November 3, 2015

“No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

“[There’s a false rumor around that our leader’s dead. Our leader is not dead. Martin Luther King is not our leader. [Some hesitation, here, on the “Talk it!” Cries.] Our leader is the man who led Moses out of Israel [Egypt]. (“That’s the man!”). Our leader is the man who went with Daniel into the lion’s den. (“Same man!”) Our leader is the man who walked out of the grave on Easter morning. Our leader never sleeps or slumbers. He cannot be put in jail. He has never lost a war yet. Our leader is still on the case. Our leader is not dead. One of his prophets died. We will not stop because of that. Our staff is not a funeral staff…” [Under God: Religion and American Politics, Gary Wills; James Bevel (1936 – ) “For All The Saints” volume II (p. 982-983)]

It is always difficult to face the loss of someone we look to as a leader, advisor, or teacher figure, but it happens every day throughout the world. Every day, someone’s teacher dies, someone’s parent passes away, someone’s spiritual adviser or emotional “rock” leaves this world. And when it does, it usually leaves us in a bit of a lurch. We wonder how we will march forward without our teacher, adviser, and rock.

This reading from 1st Corinthians is one of my favorites, and one of the first that I memorized. If someone says to you “G*d doesn’t give you more than you can handle”, now you can be assured that this is biblical. No, we may not be rescued from the current “shadow of death” that we find ourselves, but we can be assured that G*d will see us through if not find the way out. Our challenge is to trust that G*d can and will do just that. Just as the devotion says, “Our leader is the one who walked out of the grave on Easter” – G*d has provided a way out for all of us – the way to eternal life.

Pastor Dave