Malachi - Hesed That Refines and Finishes the Story | HESED - Sermon Cut

Malachi, we're going to finish with him. We're

going to finish this journey in Chesed, God's

enduring, everlasting love for us. We are finishing

a sermon series, and again, I love when we finish

one because we get to look back on where God

has been with us over the last seven weeks and

where God is going to take us, especially entering

the season of Lent. So let's dive in. The intro

for this is kind of this understanding of when

faithfulness feels heavy. And again, I wrote

this more in the beginning of the week before

all of the events have kind of transpired. But

faith can feel heavy at times. I don't know about

you, but I'm sitting in that right now. That

faithfulness is feeling heavy with the weight

of decisions, conversations, disappointments,

excitements, D all of the above. But there can

be a heaviness to that. And for a lot of us,

when it gets heavy, we just don't want to deal

with it. If we're being honest, we just don't

like to deal with it. Because that heaviness

can mean a lot of things. More times than not,

that heaviness has to do with us. Either we're

holding on to something, we're not giving it

away to God, we're not forgiving, there's something

looking inward. When we point the finger at other

people, what do they say? That it's three fingers,

or unless you have a weird thumb, pointing back

at you, it might be four. But understanding that

when faithfulness feels heavy, we probably have

a lot to do with that. And it got me thinking

about the differences between joining a church

and staying in a church. Those aren't the same,

right? It's much like a relationship, right?

When you have a relationship or maybe newly married,

you go through what kind of period? The honeymoon

phase, right? We're just going to leave that

there. I'm not going to ask any questions about

that. But you can have that when joining a church

too. You can. You can't. And there's excitement,

there's something new, getting involved in all

of the things. Whether that takes a week, a year,

ten years to finish. I'm at seven and a half

years in some ways. I feel like I'm still in

the honeymoon phase. In a lot of ways, I know

I'm not. And that is okay, even pastor to church.

But staying in a church is different. Joining

is exciting. Vision, energy, new faces, fresh

ideas. Babies being born, new families walking

through the doors, but staying is different.

And a couple, what I'm going to put, stamps of

things you go through when you stay in a church

is forgiving people when they disappoint you.

Not if, when. Serving when no one thanks you.

We do our best to try to never do that. We always

try to thank. Giving when budgets feel tight

or decisions are made that you don't like. Worshiping

when your heart feels distracted. Believing when

the next step isn't totally clear. Insert Jim

there. I feel that a lot right now. And sometimes,

when we're honest, faithfulness feels like fire,

or less like fire and more like weight. And think

about a church that is 156 years old. I look

around and go, none of us were there when it

started. 156 years. Pastors have come and gone.

Elders have prayed through hard decisions. Families

have buried loved ones. Babies have been baptized.

Buildings have been built. Debts have been paid.

Ministries have shifted, started, ended. Communities

have changed. And through it all, someone kept

showing up. Someone filled the pulpit. Someone

kept giving. Someone kept seeing. Someone kept

believing. We stand here today because generation

after generation after generation chose faithfulness

even when it was difficult. Even, I look at that

timeline, even when the fight of the day. You

talk about church wars, and unfortunately that's

a thing. Biggest church war in this church's

history was what? Who's brave enough to say it?

Are you serious? Someone said pews? Someone said

it over here. Well, you got the assist. You didn't

get the score. Someone said it over here. Language,

right? Language. Who said that? Evan? You're

pointing to Kennedy? Well, you're going to be

married soon. Two become one. So understand,

it was when the main service, the morning service,

went from Dutch to English. Think about that.

How do I know? How do we know that that was a

big deal? No other church was started because

of the Pew War. No church was started because

of the Oregon to Contemporary Worship War. No

church was started when they decided to lower

the height of the stage. Two churches started

because of this church's desire to remain in

Dutch. First Highland, now Faith Highland. First

Lansing, now New Hope. Two churches started because

of that war in the church. The English service

that was happening, it was just done at like

2 o 'clock. But it wasn't in the prime time.

Faithfulness can feel heavy. But generation after

generation after generation of this church, there

has been... faithful people. How do we know it's

still going? You still have a church, and quite

frankly, I still have a job. That's how we know

faithfulness has happened, even when it wasn't

flashy. One of the things, and I've said this

before, one of the things I love about this church's

history, on the day that the final ember was

put out from this church burning to the ground

in 1952, was by the end of that day, the next

six months of services were figured out at other

churches. Some, not even Reformed churches. St.

Paul Lutheran reached out. said, hey, come have

services there. The relationship Munster had

with the other churches and the churches with

Munster was a strong, tight -knit thing. Sometimes

you have to stand on the faithfulness of others

to get through those heavy seasons. That's why

I have elders. That's why I have deacons. That's

why elders and deacons have pastors. We can stand

on each other's faithfulness and time. And now

we're here. The end of this sermon series, looking

at Malachi, talking about potential new buildings,

renewed vision and mission, expanding ministries,

growing families, making a bigger connection

with the community. There's excitement. There's

momentum. There's hope. But there's also weight.

There's weight about staffing. There's weight

about this building. There's weight about enduring

what comes next. And if we're honest, Sometimes

even in a healthy church, which I do believe

we are, we quietly wonder, is steady obedience

still worth it? Is it worth it to remain faithful

here? Or I could just probably go to another

church and get that honeymoon feeling all over

again. The idea of being a church jumper is a

thing. You may know somebody like that. You may

be like that. Or maybe you used to be. But sometimes

it's easy to go. Oh man, staying in this church,

it's so heavy. I could just go to another church,

be an unknown, and get that feeling all over

again. That's exactly what Malachi is speaking

into. This isn't about rebellion this time, guys.

It's not about a collapse, but a faithfulness

that feels heavy. And a God begins with, the

Yahweh, the God of gods, Lord of lords, begins

with these four words. I have loved you. I guarantee

you it's something that Barb would have whispered

to George if she knew Wednesday was going to

be the day he was called home. I have loved you.

Malachi is written to a people who have not walked

away from God. They still gather. They still

worship. They still offer sacrifices. They still

claim the covenant. But something shifted. This

is what makes this one different than the last

six. It's not rebellion this time. It's fatigue.

It's not defiance. It's disillusionment. They're

just looking at this relationship going, is this

all that it is? They're not dealing with idolatry.

They're just dealing with a wariness. This faith

thing stinks sometimes. Malachi speaks to a people

who are asking a very quiet question. And maybe,

just maybe, you're here and you're asking that

question today. Maybe it's a season you've been

asking that question. Maybe for years. Or maybe

this is a question you've never asked. Praise

the Lord. Write a book. I'll read it. Is faithfulness

still worth it? And that question comes only

after a long journey. You rarely get this question

from a new believer. They're excited. They are

saved. My name is in the book of life. Now I'm

not living for the junk of this world. I'm living

for glory. All those new realities takes time

to work through. Insert honeymoon period here.

It's another reason why Paul says don't put those

folks in leadership. They're not ready for it.

To be a leader in a church, you want a weathered,

tested faith. Because sometimes that excitement

can wear off. It's exactly where... We are as

a congregation at times. And that is exactly

where we walk through the chesed of the Lord.

This final look at chesed. Because chesed is

not most tested in moments of crisis. It's tested

in the seasons of long obedience. Talk to anybody

on our call committee right now. They're going

through that season of long obedience. And it's

not always easy. So let's break it down. Let's

jump into Malachi chapter 1. God opens with a

Malachi 1 · chapter mention

covenant reality, not emotion. I wrote this.

You may think about it as a shot. And if you

do, you're probably a high emotional person.

Calm down. But God is entering with a covenant

promise saying, seek the things that are above,

as Colossians says, not on the things of earth.

Colossians 3. Set your mind on things above,

not on earthly things. This isn't a Colossians

sermon series. Evan and I will write that one

later. But understand that this is a promise

of the covenant from the Old Testament. Malachi

1, starting with verse 2. I have loved you, says

the Lord. But you say, how have you loved us?

Is not Esau Jacob's brother, declares the Lord?

Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.

I have laid waste his hill country and left his

heritage to jackals of the desert. If Edom says

we are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins,

the Lord of hosts says they may build, but I

will tear it down. And they will be called the

wicked country and the people with whom the Lord

is angry forever. God's first words are not a

command, but a declaration. I have loved you.

The people respond, how have you loved us? This

is not curiosity. They're not wondering in a

curious kind of way. This is pressure talking.

This is them feeling a little bit of a bind.

They are back from exile, but the nation are

still strong. The nations are still strong. The

glory seems to be muted. The promises feel delayed.

God answers with election, not experience. And

that's huge. A lot of us, we want that call to

action because we want to do it or we want God

to do it to us. He's not going to enter that

space. He's going to enter with election. Yet

I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated. Friends,

this is covenant language. This is at times God

sitting us down, quite frankly, shutting us up

and reminding us of who he is in our lives. We

love to tell God what we mean to him. We love

you. We honor you. We praise you. We do all these

things. I'm at church seven days a week, right?

I do all that. Sometimes God says, time out.

Sit. And let me declare over you who I am. That's

Grace 101. Chesed love is covenant love from

the Canons of Dort. 1 -7. God's love is rooted

in his sovereign choosing, not in the human response.

Right? It's why there is a little bit of a theological

tension. I make this joke every time I go and

preach at Mid -America Reform Seminary. Why didn't

we sing the song, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus?

Because half those guys don't get it, and that's

okay. It's a terrible joke. That's like a Malachi

joke. Never mind. Don't worry about it. God proves

his love by keeping covenant, not by removing

hardship. Leave this one up here, Claire. That's

an important point. Because even the most mature

believer forgets that last piece. God proves

his chesed for us. By keeping his chesed covenant,

not by making our lives easier. Sit with that

for a couple seconds. If your response to God,

your love response to God, your action response

to God, the head, heart, hands, as Evan and the

worship team led us into this morning, if that

is conditional on God moving the hard things

from your life, Pastor Oli, I'm going to lovingly

say, take a time out and think about your relationship

with God, but more so God's relationship to you.

Because if I'm in the mode where I'm really only

wanting God when he's moving the way I want him

to, you don't want God. You don't want a sovereign

Lord. You don't want a Chesed giver. You want

a genie in a bottle. You want a spiritual ATM.

Malachi established something essential here

about Chesed. Chesed is not God sparing his people

from difficulty. Chesed is God binding himself

to his people despite difficulty. Jesus says

it in a beautiful way. In this world you will

have troubles, but take heart, I have overcome.

We'll get there at the end of Lent. Too many

of us have this transactional relationship with

God. God, I love you when you bless me. You bless

me, I'll love you. That is not covenant language.

That is actually something the canon was refuting,

speaking against, denouncing. That if I can do

these things, God's going to love me. I go to

church enough, God's going to do this. I put

enough offering plate, God's going to do this.

I'm going to cover that $400 ,000 gap, so they're

going to put up a statue. Nope. That's never

it. It's never that kind of transaction. It's

covenant. language. And in our humanness, we

get weary. Then our worship gets weary. Our church

attendance gets weary. We get kind of indifferent

to our relationship with church. But that's when

Chesed is treated as common. Malachi 1, 6 through

14. A lot of slides here, okay? Six slides. Let's

go. A son honors his father and a servant his

master. If then I am a father, where is my honor?

And if I am a master, where is my fear? Says

the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise

my name. But you say, how have you despised your

name? By offering polluted food upon my altar.

But you say, how have we polluted you? By saying

that the Lord's table may be despised. When you

offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not

evil? And when you offer those who are lame or

sick, is that not evil? Present that to your

governor. Will he accept you or show you favor,

says the Lord of hosts? And now entreat the favor

of God that he may be gracious to us with such

a gift from your hand. Will he show favor to

any of you, says the Lord of hosts? Oh, that

there will be... Oh, that there were one among

you who would shut the doors, that you might

not kindle fire on my altar in vain. I have no

pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and

I will not accept an offering from your hand.

For from the rising of the sun to its setting,

my name will be great among the nations. And

in every place, incense will be offered to my

name and a pure offering. For my name will be

great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.

But you profane it when you say that the Lord's

table is polluted and its fruit, that is, its

food, may be despised. But you say, what a weariness

this is. And you snort at it, says the Lord of

hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence

or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your

offering? Shall I accept that from your hand,

says the Lord? Cursed be the cheat who has a

male in his flock and vows it, and yet sacrifices

to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great

king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will

be feared among the nations. It's a lot there.

There's a lot of heaviness there. There's a lot

of animal talk. But God's word next is directed

to the priests. So he's talking to the pastors,

talking to the Levitical line first. What are

they offering? Blind animals, lame sacrifices,

or to use a common phrase, leftovers. God's question

cuts through the pretense, cuts through all the

junk. Try offering that to your governor, the

Lord of hosts says. This is not about sacrifice

quantity. This is about worth. This is about

what Yahweh deserves in those sacrifices. Now,

we may be feeling a little confused because we

don't necessarily do that, right? That Jesus

fulfilled the sacrificial system. But even more

so, this is what happens when you offer Jesus

your leftovers. The leftovers of your heart.

The leftovers of your mind. The leftovers of

your love for him. The priests haven't stopped

believing. They've stopped trembling. They've

stopped fearing Yahweh. They've stopped understanding

his greatness. And that's why there should be

renewal, and that's where grace comes in. Grace

201. Canons 3, 4, 9. Outward religion without

renewed hearts remains hollow. We've talked about

that. Two different weeks. This has been a similar

theme in these minor prophets. Casual worship

flows from casual... theology. Think about that.

Casual worship flows from a casual theology.

It's one of the things I love about our worship

committee. They take time to discern the words.

What is this song saying? Is this song me focused?

Jim focused? Are you focused? Or is it God focused?

Evan, how many worship songs are there in the

world? Just take a guess. A few billion. I don't

know if that's right, but okay, whatever. The

point holds true. More than we can probably count

per se, maybe without the use of AI, but understanding

there are tons. Yet some of the things I hear

is, why do we sing the same song three times

in one year? Who cares? We're singing it because

it means something. There's theology there, right?

We love singing certain songs. How do I know?

I sit in the front and you're all singing to

the bald spot in the back of my head. I hear

when you guys know and understand the songs.

I hear when you're feeling the songs. I also

hear when you don't. And I hear when certain

people are sitting in the front or the back.

No names. But understand, worship is meant to

focus on three pretty big things. And none of

them are us. None of them is this building. None

of this is the name on the sign. It's God's love

for us. It's Christ coming for us. It's his sacrifice

so we could have eternal life. That's what worship

is. When we get casual about that, when we can

just say in the same breath, man, I hope the

Bears win or go at least to the Super Bowl next

year and Jesus died for my sins. When we can

say it in the same breath like that, that's a

problem, friends. When our salvation becomes

casual, all is... Not right. This is one of Malachi's

sharpest warnings. Chesed assumed too long becomes

chesed ignored. What does that look like today?

When your love for your spouse is just, all right,

babe, I love you. I really love our new car,

but I love you. When it becomes ho -hum, right?

When your spouse becomes kind of a backseat affection

in your life, Not only do they feel it, but you

should feel that too. Something's up. Well, Pastor,

we've been together for 50 years, and I just

don't know how to show love for 51 in the same

way I did at one or two. Ask the Lord to help

you with that. That's your spouse. Through the

highs and the lows, the thicks and the thins,

that is your spouse. Your kids, if they become

indifferent to your love, that's not the kid's

problem, that's yours. Same thing comes with

our love to God. Faithfulness under pressure

can drift into minimalism. Good enough obedience.

I'll be just good enough so I'm not going to

hell. Whoa. There's a problem. There's a hard

issue there. What I call functional indifference.

I'll go to church, but I hate everything about

it. I'll be involved unless we build that building,

and I'm against it, so I'm out. That's us making

church about us, not about what it needs to be

made about. Dutiful religion without reverence?

When we come and think we can just give God our

leftovers on a Sunday morning? I guarantee you,

everybody that's up here singing with us and

leading us in that, they're not doing it as an

afterthought. They do it because they love it.

They do it because the Lord's called them to

it. They're passionate about it. You can see

it in their faces when they talk about it, when

they plan on it. I wish I could play the organ

like Joe does. It's really hard. But when you

watch her play, now everyone's going to watch

you for the next couple Sundays when you play

it. I apologize. We'll just put a covering over

that. Don't look at her while she's playing it.

But she does it because she loves it, not just

because she's the only one here that can do it.

And that's a beautiful thing. When we use our

gifts and we step into the calling God has for

us, that is supposed to aid our relationship

with Jesus and grow it. That's supposed to get

us excited and fervor for the Lord. Because the

Lord then comes to refine us. He will reach down

in those weary moments and lift us up and say,

let me refine, let me readjust, let me recalibrate

your life to focus more on me. Malachi 3, starting

with verse 1. Behold, I send my messenger, and

he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord

whom you seek will suddenly come to this temple

and the messenger of the covenant in whom you

delight. Behold, he is coming, says the Lord

of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming?

And who can stand when he appears? For he is

like a refiner's fire and like a fuller's soap.

He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.

And he will purify the sons of Levi and refine

them like gold and silver. And they will bring

offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then

the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing

to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former

years. Then I will draw near to you for judgment.

I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers,

against the adulterers, against those who swear

falsely, against those who oppress the hired

worker in his wage, the widow and the fatherless,

against those who thrust aside the sojourner.

And do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts, for

I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore you, O

children of Jacob, are not consumed. This is

Jesus. This is the Messiah in Malachi. The Lord

whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple,

but immediately follows a warning. Who can endure

the day of his coming? He's coming. Who can stand?

Who can endure? This is not comfort language.

This is refining language. And how do things

get refined? By the fire. By the testing. Not

by, you're great. Just keep doing what you're

doing. No, that is not what the Messiah comes

to do. The Messiah comes to refine. He will sit

as a refiner and a purifier. Refining assumes

a couple things. Heat, pressure, endurance, removal

of impurities. This is grace. Grace 301. That

grace is concrete and pastoral. That grace should

be a big part of my job and our job one to another.

Canons head five, five through seven. Believers

are preserved through discipline, not spared

from it. God's covenant love purifies what it

preserves. God's not looking for you to have

a participation trophy. God is refining what

is impure in you. Well, pastor, I don't like

that. Well, congregation, tough. I don't get

a say in that. That's what the purifier and the

refiner is doing. Why? Because what has the call

always been? For lunch and a conversation with

Pastor Jim, what has the call always been from

the beginning? Abby will set it up. Be holy as

I am holy. Not perfect. Not 100 % attendance

in Lighthouse. Not Bible study. All good things.

And those bring us along in our faith. Be holy

as I am holy. This is what Malachi is teaching

us. Chesed does not relax holiness. Chesed sustains

holiness under pressure. How are you going to

be more holy than you are today? In the thick

of it, sit in the hesed of God and watch him

work. Well, he's not doing what I want him to

do. Reset. Different perspective. It's not about

you. It never has been. It never will be. You

don't want it about you. Why? Because that was

our cross. And it's not anymore because of the

love of Jesus. While we were still sinners, Christ

died for us. So where's the encouragement? All

right. Jim, it's the end of the series. We know

you add a lot onto it. You're beating us up.

Well, we have Lent to look forward to. All the

things. It's easy to become cynical, but I don't

want you to get there. Why? Because there's a

quiet, faithful remnant here. Malachi 3, 16 through

18. Then those who feared the Lord spoke with

one another. The Lord paid attention and heard

them, and a book of remembrances was written

before them of those who feared the Lord and

esteemed his name. They shall be mine, says the

Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasure

possessions, and I will spare them as a man spares

his son who serves him. Then once more you shall

see the distinction between the righteous and

the wicked, between the one who serves God. and

the one who does not serve him. In this heaviness,

friends, we can become cynical. How do I know?

I know 90 % of you. We have cynical folks. I

can be super cynical about a lot of things. I

draw it back from my sarcasm. Though I sometimes

think it a spiritual gift, it's not. Right? But

that cynicism, when life's just not going well,

when it's just, again, the things, me, usually,

me, why do I keep doing this? There can be just

a cynicism. Maybe I'm not saved. Maybe it doesn't

matter. But not everyone. There's a remnant.

Even in this time, there's a remnant. And how

do I know there's a remnant here? Because there's...

Some of you will randomly then, I'll get the

text, I'll get the email to stop by, and whether

you know it or not, you put me right in front

of the cross. And we need to do that one for

another, not in a judgment way. Please don't

think that's your only call in the faith is to

call other people out. Those who feared the Lord

spoke with one another. No rebellion, no reform

movement, just steady faith. And what does God

do? God listens. He listens. A book of remembrances

was written before him. This is one of my favorite

aspects of the canons of Dort or the tulip, the

P or the faith, as we talked about a couple years

ago, the H, held by God. Perseverance of the

saints. God knows his own and preserves him.

Perseverance is not dramatic faith. It is held

faith. When life gets real bad, you're held by

God. When life is real good, remember, you're

held by God. That's deeply personal. That's deeply

pastoral. God records what others overlook. God

sees faithfulness when it feels unseen. God remembers

what feels forgotten. And here's where Malachi

lands a final word, right? Final word, Malachi

4. For behold, the day is coming, burning like

an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers

will be stubble. The day that is coming shall

set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that

it will leave them neither root nor branch, but

for who? But for you who fear my name, the son

of the righteous shall rise with healing in its

wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from

the stall and you shall tread down the wicked

for they will be ashes under the soles of your

feet on the day when I will act, says the Lord

of hosts. Remember the law of my servant Moses,

the statues and rules that I commanded him at

Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I will send you

Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome

day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts

of fathers to their children and the hearts of

the children to their fathers, lest I come and

strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.

Malachi closes the entire Old Testament with

tension. Wouldn't it be great if he just landed

it with Malachi's final thought and then just

kind of plays off into the sunset? Yeah, it would,

but that's not where they were. They're going

to go to centuries of silence, judgment, healing,

refining, restoration, warning, promise. But

first comes waiting. I don't know about you,

but if I knew a bunch of people were getting

weary and heavy in their faith, I don't know

if I'd be like, let's make them wait a little

more. Because I know I would hate that. Waiting

on the Lord is one of the hardest things for

me to do. Waiting. Silence. Expectation. Booming.

But zero explanation. This is how the prophets

end. Not with a resolution, but hope. Hope anchored

in God's character. Hope is found in God's hesed.

And this is it in full circle. The full circle

Chesed reflection. Here we go. Before we look

forward, we must look back. Over these weeks,

we have watched Chesed tested in every direction.

And we may find ourselves that we've been tested

in a lot, if not all of these. Hosea, Chesed

when God's people are unfaithful. Joel, Chesed

after devastation. Amos, Chesed confronting hypocrisy.

Obadiah, hesed, defending the wounded. Micah,

hesed, forming humble obedience. Nahum, hesed,

standing against oppression. Malachi, hesed,

enduring when faithfulness grows heavy. But here's

what we learned. And take this with you. Hesed

is not reactive. Hesed is not fragile. Though

we are, hesed is not. Chesed does not burn out.

But what does Chesed do? Receive this today,

Munster Church. Chesed pursues, restores, confronts,

defends, humbles, judges evil, and endures. And

now Malachi leaves us with one final truth. Chesed

lasts longer than human faithfulness. Chesed

always has been. All the way since Genesis chapter

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

3. All the way to the end of Revelation. Chesed

never fails. Malachi ends in waiting. And this

is what Lent becomes. A time of waiting. And

that waiting leads us not immediately to triumph.

Ash Wednesday is not Easter Sunday. But it's

a time of preparation. A time for pressure to

start to rise. Because when the Messiah finally

comes, he does not remove pressure. Jesus enters

the pressure. Temptation, rejection, obedience

under strain, faithfulness tested in the wilderness.

The prophets end by teaching us how to wait under

pressure. But what comes next, starting Wednesday,

shows us how Jesus bears the pressure for us.

Go back to Malachi's first set of words. The

Lord does not change. Friends, that's Chesed.

Unmoved by circumstance, unaffected by fatigue,

unbroken by delay, faithful yesterday, today,

under pressure until the end. Do you believe

that, Munster Church? What do you need to do?

To push the distraction of your life to enter

that space. Because that's when God, who knows

all, leads us forward with these final words.

The prophets teach us how to live under the weight

of waiting. But the gospel will now show us how

Christ carried that weight for us. Let's pray.