Luke 21:5-38 "Comfort in the Chaos"

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We're going to be reading a lengthy and challenging passage in Luke 21 this morning.

But before we do, I want to give you some context that I think will help us

to understand and appreciate what we're reading as we read this passage.

Jesus prophesies with remarkable accuracy in this passage

the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem some 40 years after He's speaking here.

Some of you remember December 7th, 1941, a day that will live in infamy,

the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Imagine how traumatic it would have been to be there on the island that day.

Many of you remember where you were on 9-11 because of how significant that event was.

But imagine if you'd been there in New York City with two huge buildings crumbling.

If you'd been right there, it might have felt like the end of the world, right?

If you were in Indonesia in 2004 when the huge earthquake and tsunami destroyed cities

and came sweeping over, it would have felt like the end of the world.

For Jews living in Jerusalem in the first century,

that's what the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple would have felt like.

It would have felt like the end of the world.

The temple itself was stunning.

Now, at this point, larger than a football field,

covered in shining gold,

clusters of grapes on the sides of it,

golden grapes,

the first century historian Josephus says,

are the size of a man.

The temple is huge,

but add on to that,

the temple's spiritual significance.

They're in God's holy city.

Remember, mankind was created to live in God's presence, right?

In this intimate relationship with Him from the very beginning.

But sin separated us from God.

Cast out of His presence

until God takes up residence again among His people,

first in the tabernacle,

and then where?

In the temple in Jerusalem.

This was the place where God meets with sinners.

Sacrifices and offerings bringing unworthy sinners

into the presence of the holy God.

That's what the temple means.

And it's the temple itself that sets the Jews apart from the other nations.

Yahweh dwells in their midst, right?

So when the Jews picture Jerusalem overrun

and the temple destroyed,

they are overwhelmed at the idea of being abandoned by God.

This is the end of the world.

What hope do we have now?

In Luke 21,

Jesus stands in this very temple

and He hears people praising its great glory

and isn't it amazing?

And He tells them some really bad news

that gets their attention.

Let's start reading in verse 5 of Luke 21.

This is God's Word.

And while some were speaking of the temple,

how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings,

Jesus said,

As for these things that you see,

the days will come

when there will not be left here

one stone upon another

that will not be thrown down.

Wow!

No way!

How is it even possible to imagine that?

So they asked Him,

Teacher, when will these things be?

And what will be the sign

when these things are about to take place?

And He said,

See that you are not led astray,

for many will come in My name,

saying,

I am He,

and the time is at hand.

Do not go after them.

And when you hear of wars and tumults,

do not be terrified,

for these things must first take place,

but the end will not be at once.

Then He said to them,

Nation will rise against nation,

and kingdom against kingdom.

There will be great earthquakes,

and in various places,

famines and pestilences,

and there will be terrors

and great signs from heaven.

But before all this,

they will lay their hands on you

and persecute you,

delivering you up to the synagogues

and prisons,

and you'll be brought before kings

and governors for My name's sake.

This will be your opportunity

to bear witness.

Settle it, therefore, in your minds,

not to meditate beforehand

how to answer,

for I will give you a mouth

and wisdom

which none of your adversaries

will be able to withstand

or contradict.

You'll be delivered up

even by parents and brothers

and relatives and friends,

and some of you

they will put to death.

You'll be hated by all

for My name's sake,

but not a hair of your head

will perish.

By your endurance,

you will gain your lives.

But when you see Jerusalem

surrounded by armies,

then know that its desolation

has come near.

Then let those who are in Judea

flee to the mountains,

and let those who are inside

the city depart,

and let not those who are out

in the country enter it,

for these are days of vengeance

to fulfill all that is written.

Alas for women who are pregnant

and for those who are nursing infants

in those days,

for there will be great distress

upon the earth

and wrath against this people.

They will fall by the edge

of the sword

and be led captive

among all nations,

and Jerusalem will be trampled

underfoot by the Gentiles

until the times of the Gentiles

are fulfilled.

And sure enough,

eventually Rome too,

those Gentiles would fall,

but in many ways,

still Gentiles trampling

in Jerusalem today.

And there will be signs

in sun and moon and stars

and on the earth,

distress of nations

and perplexity

because of the roaring

of the sea and the waves,

people fainting with fear

and with foreboding

of what is coming on the world,

for the powers of the heavens

will be shaken.

And then they will see

the Son of Man

coming in a cloud

with power

and great glory.

Now when these things

begin to take place,

straighten up

and raise your heads

because your redemption

is drawing near.

He told them a parable.

Look at the fig tree

and all the trees.

As soon as they come out

and leaf,

you see for yourselves

and know that the summer

is already near.

So also when you see

these things taking place,

you know that the kingdom

of God is near.

Truly I say to you,

this generation

will not pass away

until all has taken place.

Heaven and earth

will pass away,

but my words

will not pass away.

But watch yourselves.

Lest your hearts

be weighed down

with dissipation

and drunkenness

and cares of this life.

And that day

come upon you

suddenly like a trap.

For it will come

upon all who dwell

on the face

of the whole earth.

But stay awake

at all times,

praying that you

may have strength

to escape all these things

that are going to take place

and to stand before

the Son of Man.

And every day

he was teaching

in the temple.

But at night

he went out

and lodged

on the mount

called Olivet.

And early in the morning

all the people

came to him

in the temple

to hear him.

It starts

in the temple.

It ends

with the temple.

It's about

the temple.

Let's pray

and ask for God's help.

Jesus,

we thank you

for your words

that will not

pass away.

And we come

to them this morning

and want to hear

your voice.

So would you speak

and teach us

and change us

we ask in your name.

Amen.

I'm thankful

even for this

hard passage

this morning

because I think

that Jesus

is speaking

to many of us

right where

we are today.

It's always true

God's word

speaks to us

but I think

especially so today

there's a lot

of chaos

in our lives

and in this world

isn't there?

Many of us

are overwhelmed.

If you've wondered

where God is

in this world

or in your life

you're not alone

in this room.

I've talked

just this week

with people

struggling

with depression

because of the

realities in their life

and their ages

span 80 years.

It's not easy.

Some of you

have lost

loved ones.

You feel alone.

Some of us

are in the chaos

of betrayal

and feeling

disoriented

after the loss

of our most

trusted relationship

in the world.

some of us

are overwhelmed

by the

political upheaval

the culture

of death

and division

in our own country.

Christians being

rounded up

and killed

in other countries

and where is God

in this?

Some of our hearts

are breaking

every morning

as we wake up

and think of the

destruction

in our kids' lives

and the pain

that that

brings us.

Some of us

just have

so many moving

pieces right now

we can't keep

our heads

above water.

Bills due

here and there

and all the

little things

I just can't

catch up on

you throw in

the flu

for a few days

and life

has devolved

into chaos.

For some of us

it's at work

where our faith

doesn't seem

to be helping.

For others

it's our families

spinning out of control.

For others

it's just our

sinful hearts

where we feel

consistently

defeated.

Everything seems

to work against us.

God doesn't seem

to be coming

through in this

chaos.

Who's for me?

If I'm not

talking about

your life

this week

when I describe

these things

praise the Lord.

But you know

these feelings

you've experienced

these feelings

or you will.

They will come

in each of our

lives.

And you can

also know

this morning

that many

around you

are feeling

this way.

Many in this

room.

Dear

Southwood family

you're not

alone

in the chaos

in feeling

overwhelmed

depressed

confused

tired

tired.

And Jesus

in this

passage

acknowledges

the trials

and sufferings

and chaos

of this life

so honestly.

He tells us

what it's going

to be like.

He starts

talking to his

immediate followers

but he includes

us too

and I'm so

thankful

that he knows

the bad

stuff

because it's

really hard

in the midst

of chaos.

Notice that

Jesus has

little time

for pretend

turn your frown

upside down

happy go lucky

Christianity.

He tells his

disciples what

it's going to be

like.

All sorts of

trials they'll

face.

Persecutions

imprisonments

betrayals

even death

natural disasters

wars

chaos

everywhere.

There will

be understandable

cause for

fear

Jesus says.

There will

even be cause

for heading

for the hills

fleeing the

city to escape

the slaughter

in Jerusalem

as many

Christians

apparently did

by the way

finding safety

in the nearby

town of Pella

when the Romans

overran

Jerusalem.

Listen to

Jesus.

People will

be against

you.

Nations

will battle

against each

other and

against God's

people.

Creation

itself will

spin out of

control seemingly.

There's a lot

of really

bad news

in this

passage.

That's mostly

what it is.

Just being

honest.

Jesus'

forecast for

the future

circumstances

of his

followers

is bleak

at best.

The world

as they know

it will be

ending

and God

will be

hard to

find in

the midst

of it.

But he

offers hope

too.

Comfort

in the

chaos

that we

need this

morning.

Not

comfort in

avoiding

all of it.

Not in

circumstances

actually being

better than

predicted.

But right

there in the

midst of your

overwhelming

life there's

good news

that you and

I need to

hear.

As we look

at that I

want to show

you briefly

the controversy

surrounding this

passage.

This is a bit

academic which

neither of us

enjoys.

But hang

with me.

The reliability

of God's

word really

matters.

Okay?

See in this

passage Jesus

talks through the

first half at

least through

verse 24

about the

destruction of

the temple

that happens

in 70 A.D.

That's a huge

historical event.

He appears

then after that

to move beyond

that date with

some apocalyptic

language about

the end times

and his second

coming in a

cloud with

power and

glory.

And that's

okay, right?

Except then he

also says in

verse 32

that this

generation will

not pass away

until all

has taken

place.

And at least

the surface

reading of that

verse seems

out of place

doesn't it?

Because Jesus

didn't come back

and consummate

his kingdom in

the first century,

right?

We're still here.

So how do we

understand this

passage?

Well some have

said it's easy,

Jesus was just

wrong.

He was confused

about how things

would play out.

No!

Don't take that

view, not just

because I think

it's a bad idea.

That's a terrible

and simplistic

reading of this

passage where he

so clearly

predicts accurately

so many future

realities.

That's lazy

and easy.

There's really

good ways to

understand what

Jesus is telling

us here that we

need.

There's a group,

many people who

think that Jesus

doesn't actually

talk at all here

about his second

coming.

This is a reasonable

possibility that

the coming of the

Son of Man on the

clouds in verse 27

is really a picture

of a first century

event.

It's clearly

referencing Daniel

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7 as we'll

see in just a minute

where Jesus comes

on the clouds but

where does he come?

He comes to God

himself, to the

ancient of days.

not coming on

clouds to earth

and so some

say this all

happens during the

life of this

generation of Jesus

followers that he's

speaking to.

There's some pretty

compelling reasons to

read it that way

in which case if

that's true all the

comfort that's given

here is specifically

to Jesus followers

right there but we

can apply the

principles from it

to our lives.

Okay?

That's one good

option.

But I do think in

Luke that Jesus has

been consistently

pointing us beyond

today to eternity

hasn't he?

In conversation after

conversation more and

more as we get to the

end of his life on

earth and so with the

majority of scholars

with many others I

think the destruction

of Jerusalem seeming

like the end of the

world is at least a

picture of those last

days.

There's strong language

here indicating that

and if that's the

case then we just

need to know how to

understand verse 32.

There's a lot of

really good reasonable

ways.

One that I like

notices that this

generation that phrase

Jesus uses is a very

common phrase in Luke

and every single time

it's used it's used

to refer to this

wicked generation.

Not so much to a

group of people who

live at the same time

and place but a

group of people whose

hearts are opposed to

the rule and reign of

God.

It's more about an

attitude of the heart

than it is a

particular time.

Does that make sense?

And so Jesus would be

saying here that it's

that wickedness, that

opposition to God that

will continue on earth

until he has returned

fully and finally in

glory and dealt with

chaos completely which

does seem to be what

he's saying here.

That's the way I'm

approaching the passage.

I want you to know

that but regardless of

that or whether you

think I'm crazy, Jesus'

focus is not on when

all of this will happen

is it?

You know it's funny

that is the direct

question he's asked

isn't it?

They're scared about

what's going to happen

when Jesus so I can be

ready and he never

directly answers when

all this will happen.

He says much about the

historical events of

the first century but

people who use this

passage merely to fill

in their end times

chart are missing the

point.

This is to be comfort

for us secondarily or

directly.

So let's get to the

good stuff.

Come back with us if I

lost you for a couple

minutes.

There's good news and

the good news is tucked

in the midst of all the

bad news which is

actually going to make it

even better good news.

Where's our comfort in

all of this?

If life is chaos and

overwhelming and I'm out

of control where's

comfort?

comfort, it's in Jesus

himself.

He's the one telling us

what's coming and he

says in verse 9 what?

Do not fear.

Even though all this

fearful stuff will happen

that I'm telling you

about, do not fear.

How?

What's the comfort?

First, his presence is

certain.

Verse 15, you're on

trial before kings, your

life is on the line, but

who is there?

I will give you a

mouth and wisdom.

I will, I will be there

he says.

He goes on to say that

you will be hated and

die, but not a hair on

your head will perish.

What in the world,

Jesus, if I die, what

good is my hair?

Y'all, it's the promise

of his protection.

Sometimes immediate and

physical, always ultimate

and eternal.

That no one can snatch you

out of my hand.

It's for your good.

I'm ultimately, no matter

what you endure, you will

live.

I'm with you.

And it's promises like

that, that you can take

to the bank.

His promises are

certain.

They're absolutely

sure.

Verse 33, heaven and

earth will pass away.

Can you imagine?

But my words will not

pass away.

Even if it is the end

of the world, truly,

it is not the end of

God's promises.

The mountains may crash

into the heart of the sea

all around me, but God

is my refuge and my

strength.

His words never fail.

Therefore, I will not

fear.

And maybe the most

comforting of all,

the one who is with you,

whose promises you can

trust is so powerful.

His power is unparalleled.

Verse 27, they will see

the Son of Man coming

in a cloud with power

and great glory.

There is someone in

control of all this chaos,

in complete control of it.

Jesus is describing this

vision from Daniel chapter

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

7.

Behold, with the clouds

of heaven came one like

a Son of Man.

There it is.

And he came to the

Ancient of Days and was

presented before him.

And to him was given

dominion and glory and a

kingdom that all people's

nations and languages

should serve him.

His dominion is an

everlasting dominion which

shall not pass away.

And his kingdom, one that

shall not be destroyed.

There's one person in

control.

Jesus says, listen,

things may be spinning

out of control for you,

but they are firmly held

in my powerful hand.

All of them.

All the things.

Forever.

Your suffering is not

random.

Your struggle is not

purposeless.

hopeless.

Your future is not

hopeless.

The comfort of this

whole message that Jesus

is giving to his

followers is that he is

in charge.

He's with them,

protecting them,

promising them hope they

can count on,

and controlling it all

no matter what.

It's kind of a long

sermon, so I want to let

you talk for a minute.

There's a beautiful

statement of this comfort

in the Heidelberg

Catechism.

I want you to say it with

me this morning and

remember that this is not

merely theoretical mumbo

jumbo.

This is practically,

truly,

your only comfort in life,

in the chaos swirling all

around you,

and in death.

So, say the answer with me.

What is your only comfort

in life and in death?

That I am not my own,

but belong,

body and soul,

in life and in death,

to my faithful Savior,

Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all

my sins with his precious

blood, and has set me free

from the tyranny of the

devil.

He also watches over me in

such a way that not a hair

can fall for my head

without the will of my

Father in heaven.

In fact, all things must

work together for my

salvation.

Amen.

That's comfort in Jesus.

So, how do we live now?

When the Bible tells us

about end times,

it's not usually for our

speculation,

but for our application

in our lives today.

How do we live in light of

this?

This passage from beginning

to end says comfort is

found in one place.

Jesus.

Jesus.

Cling to him.

That's how we live now.

Clinging to him by not

letting your focus get

distracted by anyone

else.

Saying that they're the one

you should hope in.

That's verse 8.

Don't run after them.

Or by anything else in

this world.

Saying that it will

medicate your pain and

you'll be better.

That it will calm your

chaos.

That it will fulfill

your heart.

That's verse 34.

Jesus is the one

reigning in power

and glory.

Always with you now

for your good.

And coming again for

your redemption.

So keep your focus on

him.

And confidently

trust him.

Jesus says no matter

what chaos you're living

in.

Fear

not.

You won't face

anything

that he can't care for

you in.

Never.

No one can snatch

you out of his

hand.

So don't panic.

Don't despair.

Raise your heads

he says.

Raise your heads

fearful ones.

Struggling

ones.

Overwhelmed

ones.

Raise your heads

because your

redemption

is drawing

near.

Verse

28.

Your

redeemer

is

coming.

Fix your eyes

on the unseen

the eternal.

He's coming

back for you.

Finally

what to do

in light of all

this?

To help you

cling

to the

comforter.

To tighten

your heart's

grip

on him.

Pray.

Pray.

Pray.

Verse

36.

Stay awake

at all times

praying

that you may

have strength

to escape

all these

things that

are going

to take

place

and stand

before

the Son

of Man.

It's not

just

spiritualizing

hard times.

Jesus is not

telling you to

pray because

he's a

Christian and

you have to

include that

at the end

of everything

else.

Make sure

you pray

too.

He's telling

us to pray

because there's

no other

way to

make it

through this

life clinging

to him.

Pray.

Y'all the

logic is not

hard.

Life is

chaotic

and overwhelming.

There is

only one

person in

control.

So we

have to

cry out

to him.

You have

to cling

to him.

You must

train your

heart moment

by moment

to trust

in him.

Pray.

Not that

your life

will get

better.

Not that

the chaos

will go

away.

Not that

you'll come

out looking

good on

the other

side.

Pray that

you will

stand before

the Son

of Man.

That's what

really matters.

Fix your

eyes on

him.

Trust him

no matter

what,

no matter

how dark

things seem

and pray,

pray,

pray.

That's

clinging to

the comforter.

I want to

give you an

image of

clinging to

the comforter.

In a movie

that I've

never seen

called

Twister,

there's a

great scene

where two

storm chasers,

Helen Hunt

and Bill

Paxton,

are out

in a farm

and there's

this incredibly

devastating

tornado

blowing through.

I mean,

that's why

they're there,

but this is

more than

they can

handle.

And here

it comes.

There is

debris

flying all

around them,

cows coming

by through

the air,

fences flying,

everything is

out of

control.

And they're

looking desperately

for safety.

Their lives

depend on

finding one

calm,

firm place.

And their

last hope is

an old well

house that

looks like it's

about to go

to.

They make it

inside and

there it is.

There it is.

One metal

bar bolted

to the ground

and they

strap

themselves to

it as

tightly as

they can

and then

they cling

to it and

hang on,

as he says,

while the

storm blows

everything else

away.

Listen,

life is

blowing

everything

around you

or it

will one

day.

And there

will be

a metal

bar firmly

bolted to

the ground.

And I can

already tell

you who it

is.

You can

already tell

me who it

is.

It's

Jesus.

Hymn writers

have been

telling us

this for

centuries

because they've

lived through

it.

When darkness

veils his

lovely face,

I rest on

his unchanging

grace.

in every

high and

stormy

gale,

my anchor

holds

within the

veil.

Though Satan

should buffet,

though trials

should come,

let this

blessed assurance

control that

Christ has

regarded my

helpless

estate and

has shed

his own

blood for

my soul.

Fear not,

I am with

thee.

O be not

dismayed,

for I am

thy God and

will still

give thee aid.

I'll

strengthen

thee,

help thee,

and cause

thee to

stand upheld

by my

righteous,

omnipotent

hand.

When all

around my

soul gives

way,

he then

is all

my hope

and stay.

Cling to

him.

Don't let

go.

And now I

got better

news for

you.

He's

already

holding on

to you

and he

won't let

go.

I've

told you

all in

the last

few weeks

that I've

been living

in one of

those overwhelming

chaotic seasons

of life

myself.

I'll tell you

what has been

helping me

cling to

Jesus

because I've

needed it.

I've been

over and

over back

to the vision

given to

John in

Revelation

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

I want you

to look at

this.

I've been

dying to

share this

with you

all and

finally the

passage lets

me talk

about it.

In the

midst of the

lamp stands

one like a

son of

man.

There he is

like a

son of

man,

right?

Talking about

the same

guy.

Clothed with

a long

robe,

with a

golden sash

around his

chest,

the hairs

of his

head were

white like

white wool

like snow.

His eyes

were like a

flame of

fire,

his feet

were like

burnished

bronze refined

in a

furnace,

and his

voice was

like the

roar of

many waters.

In his

right hand

he held

seven stars,

and from

his mouth

came a

sharp two-edged

sword,

and his

face was

like the

sun shining

in full

strength.

I won't

go into

all the

details,

but it

means he's

really wise,

and his

promises are

really true,

and he's

really powerful,

and it is

meant to be

an overwhelming

picture,

so much so

that this is

what happens

to the guy

who sees

it.

Verse 17,

when I saw

him I fell

at his feet

as though

dead,

but he laid

his right

hand on

me,

saying,

fear not,

there it is

again,

I am the

first and

the last

and the

living one,

I died,

and behold,

I am alive

forevermore,

and I have

the keys of

death and

Hades.

Do you

hear him?

He's got his

hand on your

shoulder,

and he says,

I know what

you're going

through,

I've been

through worse,

I died,

and I'm

alive,

and now I

have the keys

over the

things that

are driving

you crazy,

over death

itself,

over Satan

himself,

I control

them,

trust me,

I've got

you,

and then

the best

part,

last thing,

verse 20,

as for the

mystery of

the seven

stars that

you saw

in my

right hand,

wow,

isn't that

amazing,

seven stars,

but look

what they

are,

the seven

stars are

the angels

of the seven

churches,

representing

all the

churches,

the seven

lampstands are

the seven

churches,

he's walking

around in

the midst

of his

people,

he's there

with you,

and he

holds you

in his

hand,

he holds

us in

his hand,

powerful,

kind,

unwavering

hand,

he's holding

you,

he's not

letting go,

ever,

the

destruction

of the

temple was

going to

leave God's

people feeling

that he

had abandoned

them,

how could

they ever

get back

that relationship

they were

made for,

and Jesus

stands in

this very

temple,

and says,

when it's

gone,

God has

not abandoned

you,

God still

meets with

sinners,

something greater

than the

temple is

here,

as he says

elsewhere,

if I had to

put 34

verses into

one sentence,

and you wish I

did it earlier,

it's this,

cling to

Jesus,

because no

matter what

happens,

he is the

place God

still meets

with sinners,

and still

clings to

sinners,

he is,

see him,

offering himself

to fearful

followers in

the Jerusalem

temple,

that's what he's

doing here,

see him

being a firm

foundation that

is holding on

to persecuted

Christians in

Revelation chapter

one,

see him

meeting with

sinners,

men and women,

boys and girls

in Huntsville,

Alabama,

through his

body and

blood given

for you,

that's what he

says is happening

here,

the Lord Jesus

on the night

that he was

betrayed took

bread,

bread,

he broke it,

and he gave

it to his

followers as

I'm ministering

in his name,

give this bread

to you,

and he said

take,

eat,

this is my

body,

do this in

remembrance of

me,

I want to be

there with

you,

and in the

same way he

took the

cup and

said this

cup's not

like any

other,

it's the

new covenant

in my

blood,

shed for

many for

the remission,

the forgiveness

of sins,

drink from

it,

and I'm

there with

you,

for as often

as you eat

this bread

and drink

this cup,

you proclaim

his death

until he

comes again

and he's

coming,

that's why

he gives

this to us,

that we

will cling

to him

afresh

again today,

that's why

we need to

do this

so often,

that we'll

be strengthened

to cling

to him

as he

clings

to us,

if you see

him here

at this

table,

and you

trust him

in the

midst of

everything

in your

life,

come and

be strengthened

knowing he

holds you

and you

can hold

on to

him,

if you

don't trust

him,

if he's

not the

place where

you've

cast yourself

in the

midst of

difficulties

of life,

don't come

and eat

at this

table,

but we'd

still invite

you to

come and

talk with

us,

if you

come forward

you can

ask us,

we'll pray

with you,

we love

that,

or we'll

talk with

you after

the service,

we're thrilled

that you're

here,

and there's

nothing we

would want

you to

know more

than the

only place

of refuge

and safety

in this

world that

any of us

has found

that holds,

and it's

Jesus,

and he's

here to

meet with

you,

God meets

with sinners

now,

not in the

temple,

in Jesus,

let's pray

and we'll do

that together,

Jesus,

thank you

that we

can know

our father

again because

of what

you've

done,

thank you

that you

are with

us,

no matter

what,

and as we

eat this

bread and

drink this

juice,

would you

use very

common elements

for a very,

very sacred

purpose,

that we

would be

strengthened in

our hearts

to see you

clearly,

and to hold

on to you

more desperately

and firmly

than when we

came in.

We ask it

in your name.

For more

information,

visit us

online at

southwood.org.