:51.460 Even though 00:17:51.460 --> 00:17:52.500 resurrection may 00:17:52.500 --> 00:17:53.480 come in different 00:17:53.480 --> 00:17:53.960 ways. 00:17:55.099 --> 00:17:56.359 In some cases we 00:17:56.359 --> 00:17:57.259 may experience a 00:17:57.259 --> 00:17:58.180 resurrection of new 00:17:58.180 --> 00:17:58.799 opportunities. 00:17:59.259 --> 00:17:59.920 A surprising 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:00.779 relationship that 00:18:00.779 --> 00:18:01.980 becomes possible 00:18:01.980 --> 00:18:03.240 after the pain of 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:03.940 an old one 00:18:03.940 --> 00:18:04.539 ending. 00:18:05.259 --> 00:18:06.539 A career path that 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:08.139 only opens up after 00:18:08.139 --> 00:18:09.680 other doors close 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:10.440 first. 00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:10.500 first. 00:18:12.900 --> 00:18:15.240 But other times we 00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:16.220 may experience a 00:18:16.220 --> 00:18:17.059 resurrection that 00:18:17.059 --> 00:18:19.519 is more subtle but 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:20.779 also more profound. 00:18:22.580 --> 00:18:23.920 Because in the losses 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:25.820 we suffer we may 00:18:25.820 --> 00:18:26.759 experience that our 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:27.700 hearts are resurrected. 00:18:28.360 --> 00:18:29.600 That our life with 00:18:29.600 --> 00:18:31.220 God is resurrected. 00:18:31.220 --> 00:18:34.220 we start to become 00:18:34.220 --> 00:18:35.400 more of the person 00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:36.680 that God intended us 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:37.319 to be. 00:18:37.620 --> 00:18:38.339 We begin to 00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:39.400 experience the kind 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:40.480 of life that 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:41.640 becomes possible 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:43.140 when through the 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:44.400 pain of loss our 00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:46.400 old self begins 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:46.980 to die. 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:52.299 And this leads to 00:18:52.299 --> 00:18:53.200 the final part of 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:53.700 the story. 00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:54.779 Mission. 00:18:56.900 --> 00:18:58.120 As we begin to 00:18:58.120 --> 00:18:59.460 experience troubles 00:18:59.460 --> 00:19:01.019 and trials through 00:19:01.019 --> 00:19:01.680 the lens of the 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:02.660 cross and as we 00:19:02.660 --> 00:19:03.660 also begin to 00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:05.440 experience resurrections 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:06.279 in our lives. 00:19:06.779 --> 00:19:08.200 Big and small we 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:09.259 will find ourselves 00:19:09.259 --> 00:19:10.660 along with the 00:19:10.660 --> 00:19:12.000 disciples with a 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:13.299 message to bring to 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:13.779 others. 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:17.460 But that message 00:19:17.460 --> 00:19:18.980 will never be 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:20.139 simply some 00:19:20.139 --> 00:19:21.839 didactic facts that 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:23.059 we drop into the 00:19:23.059 --> 00:19:24.220 laps of others. 00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:26.019 Rather we will 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:26.799 bring our own 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:28.299 experiences of the 00:19:28.299 --> 00:19:29.480 resurrected Christ. 00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:30.220 Our own 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:31.000 experiences of 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:32.180 healing and 00:19:32.180 --> 00:19:33.920 transformation as a 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:35.119 loving and natural 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.059 overflow into the 00:19:37.059 --> 00:19:38.019 lives of those 00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:39.460 around us and we 00:19:39.460 --> 00:19:40.700 will find ourselves 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:42.559 leading lives of 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:42.880 mission. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:51.119 We all have 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:53.759 stories by which we 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:54.759 make sense of our 00:19:54.759 --> 00:19:55.099 lives. 00:19:55.099 --> 00:19:55.199 stories. 00:19:57.199 --> 00:19:59.759 The good news is 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:00.959 that you and I 00:20:00.959 --> 00:20:03.919 are not bound 00:20:03.919 --> 00:20:05.659 to the stories we 00:20:05.659 --> 00:20:06.619 have now. 00:20:08.899 --> 00:20:10.559 You are not 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:12.219 bound to any 00:20:12.219 --> 00:20:13.740 story that has been 00:20:13.740 --> 00:20:15.740 imposed upon you 00:20:15.740 --> 00:20:17.079 or that you have 00:20:17.079 --> 00:20:18.159 absorbed from 00:20:18.159 --> 00:20:18.579 others. 00:20:18.579 --> 00:20:23.539 Jesus offers you and 00:20:23.539 --> 00:20:24.179 me a new story. 00:20:25.859 --> 00:20:27.240 The story of cross 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:28.659 and resurrection 00:20:28.659 --> 00:20:30.179 and mission. 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:32.339 And it is a story 00:20:32.339 --> 00:20:33.939 for where we live 00:20:33.939 --> 00:20:35.679 our lives right 00:20:35.679 --> 00:20:35.980 now. 00:20:35.980 --> 00:20:36.699 Amen. 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:37.740 Amen. 00:20:39.360 --> 00:20:39.799 You. 00:20:39.799 --> 00:21:09.779 Thank you.