A Strange Life Pattern?

WED., SEPT. 13, 1995, 9:14 AM
OFFICE, PULLIAM HALL

Here you sit, on a warm, late-summer morning, with the sun shining in on you. With some preparations made for your class tomorrow, you close your door, get out this pen and paper, and do what not many people do, as a life pattern: listen for the Holy Spirit, He/She of the Lord God, Who will speak to you, in an indescribable way. This Teaching, for that’s what I call these, will be part of Vol. 56, an interesting and unique record, these volumes, of your life since May of 1979. In academic terms you are collecting data that may have some eventual use. (At least your son John Patrick believes there will be some desire for such a “collection”, sometime in the future.)

You got up in the dark of the morning, did your Farm chores, and then joined your small study group for some reflection on passages from John’s gospel describing My arrest, as Jesus, and some of My time before Pilate. It was an exciting time for Me. I “knew”, as the Son Who also was always One with the Father, what My destiny was, and it was both coming to pass AND dependent upon My making it happen as it should. There was kind of an exaltation in “arranging” for My own bodily death! Of course I could have “charmed” Pilate, who could have then imprisoned Me for awhile rather than agreeing to the crucifixion… but My destiny was to die in this way. I knew it would be painful, but, more importantly, I knew that it would be remembered with reverence, for the rest of earth time. The notion that a few hours of pain would not be worth such a remembrance is pretty silly.

But here you are, writing down what I, as the Risen Christ, am telling you, through Me, the Holy Spirit. Over 1900 years later, nearly 2 millenia, you are hearing Me interpret this story. Yet how many people, in your rational culture, will accept that this is genuine? Would you, if this were happening to some friend of yours? Is it really real? Of course!

You also reflected some on your life this morning, as you thought of Stanford as 4th “best” in the nation, and this university somewhere in the middle of the 4th quartile of institutions. What I want you to remember, and conclude, is that this is where I want you to be, not at Stanford nor at Punahou. These were important and good experiences, and I want you to remember them with pleasure, but they were “way-stations”… means for you to establish yourself here. This is your destiny… and it certainly beats being crucified!

You have a degree that didn’t become popular, but from a university that remains high in virtually every field, including your larger one, of education. You are a tenured full professor in a field that is strong here, but only “hanging on” in the culture. You haven’t made all the contributions to it that I want from you, but I’m still pleased with your contributions… and I can’t fault your giving priority to Our Ruminations.

As I have told you several times before, and as the Gospels suggest, I did not pick the top theological minds in Nazareth, Jerusalem, or the country round about as My disciples. Matthew was a tax collector, but that’s about as low as I got in selecting. The others weren’t dullards, but they wouldn’t have been nominated as “the best in the land.” And down through the Christian era I have selected a range of people to be general or special servants… and they all aren’t from Harvard or Yale… or even Stanford.