Psalm 107:1-9, 43            Hosea 11:1-11             Matthew 2:13-15

To love as God loves

As Genesis chapters 1 through 3 set the scene for the rest of Scripture, so Hosea chapters 1 through 3 set the scene for the dramatic prophetic statements that follow in chapters 4 through 14. The reoccurring themes in Scripture as a whole are reflected in both these passages: covenantal relationship (creation of Adam and Eve in God’s image and the marriage of Hosea to Gomer), rebellion (Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit and Gomer selling herself into cult prostitution), exile (Adam and Eve expelled from the Garden and Gomer living somewhere other than with her husband) , deliverance (in Genesis 3 this is in the form of a promise but Gomer is bought back by Hosea), and restoration (again in Genesis 3 this is in the form of a promise, but in Hosea, Gomer is restored as his wife). 

This is again revisited with God’s covenant with Israel, their apostacy in Egypt, their enslavement by Pharoah, their deliverance by God through Moses in the Exodus, and their restoration as God’s covenant people at Mount Sinai. This theme is then repeated with Israel in the wilderness until their settlement in the Promised Land, then again in the rollercoaster period of the Judges and so on until we get to the Advent of Jesus where the themes are repeated once again culminating in His death, resurrection, and ascension. In an alliterated format these recuring themes could be listed as relationship, rebellion, rejection, redemption, and restoration. The Bible really is only one story that repeatedly points us to the loving, kind, patient, gracious, merciful, forgiving, and compassionate God of the universe.

By now, I’m sure you’ve all realised that our Psalm for today followed the same pattern: the covenant relationship as well as rebellion that led to a broken covenant relationship is assumed in verses 1-3, the theme of exile or rejection is stated in verses 4-5, deliverance or redemption can be seen in verse 6, and God’s gracious restoration is described in verse 7. The response is as it should be: “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things…whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord.”

As hinted at before, Hosea maps out his entire message of a broken covenantal relationship, rejection, redemption, and restoration in the graphic opening illustration of his marriage to Gomer. In chapter 1, God instructed the prophet to marry a fallen woman (illustrating God’s covenant relationship with fallen humankind). The offspring of this unusual relationship serve as prophetic warnings to Israel: Jezreel (meaning “God sows” a double reference to punishment for the slaughter that took place in the valley of Jezreel as well as to the promise that Israel would one day flourish like a lush garden), Lo-Ruhamah (meaning “not loved” or “rejected”), and Lo-Ammi (meaning “not my people” and yet the name is immediately followed by a promise of redemption and total restoration after which they will be known as “sons of the living God”). 

Chapter 2 is an elaboration of this prophetic enactment ending once more with a promise of redemption and restoration. “I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘not my loved one’. I will say to those called ‘not my people’, ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are our God’.”

And then in chapter three things really get interesting. It appears that Gomer sold or resold herself into cult prostitution! She is obviously no longer living in the prophet’s home, but we are not told if she left or was asked to leave. But here is the powerful message: Hosea is to buy her back and “love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” You have to watch out for those sacred raisin cakes…

These three chapters then serve as a backdrop to the rest of Hosea’s message. Every time people saw him…every time they heard him speak…it was this bizarre yet graphically effective image that loomed large in their mind. Hosea’s unusual acts, exposed Israel’s sin and warned them of certain judgement, but (especially his actions in chapter 3) also demonstrated God’s amazing grace and love for His people. The rest of the book is commentary on this vividly demonstrated pictorial revelation.

Now, chapter 11, the chapter we read from today, follows the same theme. It is a familiar story. Israel was enslaved in Egypt. While Moses did not tell us why they were enslaved for more than 400 years,  it is possible that the prophet Ezekiel did. In Ezekiel 20 God apparently said to the Israelites in Egypt: “Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. So, I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt. But (and here comes the message of redemption) for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations they lived among, and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites by bringing them out of Egypt.” So, from what Ezekiel said here, we may deduce that the reason Israel was oppressed and enslaved in Egypt was because they had conformed to the Egyptian religion. Even though this was not said prior to Ezekiel’s prophecy it seems that it was understood. Israel’s slavery in Egypt was a result of their sin.

Be that as it may, when Hosea wrote the words “out of Egypt I called my son”, the hearers would have linked what the prophet said with what they had seen the prophet do in chapters 1 through 3. Just as Hosea had married Gomer (described in chapter 1 as an adulterous woman) so too God had rescued Israel after they had abandoned their faith in Egypt. But then Hosea continued to show how the rest of his enacted prophecy was being fulfilled by the repeated and ongoing rebellion of Israel. While Hosea had been instructed to buy back his twice-over adulterous wife and to restore her to his home after she had rebelled against him and had left him, so God would buy back his unfaithful people and restore them to himself.

Years later, Matthew would use Hosea to demonstrate to his readers what was happening in their day. In the Ancient Near East, quoting from any passage was meant to bring up the whole message of the text or book. Like quoting the first lines of a well-known song or lines from a well-known book or movie. These quotations are never meant to be taken in isolation. 

So, by quoting from this particular passage of Hosea, Matthew was trying to alert his readers to the fact that the coming of Jesus was the beginning of a new Exodus…or, to go back further, a new creation. Jesus was about to do what Adam and Israel had failed to do…by retracing in their footsteps, so to speak, Jesus re-enacted their history but without making the same mistakes they did…as such He was a perfect Adam and a perfect Israel…He was what they were meant to have been. 

But by using Hosea, Matthew was also saying something about Israel in the days of Jesus. He was saying that they had become like the Israel of Hosea’s day…by their actions, by seeling themselves out politically to Rome, they had sold themselves into harlotry like Gomer. They had become like Israel in the wilderness, repeatedly testing God and turning away from him. And God was about to judge his people…only this time, the judgment would fall on Jesus. For those who subsequently believe and are united in Jesus, this judgement has set them free from bondage to sin and Satan…the Exile is over! They have effectively moved out of darkness into his light. Jesus took the judgement that was ours upon himself and paid the penalty in full. In short, through Jesus, God bought us back as Hosea bought back Gomer.

However, like those who rejected the warnings of Hosea, for those who rejected Jesus, the judgment remained in place. 

The challenge then, for us is to take up the cry of Hosea, “Return…to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.” 

Those who are in Jesus, ought to walk as Jesus walked…to love as Jesus loved…to do what Jesus did. Jesus has paid for all the Gomers of this world. Jesus came to lead us out of Egypt. Jesus came to take us into the Promised Land, proverbially speaking…into His Kingdom…a kingdom without borders and without boundaries. 

Hosea speaks to us down through the ages and teaches us to love as God loves…to love sinners as God loves them. But there’s the question. Will we go…as Hosea did? Will we go as Jesus did? Will we go as the early believers did? Will history testify of us that we turned the world upside down with the message of redemption and restoration? 

In Jesus, the Exile has ended. The gates to Paradise stand wide open. We have the flashlight of God, and we have the directions. Will we shine his light into the darkness of our world and show those who cannot see the way?

Let us pray.

© Johannes W H van der Bijl July 2022

Whose Standard?

Psalm 119:9-16                Amos 7:7-17                  Luke 10:25-37

Whose Standard?

We all like to think that we have a right to pick and choose the rules that suit our desired lifestyle. People all over the world riot or picket or demonstrate or protest for or against regulating decisions made by their governments. Lines are drawn and sides are taken, dung is flung as each camp sincerely believes that they are right, and the others are wrong. 

Of course, this should not come as a surprise to those who have read Genesis chapters 2 and 3. There a standard was set (God said) and challenged (did God really say?). Lines were drawn, and a choice had to be made as to whose standard to follow. A choice was made and today we continue to live with the consequences of that choice. 

Thankfully, many years later, another choice was made in a different Garden…one just outside the walls of Jerusalem…a tough choice…an excruciatingly painful choice…but the right choice.

Choices will always be part of life this side of eternity, and choices will always have consequences. One choice can change your life forever. So, making the right choice is a wise thing to do. But how? How do you know that the choice you make is the right one?

At the risk of sounding oversimplistic, I wish to propose that the only way to ensure you are making the right choices is by applying the right standard. The Psalmist asked the question: “How can a person keep their way pure?” We could state the question a little differently. “How can anyone be sure they are making the right choices?” The answer is simple. By living according to God’s Word…or by applying God’s standard to our decisions. Seeking after God, sticking to his commandments, internalising his Word, reading, marking, learning, and obeying his Word…that is the only way to guarantee that an individual will make an informed and correct choice.

The story of the prophet Amos is an interesting one. In many ways, Amos was everything I am not. Amos was tough and blunt and fearless. He was not afraid of confrontation, and he said and did things no one wishes to hear today any more than they did during his lifetime. His style and the content of his messages is enough to make even the boldest of us choose an alternative text for our sermons.

In one sense, we could consider Amos a missionary as he was from the southern kingdom of Judah, ministering in the northern kingdom of Israel. You might recall that following Rehoboam’s disastrous choice to follow the advice of his contemporaries rather than his elders, Jeroboam set up a rival kingdom in the north, leaving Rehoboam to govern a smaller kingdom from Jerusalem. But Jeroboam was afraid that after the euphoria of freedom from Rehoboam’s harsh governance had died down, his subjects would begin to miss worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. So, to prevent this from happening, Jeroboam set up, not just one rival place of worship, but two…one in Dan in the north and one in Bethel in the south. Amos’ ministry was centred around Bethel.

Now, the curious thing about the worship at these two sites in Dan and Bethel is that it was somewhat like the worship in Jerusalem with just a few subtle twists. Besides the golden calves, Jeroboam chose his own priests, his own feasts and festivals, as well as his own liturgical style. Similar enough to satisfy the masses and thus keep them away from Jerusalem, but different enough to be dangerously misleading. It didn’t take long before the people were worshipping whatever they chose wherever they chose. You see, shifting God’s standard, even if ever so slightly, is never a good idea. It opens all sorts of doors better left closed. 

The history of the northern kingdom bears witness to the fact that this seemingly insignificant modification ushered the nation right into the arms of the foreign gods of their neighbours. And their subsequent stubborn refusal to turn back to God’s standard eventually led to their defeat and their destruction. One generation after the ministry of Amos, the Assyrian empire invaded the Northern Kingdom and carried the people into exile. 

According to the author of the book of Kings, all this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God…they had forsaken all the commands of the Lord their God and had not only made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, but also an Asherah pole. They deified the stars and planets, and they worshipped Baal. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and did evil in the sight of the Lord. 

One bad choice led to many others and changed the trajectory of a nation forever. Choices have consequences. The one good thing about bad choice, of course, is that they often result in great stories!

Amos was called to preach during the relatively peaceful reigns of two kings, King Uzziah of Judah, and King Jeroboam II of Israel. This was also a time of great prosperity, at least for a few at the expense of the many. At this point in time, the nation had forgotten about the laws of God concerning the division and distribution of land and the care and concern for every individual. A rising upper class began to oppress an emerging and increasingly impoverished peasant class. This was, in many ways, a return to their enslavement in Egypt. It is ironic to think that the reason for the initial break from Rehoboam’s kingdom was because the people did not want to be treated harshly…but then later, they lived under some of the harshest leaders imaginable.

Now, it is important to note that in his stern denunciation of this social injustice and the repression of the poor, Amos did not introduce new moral laws. No, rather he held up the ancient Word of God as a plumbline against Israel, bluntly stating that the only way to ensure they would make the right choices in the future would be if they applied the right standard to their lives. Amos’ prophetic words judged all the people…including their leaders…by God’s ancient standard, holding them accountable for their transgressions…warning them that if they persisted in their waywardness, they would be destroyed as a nation. It is no wonder that Amaziah, the priest at Bethel reported the prophet to the king! 

God’s judgment was not and is not ever limited to those in power! Everyone in the nation was and is held accountable for their own choices. Now, if Amos could stand up and challenge both great and small, so can we…as he said, he was no one special…just an ordinary man. But God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people.

The Samaritan who stopped to help a victim of violent theft and thuggery was also a rather extraordinary ordinary person! Actually, this Samaritan is extraordinary on quite few levels. Besides the fact that he, as an ordinary (yet marginalized) citizen, made the right choice while those of the religious establishment brought shame on their vocation through their selfish and heartless choices, you must remember that the Samaritans as a people group were the result of Israel’s sin and subsequent exile. 

Again, the book of Kings tells us that when Shalmanezer V took many of the people of Israel to Assyria in 722 BC, he also brought people from Babylon, Cutha, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the land and they intermarried with the remaining Israelites. This mixed nation was then served by one of the irregular priests of Israel who continued to lead them in the mixed religion started by Jeroboam. To the pure-blood, ancestry-conscious first century Jews, the Samaritans were an abomination. Unclean by blood and unclean by faith. 

But this is the person Jesus held up as exemplary! The one who made the right choice with regard to the weak and needy. You don’t have to possess a doctorate in biblical studies in order to live a life worthy of our Lord! All you really need is to know God and his Word – that will give you a heart filled with love for God and his heart in you filled with love for people! 

Jesus too was, in many ways, an ordinary person. He was a simple labourer from a small, insignificant town in Galilee of the Gentiles. While Jesus was not considered defiled as was the Samaritan, his place of origin was a subject for ridicule. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathaniel once asked, no doubt echoing a proverb voiced by many. A statement made later by some unidentified hecklers may indicate that the strange circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth was also questioned. “We are not illegitimate children,” they shouted.

Jesus certainly was not counted among the social elite or of the intelligentsia of the time, and yet the choices made by Jesus throughout his life leading up to his untimely death on the cross started a movement that turned the known world upside down within the space of a single generation. Choices have consequences. 

So, tell me. What choices have you made in the past? What choices are you making now, in the present? Whose plumbline or whose standard are you using to determine the correctness of your decisions? Are you struggling with the consequences of some bad decisions made before?

The good news is that it is never too late to change the direction of your life. Our God is merciful and gracious…he is kind and compassionate…he is altogether good and forgiving. If you are willing and serious in your desire to change, regardless of whether that change is simple or complex, God will fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you might live a life worthy of the Lord and so that you may please him in every way. 

Just pick up his standard, bring it alongside your life and allow it to serve as a plumbline…as a guide for removing what ought not to be there and for rebuilding that which is not square. Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest God’s Word. Speak to him about it as you read, asking for his guidance and conviction and strength to apply what you learn along the journey. Don’t rush through the text – savor every word and meditate on every phrase. Resist the urge to pick and choose the rules that suit your desired lifestyle. This is the only way to make the right choices in life. God made this world and he made you. Like a master designer and engineer, he knows exactly how you need to operate if you are to function without injury. 

“How can anyone be sure they are making the right choices?” The answer is simple. By living according to God’s Word…by applying God’s standard to our decisions. Seeking after God, sticking to his commandments, internalising his Word, reading, marking, learning, and obeying his Word…that is the only way to guarantee that an individual will make an informed and correct choice.

Learn from the examples set before you in Scripture…examples of ordinary people who made extraordinary choices…and then go and do likewise. 

Let us pray.

© Johannes W H van der Bijl July 2022

Boasting

Psalm 66                     Galatians 6:7-18                        Luke 10:1-4, 16-20

Boasting

One online dictionary defines the word boasting as “excessively proud and self-satisfied talk about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities”. In so many ways, boasting is a strange phenomenon. We all engage in it at some time in our lives. When we are younger, we may boast about our bigger brother (my brother can beat up your brother any day), our dads (my dad is smarter than your dad), our mums (my mum is prettier than your mum), or our homes (my house is bigger than your house). But as we get older, the focus of our boasting begins to get more personal. I am stronger, I am smarter, I am prettier, I live in a bigger house…I have more money than you (or more debt than you, my mortgage is bigger than your mortgage). Boasting can also focus in on our children…just go to any children’s sports event and watch the parents!

Boasting is generally frowned upon because of its effect on others. Flaunting one’s wealth, status, power, position, expertise, skills, abilities, beauty, possessions and so on may elevate the one boasting, but the effect it has on others is more often than not quite negative. It can make the listener jealous, envious, covetous, or angry…or it can crush them, humiliate them, debilitate them, or even disable them for life.

Unfortunately, believers are not exempt from boasting. But in the Church, boasting typically takes on a more subtle tone. While talk of wealth, buildings, or congregational size can pollute our ranks, “sanctified” boasting usually manifests itself in an over emphasis on moral or ethical or religious conduct. There are many biblical examples like the Pharisees who liked to parade their superiority publicly, but there are many modern-day examples as well. Like splashing photographs all over social media of yourself helping the poor and destitute. Or like misrepresenting and then “dismantling” or “defeating” the theological position of another believer in a dismissive or mocking tone. Or like demanding that all believers possess certain types of spiritual gifts, giving them the impression that if they don’t do this or that or the next thing, they are somehow deficient or dysfunctional. While this kind of boasting might seem innocent or harmless on the surface, these things smell of sulphur.

There has been quite a bit of a debate about the identity and intension of the Jewish-Christian rivals of Paul in Galatia. The more traditional view is that they were religious legalists who sincerely believed salvation had to be earned or merited through conformance to the ritual laws of Judaism. This is not too far removed from modern day legalists who believe one must do or have something or somethings to be acceptable to God…wear certain clothes, manifest certain spiritual gifts, sing certain hymns, or only read certain Bible versions, to name a few. 

More recently, some scholars have argued that Paul’s opponents were not inherently legalistic as, they argue, faithful Jews believed that God had chosen them to be his own for no other reason but that he loved them…and because they were so chosen, they had to express and preserve their identity by upholding a certain standard of living. 

While this certainly softens the more traditional view of Paul’s challengers, it does not appear to fit with what we read about these people in the biblical accounts as well as in the extra-biblical accounts (such as the writings of the 1st century Jewish historian, Josephus). In these reports, those who challenged Jesus and his followers certainly believed that strict conformity to the expanded rules and regulations of biblical law was not optional. Their response to those who did not accept their so-called “standard of living” was certainly anything but soft. They crucified Jesus, stoned Stephen, imprisoned Peter, and persistently undermined Paul’s ministry, often resorting to violence. While it is true that there was a more lenient school of thought among some first century Jewish scholars and leaders, the majority believed that any violation of the law would imperil the state of the individual’s identity as a member of God’s people. 

But this conviction more often than not led to a zeal that bordered on mania. Remember Paul’s comment that what drove him to keep the law so meticulously was so that he would be better than all his contemporaries? But striving after self-elevation can only lead to contention and jealous envy and unhealthy competitiveness…and sowing contention, envy and competition can and will reap sinful thoughts and behaviours.

Paul certainly believed that those who were confusing the baby believers in Galatia were self-seeking opportunists. Bear in mind that Jewish believers in Jesus were often persecuted by their unbelieving Jewish brethren. So, in an attempt to avoid this, they made a show of compliance by compelling Gentile converts to conform to Jewish rules, regulations, and rituals. When such a convert capitulated to their demands, they would use them as evidence that, even though they believed Jesus to be the Messiah, they were still adhering to the traditions of the elders. 

But this idea would render the cross of Christ meaningless. If one had to earn God’s favour, what was the point of the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus? I do not for one moment believe that Paul was saying the law of God ought to be discarded. He makes that very clear in his letter to the church in Rome. The law of God is holy, good, and true. But this holy, good, and true law had been misinterpreted and misapplied by people who did not understand the nature of God’s salvific work. The law was never intended to be a way to salvation. The law was always meant to be an ethical expression of a nation already saved by a gracious and merciful and forgiving God. In fact, salvation by merit detracts from the perfect loving character of God and thus dishonours him. The focus then is on my goodness, not his.

That is why Paul said that he would not boast in anything save the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Boasting in anything else, especially our own abilities and strengths, would be like worshipping a foreign god. Religious rituals and legal regulations are poor substitutes for a living and vibrant relationship with a loving and kind and compassionate God.

Now, we can discuss theoretical elements of legalism until the cows come home, and we can shake our heads and cluck our tongues as we think about the error of Paul’s opponents. But even though most of us would agree that salvation depends on God’s choice to love us even while we were sinners, our behaviour often betrays us. For instance, a judgemental or critical spirit exposes a conviction that somehow, we are better than other people. Haughtiness and arrogance and pride are opposed to the mind of Christ that centres on humility. 

Have you ever wondered why Jesus’ dumped a bucket of cold water over the heads of the rejoicing seventy-two returning evangelists in our Gospel lesson for today? Luke reported that they returned with joy because even demonic powers submitted to them in the name of Jesus. But instead of giving them the proverbial pat on the back and saying, “Good job”, Jesus delivers what could be construed as a bit of a downer. “Don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” What’s going on here? Was Jesus a major killjoy? 

I think that perhaps Jesus was addressing the all-too-human tendency towards boasting. Notice their report. Even the demons submit to us…in your name. It is a derived authority…they had the ability to cast out demons because Jesus gave them that power. They could do what they did because Jesus had done what he had done. It may seem to be a subtle shift in focus, but when you examine it more closely, you will see that this is a major correction in theological thinking. Without their names being written in heaven, they would have no authority at all. The boasting ought to be directed towards Jesus, not their successful mission. 

So, how does one avoid sliding into misguided boasting? I think our Psalm for today gives us a few good pointers. For starters, know the God in whom you believe. Our God is the God of all the earth. There’s no wiggle room here. Either he is or he isn’t. Then, having established the identity of the God the Psalmist is commanding us to praise (in other words who God is), the Psalmist then invites us to evaluate what this God does. “Come and see,” he said, “what God has done!” And then he goes on to list several things God had done in the past for his people. Now, we have quite a lot of research material when it comes to both these subjects. Keep your eyes fixed on these two truths (Who God is and what God has done and is still doing) and your feet will not slip.

This past week, Louise and I were exhorted to reflect on the position of Mary of Bethany in three accounts of her meeting with Jesus. The most well-known is where she sat at Jesus’ feet while her sister, Martha, was fretting with dinner prep. The second account was when she fell down at his feet after the death of her brother, Lazarus. The third account was when she anointed Jesus’ feet with costly perfume shortly before he was murdered. In all three instances, this remarkable woman is at her Lord’s feet. She did not seek to be his equal nor did she seek to be his superior. No, her position was one of humble submission and adoration. Her practice demonstrated her theology.

Paul ended his letter to the Galatians with a rather odd statement that has invited quite a lot of debate over the centuries. “I bear on my body,” Paul wrote, “the marks of Christ.” Of course, he meant to contrast his marks with the mark of circumcision, but what exactly were these marks of Jesus? Scholarly guesses have ranged from some form of stigmata, like that allegedly experienced by St Francis and other mystics, to the scars of his various beatings. But knowing Paul, I believe he was referencing the permanent mark placed on a Hebrew slave who had freely elected to remain with his Hebrew master. In Deuteronomy 15 God told Israel that if a slave said to his master, ‘I do not want to leave you,’ because he loved his master and his household, then his master was to take an awl and pierce it through his slave’s ear into the door, and then the slave would become his servant for life. The indelible mark on the slave’s ear would serve as a permanent reminder of his identity as a slave of his master.

This was also a common practice in the Greco-Roman world…slaves were often branded like animals to prove ownership. Now as abhorrent as that may sound to our 21st century ears, I believe that what Paul was trying to tell his readers was that his identity was eternally wrapped up in the person of his master. Paul was a slave of Jesus and, like Mary sitting or prostrating herself at the feet of Jesus, this position kept his vision firmly fixed on the one who alone deserves our boasting…our praise, our worship, our adoration…the one who is God of all the earth…the one who alone reigns over all things. 

So, do you want to do whatever it takes to prevent you from boasting in anything save the cross of Jesus Christ? Let his mark of ownership be visible to all. Stay at his feet.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl June 2022