Handiwork

Rivka. Handiwork. I have never taken any more than the Romans demand from anyone who could not afford it and I resent you saying that I have! Haroon, dear, when you've been drinking sometimes your judgment leaves... Drinking! My judgment? So I have some wine with my supper. What is wrong with that? That woman is a liar, Rivka. You should not take sides with her. No, don't. Oh Mariam, Daliyah, come in, come in. Come in. Sit down. Tell me, how is your mother? Rivka, I lost my temper and I wanted to... What are you doing here? I cannot believe Moussa would send his daughter to seek relief from his taxes. That man is a coward. Oh my dear I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say. My husband is not himself today. It's nothing. Here's some dates my mother wanted you to have. Just a small thanks for all your help. How kind of her. Thank you. And now... come, I want to see your mother and your sister, and I need some fresh air. Auntie Rivka! Welcome. How are you? Good. How is your mother today? Much better. She went to Amira's today to care for her sick children. How like your mother to help others when she, herself, is barely recovered. I'm certain it does her good. Yes. And how are you, dear Sara? You must be tired, caring for her and the whole household. I have been especially tired lately. I am pregnant again. Oh! And you're afraid. Because of the miscarriages? Ayoub and I had planned to leave Judea. We want to move to Antioch where his parents have settled. Yes. But how can we travel if I am pregnant? Yet it feels as though the delay is so unnecessary. Because of what? Because I will probably lose this baby also. God feels... so far away Auntie Rivka. I don't even know how to pray any more. There was a time when Jesus' disciples thought that God didn't care about them. Really? Yes. They were in a fishing boat, taking Jesus across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus went to sleep in the boat and then a great storm came up over the lake. The disciples were afraid for their lives, just as you are afraid for your unborn baby's life. And it wasn't unreasonable for them to be afraid. The boat was taking on water and they could drown. So they woke Jesus and they said to him, "Lord, don't you care if we drown?" So he stood up. He rebuked the wind and the waves. He responded to their cry and their need. But then he rebuked them. He said to them, "Where is your faith?" Was it wrong for the disciples to wake Jesus and to call out to him in their danger? I don't think so. No. The problem was that they questioned whether he cared for them, and they doubted whether he had the power to help them. But of course He cared for them and he had the power to help them. Just as he does for you and me! Is Moussa bar Jonah the stonecutter here? No. He's my father. He has been called up to serve in the rebuilding of Beirut. He is to report to the fortress there in two weeks. Father has to go to Beirut! The soldiers said so. I must take this to Father. Come Noah. Auntie, now this! I'm so sorry dear. They conscripted Nahum... our neighbor a year ago and he died in an accident. These are difficult times. It all feels like too much Auntie! Where is God in this? Auntie Noura, come in. I was just passing. I saw the soldiers at your door. What did they want? They brought a conscription notice. Father must go to Beirut. Beirut! Oh! Such trouble, such, such trouble! And my poor, poor Yusha not here to help. I'm sorry Noura. He left me one year ago. Now he rests with his ancestors. Thanks to the Romans! You have borne it well, Auntie. Borne it well? That is what we do. We bear it well. But where is God? Has He forsaken us? This way Noah. Come on. At times like these it is tempting to think that God doesn't care about us. But God is watching over us especially in the hard times. God loves us and He wants us to enjoy his love. He intended for us to be part of his family. Remember the garden, at the very beginning. God created man in His image. God walked with the man and the woman in the garden... in the cool of the day. But then their rebellion separated them from God. Their guilt caused them to run away... they were ashamed and afraid. But even in their rebellion, God came looking for them. Just as Jesus... came looking for us when he came here to earth to live among us and to die for us; to take away our sin and shame. Through his love... and sacrifice we are welcomed once again into the family of God. When we confess our sinfulness and accept Jesus' sacrifice for us we have access once again to our Holy Father. We become His sons and daughters. You are saying that I can be God's daughter? Oh yes. A member of His family. But don't you have to be perfect to be part of God's family? I know I'm not like Jesus. I'm not perfect. Neither am I. Sometimes we like to pretend that we are, but... I'm an old woman, too old to pretend. None of us are any good, really. Like this wool? Sara, what do you see? Dirty wool with... little sticks and even pebbles. Hmmm. It is dirty... but mine is dirtier. My sheep get extra dirty just to spite me. Ha, ha, ha, ha, Oh Auntie, They know that I am an old woman... and without a husband. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, I am certain that is not... true Auntie! But Sara, what will this wool become? What do you have planned for it? I thought I would make a rug for Ayoub and me to take to our new home in Antioch. Will it be beautiful? Oh, yes. I have some dyes from nuts and insects. So, you see this wool as it is now, dirty. But in your mind you also see it as it will be, when you have washed it, and carded it, and spun it, and woven it into a rug. Yes. It's the same with God. He sees you as you are now. But He also sees you as you will be when He has completed His work in your life. So God knows that I am dirty and mixed up like this wool, but He thinks of me as I will be when I am in heaven. Yes. God began this beautiful work in your life when you committed yourself to follow Jesus. And He is committed to finishing the process with you because you are part of His family now. Sometimes life can be like carding wool. It tugs and pulls and stretches at us. Sometimes we almost break. Yes Auntie. And we suffer. Yes, like when the wool has to be boiled in the dye. It's a long process isn't it? Our brother the Apostle Paul, who's in prison right now in Rome, he wrote in one of his letters that we are God's handiwork in the world, created in our Messiah, Jesus, to do the good works that God has planned in advance for us to do. God's handiwork? Um yes. Look at this rug. Who made it? I did. Did it take you a long time to make it? Yes, a long time. Did you enjoy making it? Most of the time. But I do enjoy looking at it now. But anything that is beautiful takes a long time to perfect. The process is long and our journey in life is long. Long. Life is long in the middle, but it is short in the end; a puff of smoke... a moment, and life is over. My poor Yusha. Oh Auntie. If you put your faith in Jesus and come into the family of God through him, you can talk to God your Father and bring him every concern and every joy. Our Apostle Peter said that we should bring every care to the Lord, and leave it on his shoulder, because He wants to carry them for us. How do we do that? By talking to Him? Yes. You can tell Him everything. You make God sound so close. So many have put their faith in Jesus, and he is close to them. And He wants to be close to you. You must pray to Him and ask him to let you see Him. Ask Him that first. I will think... about what you have told me. But now I must return to my dirty sheep. I will pray as you say. Father. Yes. Mariam. Roman soldiers brought it. I must leave for Beirut in a few days. Beirut? They need stonecutters to rebuild the city. That Agrippa! He calls himself our King, but he's no more than a Roman puppet! What does it matter to us what happens in Beirut. Don't do it, Father! Why should you help that traitor, Agrippa? Dawud. Do not speak like that in front of your brother. You don't want him to hear the truth? What do you want, my son? To bring the sword of Rome on your whole family? Shut your mouth! Think of Noah. Think of your sisters. Think of your mother. Don't go, Father. Even Mariam knows. Even Noah knows. Surely this is not the will of God. Don't obey these infidels. You know they would desecrate the very Temple of God! If you help them now, when will it stop? Dawud. You know I must go. God knows I must go. My son... you know what will happen if I refuse. Which character is most like you or someone you love? Have you ever felt that God was far from you in a time of trouble? What does the story of Jesus in the boat tell you about troubles? What does the reference to Sara’s rug reveal about God’s work in our lives? What does it mean to be a daughter of God?