by: Topher Wiles
(Volunteers on March 30th) |
She had tears glistening in her eyes no doubt beginning from
the deep pits of worry and concern that have wracked much of our community in
the last few weeks. In that one moment,
she made a statement made my hair stand up and made my brain think hard about a
Bible topic. She said, “You guys are
angels.”
What began with a shortage of toilet paper (I’m still trying
to figure that one out) and progressed to electrical outages caused by 95mph wind
damage (and a tornado) probably had an effect on her while we stood on her
doorstep (6 feet apart mind you) and caused the floodgates to open (no, I’m not
talking about the dam break in Monterey).
You have to wonder, what's next? |
Many of you are like our new friend we met in the
community. You’ve been stressed by work
hours being cut short causing you concern over finances. You’ve been bombarded with the everchanging
news of the Covid-19 media feeding frenzy.
Your kids are going stir crazy being at home making you want to lock
yourself in the bathroom since you can’t go sit at Scoop’s newly reopened ice
cream shop. The text message alert systems
of severe weather or dam bursting floods are setting you on a razor thin edge
in which you find yourself teetering between the emotions of fear and apathy toward
all that is going on. On a more serious
note, you may be stressing because you are one of the ones who have been on
complete quarantine in our community because you tested positive for Da ‘Rona.
You may have that aging loved one who was admitted to the hospital that you aren’t
allowed to go in to help, keeping you sitting on pins and needles while you
wait for news. You may have that dear
sweet grandma or grandpa who is at a nursing care facility that is on full
lockdown, meaning you can only speak to them through the windows outside, if at
all. The straw breaking the camel may be
that you can’t go sit in a booth at El Tap to drown your sorrows in that
delicious chips and salsa that makes your stomach full and your heart glad. Yes, there is enough stress to go around
right now; enough to produce tears.
What may have begun as tears over concerns changed to tears
of joy as this woman considered the people helping her to be personal angels. Now, most of the time our culture has so
twisted the Bible’s words about angels that we have completely gotten it
wrong. Sometimes you visit a home full
of collectible angels fashioned after babies donning soft and fluffy white
feathery wings or effeminate winged beings robed in billowing sheer white gowns.
Yes, flaming swords! |
Yet, the Bible describes them in a very
different way than the Angel Soft bathroom tissue commercials. It often describes angels as having flaming
swords, multiple heads, six wings, faces like lightning, eyes like flaming
torches, arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, or a voice like the
sound of a multitude. Then the book of
Hebrews drops a different bombshell on us when it says, “Do not forget to
show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown
hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2)
That’s right, you might just be getting help from angels and
not know it. In the New Testament, the Greek word, “angelos” is translated 179 times as “angel” and 7 times as “messenger”. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word “mal’ak”
is translated 111 times as “angel” and 98 times as “messenger”. That’s right, 26% of the time, our Bible
translations choose the word “messenger” over that word that conjures up
visions of flaming swords and faces like lightning. Often the words “angelos” and “mal’ak” are
used to talk about human messengers acting in God’s interest as well, such as
that time in Luke 9:52 when Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him into a Samaritan
village calling them his “angelos”.
Messengers of hope may look a little different. |
Maybe you have been doing just what the Bible says in
Hebrews 13:2. Maybe you have entertained messengers of God unaware. Perhaps they didn’t have flaming swords or
lightning faces, but maybe they did wave chainsaws at trees leaning up against
your house, or they paid for your rent for a month when your job hours were cut
short. Maybe they bought you a new refrigerator when you were quarantined and
couldn’t go out, or they put on a facemask and scrubs to take care of your aging
loved one in the nursing facility. Perhaps
they gave you a box of food and prayed for you, sharing with you the grace and
the hope of God’s word through action and love.
This woman had tears in her eyes,
not because of all the fear inducing stress that has been thrown into our
community lately, but because she was convinced in her mind that she witnessed
angels ministering to her that day.
Credit: USA Today |
Friends, in tough times look for the helpers, the
messengers, and the angels God sends your way.
You’ll be glad you did.
The word “forte” comes from the latin word “fortis” meaning strength. Our weekly Family Forte article in The Expositor is the effort of family at Central Church of Christ to give your family the love, care, and attention it needs to become a stronger version of itself. If we can help you in any way, please contact us at Central Church of Christ through email, topherwiles@spartacoc.com, or through our website, www.spartacoc.com.