Out on a limb . . . for a man up a tree

Out on a Limb .  .  .  for a man up a tree

RUMC 10/31/10

Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he. 

He climbed up in the sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see. 

And as the Savior passed his way, He looked up in the tree, and said, "ZACCHAEUS, YOU COME DOWN, for I'm going to your house today

 for I'm going to your house today.  "

I decided to sing that today for three reasons

·        First, it got your undivided attention. 

·        Second, for once you were glad when I started preaching, because you knew it meant I was done singing. 

·        Third, you all know who I am talking about today. 

What you might not remember form that little Sunday School ditty is that Zachaeus was not just short in stature; he was short on friends, short of ethics, and short of respect. 

Remember I told you last week that the people of Jesus day considered Roman tax collectors to be criminals and traitors.  That might even be a little mild for Zachaeus because he was not just a tax collector.  He was the Chief Tax Collector!!!  Roman taxation was a franchise business allowing some to become owners of a territory.  The more they collected – the more they made and the chief tax collector took the most – he was the fat cat, head honcho!  Most of the village hated this little man.  The wee little man was a social pariah.  People wouldn’t even want to walk on the same side of the street as him.  It wouldn’t be too strong to say that people loathed him.  Every day they would have to hand over their hard-earned cash to him and he would see the hatred in their eyes.  As far as they were concerned, Zacchaeus had sold his soul for money!  The fact that he was a Jew, but tossed that aside to line his own pockets was the worst thing he could do.  He was making hard lives harder – and taking far more than was owed.  They knew it, and knew there was little they could do about it.  As far as they were concerned he was dead, irredeemable, beyond hope.  They’d written him off!

There were who were considered “untouchable” – barbers, tanners, shepherds;

there were those who were considered  “immoral” – prostitutes, adulterers, gamblers, and murderers.  Atop of the list of the worst of the worst were tax collectors. 

Tradition taught that the presence of a tax collector in any house, made the food, and the premises unclean.  You cannot redeem a germ after all.  In addition, repentance for tax collectors was out of the question.  Ironically, the name Zacchaeus means “clean and innocent!”  That must have lead to many cruel jokes at his expense. 

I can understand why he chose that job though.  If I were short instead of merely vertically challenged.  .  .  If I were short and had been subject to all the short jokes in school, and all the teasing- you know: "Hey, I heard that Zacchaeus was studying to be a rabbi.  Well at least all his sermons will be short.  "  ”Stand up Zachaeus,  No I mean really stand up!”  “I guess you’ll never have to worry about hitting your head on a ceiling fan.  ”  “Can I get a booster seat for you Zachaeus?  ”  If I had listened to all those jokes for all those years, I might want a job where I could get revenge too.  And that's what he did.  As tax collector, he had all the power of Rome behind him.  Those who teased him when he was young now trembled when he knocked on their doors.  To those who handed him insults, he now handed bills.  Those who once laughed at him now addressed him with respect: "Yes, Mr.  Zacchaeus.  No, Mr.  Zacchaeus.  Good day, Mr.  Zacchaeus.  "

He got a job where he could be the bully for once.  In addition, he enjoyed it.  He enjoyed the power.  He enjoyed the money.  He enjoyed all the things he could get with the money. 

Because of his career choice, however, you can imagine that Zachaeus was he was short on friends, short of ethics, and short of respect.  He made choices that had him up in a tree so to speak.  He alienated the whole territory.  He was lonely.  He was empty inside.  He craved something.  (I’m speculating of course, but it certainly seems possible that he felt trapped by his own choices and his desire to see Jesus may have been a deep desire for something more; something all is money could not buy.  )

Therefore, he climbed up in the tree. 

What happened next stunned everyone – Zacchaeus included.  Jesus invited himself for lunch!  We love this though don’t we?  !  We love the thought of the underdog coming out on top; we love the idea that Jesus reached out to someone like Zacchaeus – the outcast – the untouchable.  “That’s right!” we want to shout!  Because we love the end of this story.  We love the fact that Zacchaeus did one of the most monumental ‘U’ turns recorded in the Bible. This greedy lifelong extortionist was transformed into a magnanimous philanthropist.  Someone who was extraordinarily greedy became someone who was extraordinarily generous.  Nevertheless, if we are not careful we may miss the point completely. 

Think about the crowd there that day.  Moments earlier they were cheering Jesus – now they are angry and hostile! Jesus wants to have lunch with a traitor!  Zacchaeus is the wrong kind of person.  When Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus’s house no-  one knows how this story will end.  Jesus took a huge risk.  Many people there would have said it was scandalous behavior.  To sit at a table with someone was to share intimacy - how could you share intimacy with an unrepentant chief tax collector?  The expectation of the crowd would have been that Jesus treat Zacchaeus as everyone else did. 

But he didn’t.  Jesus went out on a limb for Zachaeus.  Jesus was a preacher and if he had an SPRC, I’m pretty sure there would have been an emergency meeting that day.  There had to be many unhappy people who thought they were more deserving of Jesus’ company than that old snake Zachaeus. 

Jesus really took a chance by even associating with Zachaeus, let alone eating with him.  Jesus really went out on a limb here for the wee little man who, by his own doing, found himself up a tree. 

We all seem to have a knack for getting ourselves into bad situations don’t we?   We have a knack for getting ourselves up a tree. 

·        People find themselves up a tree making poor choices about relationships.  Marrying a man that reminds you of your alcoholic father.  Staying in abusive relationships.  Letting the lines of communication disintegrate in a marriage.  Having children in hopes of strengthening marriages.  Giving up on a long-term relationship because it is easier than solving the problems.  Sleeping with someone who is not husband or wife.  Letting little things fester between children and parents; or between brothers and sisters.  People use friends for selfish gain, neglect aging parents for convenience, and keep their kids busy in activities so they don’t really have to parent them.  Then we wonder why we are lonely.  We have used, neglected, and argued our way up a tall, lonely tree. 

·        People find themselves up a tree because they make poor choices about careers; it is pretty common for people to select jobs for they pay.  It is not uncommon for us to change careers because the pay or benefits are better.  There is nothing wrong with considering those things.  Unless it makes you miserable, and then you feel trapped.  Some people climb their way to the top of the company ladder not caring whom they step on as long as they keep going up.  When they get to the top, they discover they have destroyed their friendships and base of support.  Pastors enter churches with the attitude that everything has to be their way.  Even if their ideas are great, they alienate the membership who are proud of their church and risk a major backlash.  We all know people who think they are entitled to a job even if they don’t have much to offer and many times don’t even show up on time.  All these people find themselves up a pretty tall tree just waving back and forth in the wind. 

·         There are people who continually make bad choices about substance abuse.  Their bodies become, weaker, their ability to say no fades into addiction, and soon relationships, jobs and actually just about all of life is a mess.  They find themselves up a tree without the inner strength to begin the long climb down. 

·        Many people find themselves up a tree financially.  Credit cards, upside-down mortgages, gambling, unpaid bills, and collection agencies are just the beginning. 

·        Parents find themselves up a tree trying to keep the family, a job, the school and 3 sports teams all balanced. 

·        Children find themselves up a tree, cornered by so-called friends who would have them make bad choices.  They feel caught between the desire for independence, and the reality of adolescence. 

·        People with mental health problems develop their tree climbing habits early, finding coping skills that are often more destructive than helpful.  Good help is hard to find, so they find themselves getting further and further out on a smaller and smaller limb until they can barely hang on with their fingertips. 

·        You can add your own tree.  Where have you lived yourself into a corner with no plan of escape, no hope for another chance, no idea what you will do next? 

Are you up some kind of tree?  What will you do? 

Let me tell you  what to do.  .  .  Watch for Jesus.  You have already done enough damage to your life and those around you.  You have already climbed far enough up the ladder of self-inflicted ruin.  You took your best shot and look where you are.  Too high to jump and too scared, or too proud, or greedy, or addicted, or self absorbed to climb back down. 

So I say.  .  .  Hold tight and watch for Jesus.  The only hope for those who have messed up as bad as we have is Jesus.  The only way down from our tree is if someone will go out on a limb for us.  The good news is that Jesus will do just that. 

Go to God in prayer in the name of Jesus Christ and there we find hope, there we find power, there we find the promise that God is already looking for us.  There we will hear.  .  .  __________  come down from there, for I’m going to your house today.  ((x 2-3))

Zachaeus could not have known what we know today.  That shortly after Jesus went out on a limb for him; Jesus went out on a limb for all of humanity, a limb we call the cross that sat atop a hill called Calvary. 

He took a chance going out on a limb for the lowest of the low. 

Jesus took a chance going out on a limb for those who have messed up relationships and careers. 

Jesus took a chance, going out on a limb for those who make bad choices about substance use and finances. 

Jesus went out on a limb for parents and children. 

Jesus went out on a limb for the mentally and physically ill. 

Furthermore--- and this will blow your hat off---  Jesus went out on a limb for you and me. 

Jesus went up that tree, out on the limb so we could be freed from the traps we have created by all of our sin-induced decisions. 

Jesus went up that tree out on the limb and died right there, for little people like Zachaeus, and me and you. 

Jesus calls your name today.  Not to invite himself to your house for dinner, though that would be cool and if that happens, I hope you would invite me too. 

No, Jesus calls your name today to make his home in your heart. 

And the next move is yours. 

·        Scramble further up the tree I hopes of hiding? 

·        Open up the door and let the master make himself at home in your heart. 

for I'm coming to your heart today; for I'm coming to your heart today.  "

religion and faithfulness 10/24/09

Are you “Religious” or “Faithful”

RUMC October 24^th 2010

(Standing in the middle facing congregation boastfully)

The Pharisee might have sounded like this.

 ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ AMEN

So, what do you think? 

We often hear this as boasting.  He could be boasting.  Fasting once a week was all that was required.  “Look at me I fast twice a week.”  Tithing was expected then, as it is now.  The tithe is a 10th of the  income.  He also gave a tenth of everything  he bought in case someone else didn’t pay their tithe. . And  He wanted to make sure that everyone in earshot knew  heard what a good boy he was.  And he WAS!

The Pharisee thanks God that he is not like other people, and then specifically identifies these "others" as "extortionists, the unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector."  All others, in the Pharisee’s estimation, are guilty of robbery and violence, unrighteousness or injustice and sexual immorality.   And he wants everyone, especially God, to know that he is not like that.  Maybe he is Boasting

(Standing to the side, facing  the other side)

 Again he might have sounded like this.

‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves-um wait a minute- strike that., rogues-oops- um- you better forget that too , adulterers!  That’s one I haven’t done. . . this week.  Anyway thank you God that at least I am not  like this tax collector. At least  I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ AMEN

So, what do you think? 

Could he be protesting too much?  Possibly.  Maybe he is declaring his innocence before those who know better, and using prayer as his soapbox.  That could be- in fact we’d like to think he is because that would knock him off his pedestal and make him more like us.

(Standing in the center facing the cross sincerely-)

But maybe he sounded like this.

 ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: you know  thieves, rogues, adulterers, (pause) or even like this poor tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ AMEN

You know he could be right.  Maybe we should give him a break and admit that he might be right.  Maybe he was like Paul "as to righteousness under the law, blameless", (Phil.3:6.)  In fact, as Jesus tells the story, the Pharisee had exceeded the law's demands. Pharisees in Jesus' day were laymen who advocated and practiced rigorous observance of the law. They even sought to go beyond normal expectations which is reflected in the Pharisee's prayer. Like I said earlier, the law certainly didn't require fasting twice a week, nor was a person expected to give a tithe of everything they purchased.  

What if he really is unlike others? Nothing suggests that his claims are untrue.  Nothing suggests that he is like the tax collector.

Maybe He was really good.

The truth is Jesus does not tell us what is in  the Pharisee’s heart.  We can’t judge the truth or falseness, or the motivation of his prayer.  We can, however, say three things before we move on to the other prayer.

·        First, the Pharisee is definitely the center of the Pharisee’s prayer.  He spends a lot more time talking about himself about anything else.

·        Second, He definitely defines himself in relation to other people instead of relation to God. “ I don’t do the things other people do.  I am not as bad as this person next to me.”

·        Third, and this is hard to admit. It definitely hooks most of us into thinking  “Man look how arrogant and self centered he is.  Look how he compares himself to other people.  Look how he puts down the tax collector.  Boy I guess I could be a lot worse off.  You know  ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the Pharisee: you know  smug, self-righteouss, attention seeking, . . .  Wait a minute.  Did you hear that?  Did you hear how easily I slipped into doing exactly what the Pharisee was doing?

          And right now you are sitting there thinking “Well, at least I am not as bad as that preacher. . . “  or are we all in the same boat?

The tax collector on the other hand, prays  ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ Short sweet and to the point.

He’s Probably right

As part of a graft-ridden occupation which collaborated with the Roman government, he was a despised member of Jewish society They were hired by the Romans to collect taxes and the normal practice was that tax collectors would add to the required tax their own cut. By so doing they became very wealthy. Thus, they benefited from the Roman occupation. They were the administrators of the Roman tax system in the towns and cities of Galilee and Judea. Because they profited from this status, and because the tax system exploited the people, they were hated and were regarded as criminal and corrupt..

Unlike the Pharisee, he proclaimed his sinfulness and asked that God spare him from the righteous judgment that was coming his way.

Just as we could definitely say three things about the Pharisee’s prayer we can definitely say three things about this little prayer. 

·        First, God is definitely more in the center of this prayer than he was in the other prayer. The tax collector refers to himself only as a simmer.

·        Second, He definitely doesn’t judge or put others down.  He doesn’t even mention anyone else.

·        Third, he relies solely on God’s grace.  He says nothing about anything he has done to deserve mercy.

Who do you resemble more?  The religious Pharisee or the faithful tax collector.

I call the Pharisee religious because he seemed to do all the outward actions of the Jewish religion, everything that was expected and more.  In our terms he was on every committee at the same time. Volunteered to clean the church, be the secretary, shovel the snow for no pay. Tithed 20% instead of 10%  and on top of all that he sits down to encourage and pray with the pastor every day after he finished 3 hours of in depth Bible study and three hours of prayer.  That is religious!

And I call the tax collector faithful because faith is all he had.  No good deeds, no bragging, no reason to be forgiven no reason that God should love him.  The only thing he had was faith in God’s mercy and forgiveness.

Who do you resemble more?  The religious Pharisee who relies on himself, or the faithful tax collector who relies only on God.

Now you might think that I would love to have all 360  members of this church be like the Pharisee doing all that stuff.  No.  I’d rather have you. . .  I’d rather have you faithfully relying entirely and completely on God. . . As a pastor I would trade 360 go get’em self reliant Pharisees for ten of you with a truly faithful,  heartful, honest  relationships with Jesus Christ. 

That’s right, I’d rather  have 10 faithful members than 360 religious ones.  God calls us to radical dependence on grace.  Not religion- just grace.

And now the hard part.

OK, you say I can do that. But what about next week?  Let's say that the same two guys show up in the temple.  The cleanly-attired and clean-minded pharisee reminds God (again) of how devout he is, while, this week, the tax collector shows up (again) with his whisky-breath and a blonde on each arm, and intones the same "I'm a jerk/let me off the hook anyway" prayer. Guess what?  The pharisee would (again) not be justified, and the tax collector (again) would. 

Week after that, same thing.  Week after that, same thing. 

That makes it an entirely different story doesn’t it?  If it only happens once we can convince ourselves that the tax collector went  home justified and repented.  In other words he became a little more like the Pharisee. Maybe that’s the way it should work.  But maybe it doesn’t.  Even  if he doesn’t change a thing, he could come back the next week the story would turn out exactly the same. Radical grace.

It is not our piddly attempts at self-improvement.

It is not about crying our eyes out or feeling suitably bad about ourselves. 

Quite the contrary. 

The story is not about the Pharisee who depended entirely on his own goodness.

The story is not about the tax collector who deserved nothing, but got everything.

It is not even about us, as pathetic and powerless as we are. 

The story is actually about God:

 God’s scandalous love for you even though you sometimes act like the Pharisee.

 God’s shocking forgiveness for us all even though we sometimes behave like the tax collector.    

God’s extravagant grace for each of us, even though we sometimes act like ourselves.

Call on that forgiveness. Depend on that love.  Rely wholly on that grace.  

Jehovah Jirah

“Jehovah Jirah”

Rumc-October 17^th 8:30 am service

Are you a worrier?

Of the things people worry about a recent study found

40% -- things that will never happen

30% -- things about the past that can't be changed

12% -- things about criticism by others, mostly untrue

10% -- about health, which gets worse with stress.

8% -- about real problems that will be faced

That means if you worry for an hour- 55 minutes is wasted on things that cannot be changed or never happen.  That doesn’t seem very efficient does it?

Worry is kind of like fog.  Weathermen say that the densest fog covering 7 city blocks- that is like the area between here and downtown between West Street and Blackhawk Street.  The densest fog covering 7 city blocks 100 feet deep contains enough water to only almost fill a water glass about 6 ounces.  That means that same dense fog over the town of Reinbeck would not quite fill a pitcher. 

Worry is like that.  It seems to consume us and will completely obscure our vision, but if we collect it up in one place and look at it, it really doesn’t amount to much.

Let me tell you a couple of stories from the Bible.

There was once a man named Abraham.  He loved God and worshiped God all the time.  Abraham had no children until he was very old.  He was very anxious to have a child.  Finally Isaac was born.

One day God said to Abraham.  “Abraham, I want you to come worship me on a mountain I will show you.  And I want you to bring your son Isaac as a sacrifice.”  Now that was very hard for Abraham because he loved Isaac very much.  He didn’t want to do anything to hurt him.  God had never before, however asked Abraham to do anything that would hurt anyone so Abraham listened to God.  He got the donkeys, the wood, and his son Isaac and went off to the wilderness.  As they arrived, Isaac asked, Father, “We have the wood and you have the fire, but we have no goat.  What will we offer to God today?”  Abraham told him not to worry.  That God would provide.  They got off the donkeys, took the wood, and went to make their offering.  Abraham took Isaac and tied him up and placed him on the altar and was just about to offer him to God when God said “Abraham!  Stop.  Stop!  Do not offer your son.  You have shown that you are faithful and there is a goat in the bushes right in front of you.  Use it.”  Abraham stopped, gave thanks to God, and called the place Jehovah Jirah- God will provide. Because God took care of him. 

How many of you would have spent the whole trip to the wilderness worrying about what you were going to do when you got there?  Maybe even being mad at God for putting you in such a predicament?  I think I might have even packed an extra sacrificial goat in case I could figure a way out of this mess.

One day Jesus was in the countryside with a crowd.  Actually it was a pretty big crowd about, 5000 people.  It was suppertime and the disciples told Jesus he should send the people away because there wasn’t enough food for them.  Jesus asked for all the bread and fish they had with them. It wasn’t enough.   There was a little boy with some lunch leftovers but even with that they didn’t have enough food for 5000 people.  Jesus sat down, gave thanks to God, and had the disciples distribute the bread and fish.    When everyone had eaten what they wanted and were full, the disciples picked up the leftovers . . . yes there were leftovers enough o fill 12 baskets!

Right then and there I think someone should have stopped to call that place Jehovah Jirah- God will provide. Because God took care of them.

How many of you would have shooed the crowd away?  I probably would have said, this is crazy- gotten up and left.  And I would have missed the whole show. 

A year ago Brandi got sick again and she and her mom have had to drive 4 hours – 3 days a week for dialysis just to keep Brandi alive.   For a while we didn’t think she would be allowed to have a new kidney.  Then she would be allowed if one were available.  Then someone was willing to have an operation to give one of his or her kidneys to Brandi.  After many ups and downs it happened.  Think about the fact that without the kidney Brandi would have to be on dialysis for the rest of her life.  Think about finding someone willing to donate part of their body, and they were a match and it all worked out.  Much to her mother’s consternation, she named it Fred- well I think she renamed it Fiona, now.  But Fred or Fiona—whatever-- is doing very well.   Except I think she should have named her new kidney Jehovah Jirah.

 I think that little kidney should be named Jehovah Jirah- God will provide. Because God took care of Brandi.

2 weeks ago I was told that the supper offering for LIGHT was not covering our expenses.  In order to make this work for the rest of the school year the church needed about $1260 in addition to the offering in the supper basket.  I didn’t know how it was going to work.  But I believed that it would.  I went that same afternoon to visit someone from the church.   We were just visiting about the exciting things that happen here.  I told them the problem I had learned about and never expecting anything.

Guess what happened? 

The man said “go get the check book and write him a check for $1500 so they don’t have to worry about that.”  Now with the supper offerings and that check we don’t have to worry about how to pay for supper.    I named that check.  Do you know what I named it?  Jehovah Jirah- God will provide. Because God took care of us.

It happens over and over again.

I want you to notice something though.  Because I struggled with it this week.  It doesn’t always seem that God provides. 

·        Look at the hungry children with distended bellies- tell their mothers “God will provide”

·        Look at the wars in the world—the Israeli Palestinian conflict for instance- hasn’t God had plenty of time to provide a solution for that?

·        Consider how many young people die of cancer every day.  Why didn’t God provide a cure- or remission- or another day for them?

·        This week I became aware of two more marriages in Reinbeck that are in trouble.  Why doesn’t God provide a solution for them- especially so the children don’t get caught in the middle?

You see what I mean?  For me it is not just as easy as saying, “Oh don’t worry.  God will provide.”  There is nothing easy about these real human hurts and needs.  There is nothing easy about trusting God. I’m sorry but

·        God’s track record for the hungry in Darfur is not all that great.

·        God has had plenty of time to solve the Palestinian-Israeli problem.

·        Though God provides healing for some, many die of terrible diseases.

·        Try as we might- some marriages end in terrible hurtful- destructive battles.

I almost didn’t write this sermon because I got stuck on those questions. But then in my study and struggle- God provided.  God provided two important pieces of information.

First. Notice that Abraham didn’t do nothing and wait for God to do it all.  He got the donkeys, and the wood and the stuff to make the trip and set off faithfully.

Notice that Jesus didn’t magically “poof” a 12-course dinner- complete with waiters and entertainment- in front of the crowd.  He certainly could have, but instead asked, what do you have- and said, let’s share that.

It seems that God could have healed brandy or multiplied the money in the offering basket to solve those problems too, but instead provided willing generous people who reached out in their own way to solve those problems.

Saying God will provide does not free us of the responsibility to do everything we can.  As God’s people, God demands that we work our fingers to the bone to love and care for those around us.  God calls us to do everything in our power to reach out and change the world around us whether that is feeding a neighbor, having an aid and assistance fund,  donating a kidney, voting for the candidate of your choice next month, teaching children about Jesus, leading a committee in its work, donating to missions, or praying for peace.  Trusting God does not relieve us of our responsibility to be kingdom workers. 

And second- ultimately we have to trust that God is God, because we are not.

What do I mean by that?  I mean the bottom line is we worry about a lot of things and remember what percentage I said we actually face?  8%.  Remember that dense that fog over Reinbeck? And how much water is really there?  Less than 2 quarts.

Bottom line, we can’t even figure out what is worth worrying about and what is not worth worrying about.  Who are we to judge God or tell God what to do?

As I said, we must do everything in our power to change the world, but when we come to the end of what we can do we simply have to trust.

·        When you go bowling, you can’t hang on to the ball and steer it down the lane.  You have to let go before you cross the foul line.

·        As parents we eventually have to let our children walk, ride bikes, and drive on their own.  Will they fall, maybe but we can’t hang on to them forever.

·        As a carpenter, there was always one more thing I would have liked to change or do differently, but eventually I had to walk away and let the owner move in.

·        As a preacher I can study all week, write and rewrite the sermon, pray and practice and work, and make the best presentation I am able, but come 9:15 Sunday morning I have to let go of that message and trust that you will take it from there.

Where will you take this message?  You might say that was a nice message on trust, but hand me the steering wheel because I am in charge around here.  If that is your response the message in reality might as well have stayed on the paper.

What I am asking you to do is much simpler.

Take that steering wheel and do the very best you can.

Be responsible, loving, generous, and helpful.  Speak prophetically, vote hopefully, pray diligently, but when you have done all you can- know that you have done all you can.  Step back and let God. 

I have never been a big fan of the saying “let go and let God.”  It is too passive for me.  But once we have given our very best.  It is time to “let go.” Let go of our need to control- Let go of our need to be in charge- Let go of our need to fix things- Let go of our need to be God. And trust God to be God.

It is time to let go of ourselves and place our lives in the hand of Jehovah Jireh.  The one who provides. 

 AMEN