Have you ever been asked to do something on very short notice? That was me tonight. Toni called me at about 5:35, giving me roughly an hour to come up with what she requested: a devotion and music for the worship at Benjamin House at 7:00.
Benjamin House is an incredible place. It is a group home for adults with various mental disabilities (seriously, click that link and check it out). It is a very beautiful facility full of warm, welcoming people with the love of Christ in their hearts.
I’m really not sure what I was expecting. I mostly just put my expectations aside (while I stressed about my message) and took it all in as it came. And although I was expecting excitement (Kevin, Mason, Toni and everyone else who has ever done anything over there has always talked about the love and energy they pour into worship), I was still totally amazed at the absolute enthusiasm that everyone shared.
I talked about Jonah. I’m sure everyone could tell it was a hastily-constructed devotion. But I learned something today, both through and about the written Word, and through speaking about it. The last verse in Jonah chapter 1 says that God “…provided a great fish to swallow Jonah.” The whale didn’t eat Jonah because the dude was unlucky, or at all because of it’s own free will (I guess only we get that). God provided it for Jonah- Jonah, who was only out in the sea in the first place to avoid God.
I’d never caught that single word before. In fact, I looked in three different translations of the Bible for one that would highlight that very provision a little less (my original planned message was going to go in a bit different direction that what I ended up). But each one, despite other differences, used the same exact phrase: “God provided.”
So there I was at First Baptist Church and Toni asks my via phone from Fayetteville to lead worship on short notice. I didn’t know it, but I was learning from Jonah already. And then, there I was giving a message an hour and a half later pretty much out of my head, and thinking “no way” could I have come up with this alone.” Oh- and I even asked Adam his favorite Old Testament story, hoping he’d give me something easier to work with than what was already circling around in my brain (Jonah). But guess which stubborn, seafaring Hebrew and eponymous, 4-chapter, single-story book he said? (If that didn’t narrow it down enough, the book, story and man in question are Jonah).
Once I’d squeezed all I could from Big Daddy J (as he was known to his homies in Galilee), Adam and I broke out the guitars and Toni’s Beach Retreat/Benjamin House songbook. I would have played all night if they’d kept calling them out. Nobody cared when we screwed up the chords, or the words, or the melody, or the harmony, or any of the other ways one music major and another ex-music major managed to massacre the music. The eight or nine that live there, plus Sam and Billy truly made a joyful noise. This tiny chapel was louder and had more hands in the air than I’ve heard and seen at most hundreds-members sanctuaries packed to the rafters on a Sunday morning.
When we finally played/sang/worshiped with “Sanctuary” and no one immediately shouted another number, I closed is prayer. Something I mentioned and lifted up to God was our desire to show the world that we are Christians (like the song says) by our love. And the people and Benjamin House certainly showed us. with their love for each other and for 3 total strangers they welcomed with open arms and hearts, and the love for Christ shown through those same acts and through genuine enthusiasm for worship and for Christ.
After Benjamin himself dismissed us from Chapel, he, Bart, and a couple others showed us their rooms, and we got a general tour of the place. We talked about football and wrestling and cars like we were all old buddies. We even got a hip-hop dance lesson.
I’ve been thinking since going to Ecuador last summer about the marginalized people of society. The poor, the homeless. The handicapped of all shapes and sizes go on that list too. I wonder if everyone could see the love, life and energy at Benjamin House if they would think differently about those who are different than them. We tend to ignore people who don’t measure up to us in status or wealth or intelligence of ability. Hut I have been trying to look at peoples’ faith and friendship and simple existence as human being and children of God and not judge them at all.
Jonah was the scripture of the night, but if there were books of the Bible of Bart or Benjamin, they would be my favorite. Because the hero of all three is God.