THIS WEEK AHEAD
Egad, I didn’t know my notes. I was lost at the start of the second measure. It didn’t get better.
This morning’s anthem is titled "Revive Us Again." It could have been called "Revive Me Again" because I found such joy when I asked for help with my notes. After our first run-through, I moved from where I was sitting in the choir room before worship to have one of my hero altos sing her part beside me. She’s so good she actually sang my part with me at first.
Yes, in asking for help, I was revived again.
Here’s my point. Ask for help. If you don’t get it, don’t sit or stay silent. Certainly don’t sing the wrong notes—that messes everybody up.
Yes, ask. That’s what the Ethiopian Eunuch did in our text (Acts 8). Because he didn’t choose to stay stuck, "Revive Me Again" is his song, too.
Yes, ask. Ask biblical scholars about challenging text by reading commentaries. (Actually, read commentaries on all texts, challenging or not.) Ask colleagues. Join the Bible study. Roam through the footnotes in your study Bible. Take a walk with your questions if you think that’s best (and this is often best). God gives the best answers in time.
This week ahead, sing a new song. Don’t let your wrong notes get you or others down. Take something from the one in Acts 8 who didn’t know—at first. When he did find out what the text meant, he did something so special in response. In response to the answer you get when you ask, I imagine you’ll do something so special, too.