‘BACK TO CHURCH SUNDAY’

SERMON
PENTACOST 16
12TH SEPTEMBER 2010
TEXT: LUKE 15: 1-10
‘BACK TO CHURCH SUNDAY’
IN THE NAME OF GOD: CREATOR, PAINBEARER AND SPIRIT OF LIFE AND LOVE

Today is ‘Back to Church Sunday’.

Back to church Sunday began in the UK with the first one in Greater Manchester in 2004.

160 churches united around one ‘missing you’ message on a Sunday in September.

Back to Church Sunday was launched in Australia in 2009.

600 churches across 19 Anglican dioceses took part. On that day 12,000 people returned to church at the invitation of a friend.

What an appropriate story we have read today in Luke’s gospel - we can mostly relate to the two circumstances that are told.

We need not be farmers to appreciate the value of the lost sheep – especially given the prices commanded at present for lamb! Some of my family own a grazing property in Western Victoria and have just completed lambing for this year. In the midst of lambing they experienced an intense storm with much rain and freezing cold winds – the worst conditions they have had for many years. As a result they lost more than one third of their new born lambs.

That is a great financial loss as well as being very upsetting at the loss of life. My niece spent many hours out in the paddocks in bleak conditions trying desperately to save as many as possible – she suffered badly from the cold and has been mildly sick with chill and a cold since.

When I read this story I couldn’t help thinking of her and others like her who tried desperately to save their flock from the elements.

But I also read this story from Luke as being more about the nature of God, rather than anything to do with the nature of humanity. The element of the shepherd celebrating the return of the lost sheep surely demonstrates the value God has for each of us – and it’s not that God is concerned about financial loss- the focus here is right on God's very nature.
Dare we even consider for a moment that the Spirit of creation of the whole universe can be personally experienced by us mere mortals?

It sounds preposterous, doesn’t it? If you are a thinking person it doesn’t seem to make sense – it’s some human invention.

Well, God is not some old man with a long white beard somewhere up in the sky – that’s an out dated and ridiculous concept.

It’s because many people still think of God in those very terms – and sadly many churches do nothing to alter their view – that a lot of people have given church away.

I’ve got news for you! It’s not like that here. We here at St John’s have an entirely different understanding of God. God is a spirit – THE Spirit of creation – of life itself – and most importantly to humanity – of LOVE. God is also not some sort of heavenly puppeteer – controlling and interfering in our daily lives. God can never be known – nor spoken for – humanity cannot put words into God’s mouth. The unfathomable mystery of God can only be experienced – not rationalized. And the way God can be experienced is through the experiences of those who knew Jesus some two thousand years ago. It is in and through the life of Jesus of Nazareth that we glimpse something of the nature of God.

Here in this story we catch a glimpse of a God whose very nature is love. How can people say they know God when they deliberately exclude others? This story clearly shows us that God is inclusive of all – even those ‘lost’ in the depths of depression, crime, drugs and mental illness. This story clearly tells us that God will continue to search us out until we are found – that is until we respond to God’s love.

This story is also not only about those who are, as it were, outside the fold- who don’t give thought to the possibilities that God can bring to their lives – but also to those who are “in the house” – like the lost coin. The coin was lost ‘in the house’ not outside. So there is something to seriously consider for all of us here today – whether we see ourselves inside God’s house as with the coin – or outside it like the lost sheep.

There is a story told of a police officer who stopped a young bloke with a dozen GPS units in his backpack - stolen, of course. When relating the story the officer wanted to make the point that people should be aware of keeping valuables in the car, "hide it, lock it, keep it" was his message. But a clergyman who was present said, "All those GPS units- and the kid was still lost!"

Most of us today are not in the sheep business. But we do have plenty of lost kids, all around us. If we could think of them not as pains-in-the-proverbial backside, but as souls worthy of being sought, then we would be walking in the footsteps of Christ. But it’s not limited to those at the bottom of the heap as it were. This applies to all of us in this church this morning – good law-abiding citizens as we all are.

So, a very warm welcome to those visiting – I hope you might have glimpsed something of the nature of God by being here. These stories are also a thought provoking message for those of us already in this community – Let’s give God a hand in the search both for the sheep outside and also the coin somewhere under the bed or behind the fridge!

THE LORD BE WITH YOU.

PENTECOST 7

Sermon

11^th July 2010 - PENTECOST 7

Text Luke 10: 25 – 37

In the name of God- Creator, Pain-bearer and Spirit of Life and love

On Wednesday evening of last week I went with friends to the Stirling Parish’s annual ‘Winter Feast’ at a restaurant in the city. Denis dropped the ladies off at the restaurant and he and I went searching for a car park – I hate going to the city – it is always crowded and noisy and finding a car park that doesn’t cost a fortune is virtually impossible. However after some adept ‘alley driving’ we found a park and started our walk to the restaurant.

When we came to the corner of one of the main streets we noticed a man lying out in the road – actually in the traffic lane. We immediately went over to him and after finding him sort of conscious lifted him and took him back to the foot path where we propped him up in a door way. He was able to tell us his name and that he was from Perth – also that he had ‘had a few drinks’. He had given it up, he said, but started again after his mother died. I phoned the police and they sent an ambulance to pick him up and help him out of his predicament – also a police patrol car turned up to check on him. Whilst we were waiting a local resident came along to take his rubbish bin inside and after a glance to see what was going on outside his apartment simply ignored us all and went inside.

After we saw our sad drunk safely into the hands of the Ambos Denis and I walked on to the restaurant – everyone thought we had needed to park in Port Adelaide due to the time we had taken in reaching the dinner. It was good to have been able to help though. Had we not come along there is little doubt that a vehicle would have hit the man, lying as he was in the road in such a dark area of the city. We didn’t know him and had never seen him before but he was our ‘neighbour’ in the real sense of today’s Gospel story and we could do nothing less than help him. I might be wrong but it seemed to me that the local resident would not have touched him – he might have phoned for the police - but who knows? I didn’t think of this parable at the time but when thinking over the text for today I thought how well it fits the events of last week.

This story in Luke is probably a reworking of the one found in Mark 12 where a scribe (another ‘expert in the law’) asks Jesus a similar question. Also remember Mark 10 where Jesus is visited by the rich man who seeks to find his way into the kingdom of God? “What can I do to inherit eternal life?” is also asked in Luke 18. It’s the big question! This same question seems to be often put to Jesus in these Gospels. ‘Inherit’ seems to indicate a bequest – remember that an inheritance is something that is bequeathed – unearned – a gift if you like – here it’s something that God wants us to have. So there is an ironic twist to the question “What can I do to inherit…”? The simple answer is you can do nothing - nothing except LOVE! That’s the short answer. The story of the Good Samaritan is told not to point out the man’s generosity or his superior position over a man down and out – but to point out his LOVE for the victim – his neighbour.

Another thing – ‘Eternal Life’ – what are we talking about here? There is an expectation of everlasting life inherent in these Jewish writings but the emphasis would seem to be on quality of life rather than quantity. Everlasting? Who knows and frankly I don’t really care. I see this as Jesus coming to show humanity what it is to live life in an extraordinary way – to live life ‘on the edge’ as it were – to live life to its absolute fullest and most satisfying. It is living our human lives within the all encompassing and all pervading life of God – and being aware of that Presence within us – closer than our very breathing. It is simply living our lives with the single most important goal – to love God and to love our neighbour. That’s the simple message in this story which clearly defines our neighbour as the whole of humanity – but further than that even – the whole of creation – the earth – other animals – the whole cosmos and its contents. For if we truly love the creating spirit that we call God the rest MUST follow!

What a sharp and clear picture the writer of Luke’s Gospel draws. There is little left to the imagination – and what irony in the Levite passing by. The theme for this story comes from the Hebrew Torah – the sacred law of the Jews – from the book of Leviticus no less (the Greek word Leviticus translates as "relating to the Levites") - where God orders the people to ‘love your neighbour’.

This is God speaking to his people and laying down the law! And here we have a Jew lying wounded and naked in the middle of the road whilst another Jew of high rank – religiously and politically speaking – goes out of his way to avoid him and any involvement. A total violation of the Torah!

The same applies to the priest. He would have known the law – he simply ignored it – he ignored God’s law and the practised traditions of generations of his people. And here we have the Samaritan – the lowest of the low in Jewish eyes - coming along and showing mercy to his enemy the Jew – he was putting into practice what the two Jewish community leaders ignored – he showed mercy and in that mercy - love - to who was surely his neighbour in the true sense of the word.

You can hear the other two say, “Love your neighbour if he’s a Samaritan? You must be kidding God!”

The Jews and the Samaritans hated and despised each other – portraying a Samaritan in positive light would have come as a shock to Luke’s audience. It is typical of his portrayal of Jesus - provocative speech in which the conventional expectations of his hearers are turned upside down. Luke’s Jesus is being typically subversive in having a despised Samaritan play the goody role. Don’t you just love subversion? It brings out the radical in us all. If you like being radical and subversive become a practising Christian. Luke uses this subversive theology in order to answer the question: ‘Who is my neighbour?’ What are the limits? Do I include only the people of my community? Might this also include undesirables? Does it include women, people with disabilities, lepers and others so frequently excluded? Ultimately it becomes a theological question: whom does God love? The answer is made obvious in this story – everyone – regardless.

There are really two commandments here – Love God and Love the neighbour. Can we see that the priest and the Levite in this story probably loved God? They were part of a complex temple structure of hierarchy and were possibly just the victims of their human made system. How often have we seen ‘the system’ divert people from the real task – that of not just loving God but also loving all around. We see Bishops and priests become ineffective in the real needs of ministry because they stop at owning the first commandment only.

It’s interesting to see the generosity of the Samaritan man as well. He not only stops to help but takes the victim to a hotel and pays for his accommodation – no ambos and hospital emergency wards then! It seems a bit like early Australia really – the pub was the centre of community life and served all sorts of needs from food and drink and accommodation for the traveller to meeting place and church – even as in this case – hospital.

The man left the inn-keeper with two dinarii. A denarius is a silver Roman coin and represented one day’s wage for a labourer in the fields. It’s virtually impossible to bring that into today’s value but I reckon if we take the equivalent of a day’s wage for the same person today (about $140) and note the cost of a night in an average hotel (about the same) – it would appear that something like the equivalent of $280 - $300 was handed over. Who here today would be prepared to put their hand in their pocket for that much in order to help a person they: (A) did not know and (B) who was of a different and despised cultural group?

I think times have perhaps changed a bit in our society during the last couple of decades but a few years ago I could have easily cast the characters in this story as:

(A) The priest - an Anglican priest / Bishop in all the finery of the office.

(B) The Levite - a government politician – the local member – perhaps the Honourable The Minister for Social Welfare – in well tailored suit and tie.

(C) The victim - a half-dressed, drunk, dirty, smelly Aboriginal man.

There could well be another character walking along this road - the ordinary everyday person in the street – that’s us – you and me! Where do I fit in? How would I react? Would I stop and help or – not wish to become involved for any number of perfectly good and sane reasons? That puts a different light on it for us, doesn’t it?

The Stirling parish has decided to support in practical terms the ministry of Grant Hay amongst his people at Point Pearce – much is being done and loads of helpful and needed goods have been taken over there. There’s love in action!

Can we think about what we as a church could do to put love into practice?

Retired Anglican Bishop of Newark in the USA, Bishop Jack Spong has said ‘Love wastefully’.

It seems that however much love we ‘waste’ – more seems to come – it’s a miracle!! Let’s try it and see what happens! THE LORD BE WITH YOU

Pentecost 2

Sermon: Pentecost 2

Sunday 6^th June 2010

Text: Luke 7;11-17

In the name of God: Creator, Pain-bearer and Spirit of Life and Love

Country communities are very different from the city. People are not forced together as in urbanised areas. There is an entirely different feel when living in a country town or rural area as opposed to being in the midst of perhaps 4 to 5 million people such as Melbourne or Sydney. Lives are more closely intertwined. People may not live in such close physical proximity as in a big city but have a closer involvement in each others lives.

My experience has been, and my opinion remains, that people care more about each other in smaller communities. When a death occurs it affects the whole community. Death in a large city is a much more private affair. I recall when one often saw a long procession of cars, headlights on in the middle of the day, driving slower than normal traffic speed, on its way to the cemetery. People would pull over to the side of the road with respect for the deceased, even though their identity was unknown, to allow the funeral cortege to proceed unhindered. Once, whilst visiting Broken Hill we observed such a funeral procession and it was not only the traffic that stopped, the pedestrians also stopped in their tracks and removed their hats until the hearse had passed by. It all sounds very quaint now, doesn’t it? Try taking such a funeral procession through a large city today and it would probably be subjected to horn blowing and abuse for disrupting traffic and delaying people in their mad rush to get somewhere.

The funeral procession we read about in today’s Gospel is nothing like that. The story is unique to Luke. The story takes place in a small Galilean town – it’s in the country. Here is the place where people care and turn out to support those bereaved. Nothing much has changed in that respect; ancient country Israel or 21^st century country Australia.

This small and otherwise insignificant town has its only claim to fame in this story in Luke’s gospel – it is mentioned nowhere else in the bible. It could almost be like a town in our own Adelaide Hills – sitting in the shadow of Mount Lofty.

Mt Tabor near Nain is about the same height as our own hill. Nain means a pleasant place, beauty, and green pasture. It sounds pleasant and a good place to live. But like all places where people live pleasant or unpleasant, the bad and sad events of life still overtake us.

Here in Luke’s story the only son of a widow has died. “That’s sad,” you say “a tragedy – I do feel sorry for her”. But in those days it meant much more than that!

Here there is no superannuation; no widow’s pension; no social security. After her husband’s death her sole means of income and survival rested with the efforts of her only son. Now he has died – she is totally bereft, alone and without any source of income or support. It’s more than sad – it’s more than your average tragedy – it’s a total disaster for her! What is she to do?

Well, practicality says she must first give her son a proper burial – money or no money. It’s a good thing she didn’t live in our time when she would have had to find about $10,000 for a ‘decent funeral’.

This widow represents one of the ‘unseen’ people within our own present day community – those sleeping rough around the city and parklands – those without enough warm clothing or blankets in this time of winter. Notice that Jesus sees her (verse 13). He sees the invisible person – the unseen.

I have this last week been sorting through my vast array of worldly goods. I have come to the conclusion that I, like many of us here today, have far too much. I sorted out what I would need (probably more than) and took the rest including blankets and general linen down to The Magdalene Mission in Carrington street. They were most grateful and said there is a desperate need for blankets and such items at present. And I was just going to push the things into already full cupboards? I felt ashamed that I had even considered such a thing.

I suggest that we all go home and have a serious look at what we can offer.

In this story we also read that when Jesus saw the grieving widow “he had compassion on her” (v13). He saw, not just the immediate grieving at death but the untenable future situation she was facing. How often do we think beyond the obvious at times like these – for we have all experienced such events either in our own lives or in the lives of those we know? Who knows what may lie behind the immediate grief of a bereaved person? Does our compassion extend simply to the handshake and the mumbled ‘sorry for your loss’- or does it go far beyond that to touch and address the deeper needs?

Someone has written “A procession of daily death exits every city [but] a parade of compassion meets it.” People do care! And contrary to popular belief God cares.

Wesley White has written this poem about compassion.

compassion flows
like a gentle river
with the power of a flood
through a marching band in step
in random clown's feet

compassion flows
to counteract pain's presence
loss's agony
with a song for the heart
and a hope reborn

compassion flows
with an invitation
to risk joining
leaving expectations
behind

compassion flows
toward emptiness
touching what is not there
revealing
restoring

When the two groups (Jesus and his crowd of followers – not just the 12 and the crowd of locals following the funeral) meet at the city gate, we hear that "The Lord" is moved with compassion.

Sarah Henrich, Professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN writes:
This is the first time that Luke has used the word "Lord" in relation to Jesus. He is at his most "lordly" as one who shows mercy. This is a very powerful message indeed. Compassion describes the reaction of the Samaritan in Luke 10:33 and the father in 15:20 (the Prodigal son parable).

Both of these parables are unique to Luke, suggesting the high importance of compassion and mercy as qualities of the Lord and of his disciples. Notice that this story does not turn on the presence or absence of faith. Jesus sees, is moved to compassion and acts, not allowing even death to stop him. How does such a Lord lead us? “

Now that’s a very good question. Does he touch us? Does he lead us to have compassion?

Luke portrays Jesus as a manifestation of the ancient God of Israel – here he is – ‘The Lord’ as the word is used in the Old Testament. His power is without limit in Luke’s writing, it even extends to conquer death – surely a power that only God alone may possess? He raises the widow’s son.

We cannot miss the strength of the crowd’s reaction in Luke’s powerful writing. First, they were afraid – an echo of the Old Testament awe of Yahweh perhaps – then saying that “God has visited His people” (V16). Here Luke puts God in their very midst.

We can ask ourselves how can we ‘see God’ today? Well, it’s often in the presence of people such as the ‘invisible and unseen’ in our communities – people like the grieving widow of Nain.

How about a bit of practical Christianity? It’s so easy to sit comfortably in our usual pew in ‘our’ church week by week – to comfort ourselves by partaking of the Eucharist and immersing ourselves in the familiar and beautiful ancient liturgy – then to refresh ourselves with tea and cake before wending our happy way home to a Sunday roast dinner and a quiet winter afternoon by the fire. It’s just so easy isn’t it?
But if we think about it too much we suddenly don’t feel so comfortable.

I challenge you to, like Jesus, reach out and figuratively take the hand of the dead son. God can be in us just as in that ancient story. It’s an uncomfortable thought to many. We can think about giving a few dollars a week to help starving children in stricken countries – we can sort through our cupboards and offer warm blankets or clothing to the Magdalene centre or Anglicare or some other organisation.

Could it even be said of us that through our compassion – our actions and our charity that “God has visited his people”?

The Lord be with you.

Sermon - Pentecost Sunday

Sermon, 23^rd May 2010

Pentecost Sunday

Text: John 14: 8-17

In the name of God: Creator, Pain-bearer and Spirit of Love and life.

There’s a programme at 9.30 in the evening on ABC television called Q and A – Questions and Answers. It is a programme where a panel of about four people field questions from audience members. My cynicism asks whether these questions are really always ‘off the cuff’ or pre-arranged – but that’s not the point to discuss this morning. Often the panel contains politicians, mainly from the Federal parliament. If you ever want to find out how to not answer a question but at the same time speak authoritatively for some minutes this is the programme for you!

In this morning’s Gospel reading we have a portion of the script for a Q & A programme. The opening scene is played out in the previous chapter beginning at verse 36 of chapter 13 when Simon Peter is reported to be asking Jesus where here is going and what the heck he means when he talks to them in the way he has been.

Jesus has just delivered what is most definitely a farewell speech – in terms that would raise not just questions but alarm and fear in his disciples. These are men who are portrayed as having no clue as to Jesus’ real identity or purpose. They are shown, in short, as being thick as two short planks!

Of course Jesus’ answers that the Gospel writer has given don’t help either.

In Chapter 13 verse 37 Jesus answers a straight question “Where are you going?” with an extremely vague and non committal reply. He says, “Where I am going you can’t follow me now, but you will follow me later”. What sort of an answer is that? Ambiguous to say the least!

After Jesus reply to a further question by Peter where he also foretells that Peter will publicly deny him, it’s Thomas’s turn to ask another seemingly natural question. “How can we know the way if we don’t know where you are going?”

Here Jesus responds with the well known words, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me.”

So we reach the question posed by Philip and which forms today’s reading. He says, “OK Jesus, show us the Father and we will be satisfied.” Come on, come clean, where is this Father you keep talking about?

The Gospel writer then has Jesus respond by telling Philip that he is looking at the Father - Yahweh – the ancient God of the Israelite peoples and who brought them out of Egypt and who is in Jesus and Jesus is in Him.

Now that’s a revelation!

Jesus then speaks of love – ‘If you love me’, he says, ‘you will keep my commandments’, and I will pray the Father, and he will give you another counsellor, to be with you forever’.

Now that’s a promise!

So just who is this ‘counsellor?’ ‘The spirit of truth’, says Jesus. It’s a pretty exclusive offer as well because this spirit of truth is not available to just anyone. ‘The world’, Jesus says, ‘cannot receive’ this spirit. Why can’t world receive this spirit of truth? Well, it’s not because God is not available or because God holds back or because God denies the general population access to the spirit. Not at all, it is because the people of the world don’t see God as the disciples are now seeing God in Jesus. They can’t see God and therefore can’t know God or God’s spirit.

So the next question comes from the audience. ‘Why can’t ‘they’ see God, and just what is meant by ‘the world’ anyway?

‘The world’ refers not to the earth but to the general everyday bloke and girl in the street and the reason they can’t see God is because they don’t stop and look – it’s that simple!

In order to receive a gift you need to first be in contact with the giver. A gift is not something that we can earn – not something that comes as a result of our efforts.

This spirit is nothing less than a gift from God.

The disciples of the story in Acts were not engaged in any work that would earn them God’s love in the form of the spirit. They were sitting in a closed room wondering what the heck to do next. They were just waiting - much like Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot. But unlike the play where Godot never arrives - that’s when God comes. Not when we are labouring and searching but in the quiet time when we just wait.

I have just read a little book by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, entitled Silence and Honey Cakes. It’s about the ancient ascetics of the fourth and fifth centuries who lived in the Egyptian desert where they had gone to escape from the rat race of the cities of their time. They mostly sought to find God in silence and contemplation. Most did. They sought God – took time out to wait for the spirit that Jesus had promised. Their pearls of wisdom that have come down to us indicate that their quest was not in vain.

The other reading set for today is from Paul’s letter to the churches at Rome. This writing predates the gospel by many years but the language is similar. Paul reiterates that spirituality (which infers a state of peace and wholeness in one’s life) is not something that we generate ourselves.

Paul speaks of receiving the spirit rather than congratulating them on having achieved spirituality. He also infers that this is not something that is born in us; rather it is something that comes from outside our own selves. It is not, if you like some sort of inherited personality trait.

There two other things that need to be said.

First, we mustn’t get the idea that once having received the gift of God’s spirit we need do nothing more – it doesn’t mean that we can now sit under a tree and contemplate our navel – far from it. The old adage ‘Use it or lose it’ springs to mind.

God’s spirit is the sort of Gift you can’t just unwrap, admire, and thinking it’s far too delicate and valuable to be used, carefully store it away in a bottom drawer in case something dreadful happens to it. The trouble is that, having done that, you tend to forget it’s there and your family will find it when they empty out your house after the funeral.

No, the gift is given so that we might pass it on to others. It now becomes our gift to give – to our loved ones, our family and friends, also our community. Here the concept of the neighbour comes into play.

Anthony the Great, one of the desert ascetics, said, “Our life and death is with our neighbour. If we win our brother we win God. If we cause our brother to stumble, we have sinned against Christ.” There’s food for thought - and a mighty challenge! We win our brother (or sister) through the gift of God’s spirit.

The other thing that needs to be said is that having received the spirit of God we don’t magically become immune from the troubles and trials of the natural human life – far from it! To quote Professor Mary Shore again, the spirit of God is …”a gift that does not exempt believers [ from trials and difficulties] but plunges them right back into the world's sufferings and pains, [but] empowered and confident in the future God is bringing about.”

Another thing - did you hear what Jesus said in verse 14? ‘If you ask anything in my name, I will do it’. There lies a potential study on prayer.

Andrew H. Wakefield in "What Happens When We Pray," (2007) suggests that the parent/child relationship offers an analogy for what Jesus is promising here. He writes:

If we extend the analogy just a little, we may be able to think of these promises as the same sort of hyperbole that parents use when they tell a child, "I would do anything for you!" The child may say, "Really? Then I want a tattoo; I want a pet elephant; I want a Ferrari!" The child has missed the point. The hyperbole shows the parent's infinite love for the child, a love that will seek the good of the child even above the parent's own good.... The hyperbole is a way of expressing the intimate relationship between loving parent and child—and that relationship is not simply about giving and receiving.

So how do we react when prayer apparently goes unanswered? Has the spirit of God that we have been promised and experienced as the disciples at Pentecost did, left – and, as in Don McLean’s song ‘taken the last train for the coast’?

Do we blame ourselves in that we don’t know how to pray properly? There’s no one way to pray – but a multitude of ways – don’t limit God. The promise made here is not a matter of ‘you can have anything you want’.

Remember the terminology used here – it’s the parent / child relationship we see. Carry that on and Jesus is giving an assurance that God will not desert us in our hour of need – we will not be thrown out into the snow to fend for ourselves.

He is saying that no matter what happens to us, no matter what tragedy strikes, no matter how low and desolate we feel, Jesus, in the spirit of God will be with us and we will know God’s everlasting love and presence – closer than our very breath. That’s a solemn and serious promise and that’s what Pentecost can mean to us today.

The Lord be with you.