Wake Up, Look Up

[Music]

hello everyone thanks for listening to

wake up lookup a podcast where we

connect events happening in real time to

the Gospel of Jesus Christ I'm Zach

wrock and in today's episode we're

asking the question who will visit the

lonely this is prompted by an article I

read this week called my dying father

helped me to see the value of daytime TV

it was a fascinating article the the the

journalist was talking about how he

shared the opinion most of us share

about daytime television it is the

lowest form of content on television

it's talk shows and soap operas and

courtroom TV and cooking shows with a

very low budget it's it's all this

television that seemingly just passes

time and it's the kind of TV that might

be on when you take your car in to get

your oil changed or you're in a hospital

waiting room and you're wondering who is

watching this stuff at least that's what

the journalist was wondering in a kind

of a condescending way at the beginning

of the article but he talked about

sitting with his father who spent an

extended stay in the hospital before

passing away and how his dad over time

became obsessed with daytime television

because he spent so much time in the

hospital alone the daytime television

became an indication of his father's

isolation it became a window to the

larger World it became the one Outlet he

had to interact with other people and

the journalist does a great job of

explaining how over time it became the

way he connected with his father who

increasingly couldn't really communicate

they would share their love for that

low-budget cooking show or raised

eyebrows at that courtroom drama it was

an interesting connection he was making

between daytime television and the

increasing loneliness of people in our

world people who live alone people who

are elderly and sick and it made me

think that you know part of what it

means to follow Jesus I think is to see

lonely people as our responsibility you

know when James 1 tells us that pure and

undefiled religion is that we think and

take care of widows and orphans he's

putting his finger on two groups of

people who by defin

are alone children who don't have their

families uh adults who have lost their

spouse and I don't think he's being

exclusive like uh as long as we care for

those two groups that's all that matters

he's talking about lonely and isolated

people the kind of people who probably

by necessity fill their days with

daytime television but TV especially

daytime TV is a poor sub substitute for

actual human interaction it's a poor

substitute for being a part of the lives

of other people and having other people

be a part of your life I I couldn't help

but think of Matthew 25 when Jesus um

talks about the day of judgment and

separating all people into the sheep and

the goats and kind of the defining

characteristic of the sheep God's people

those who enter into heaven is that they

practiced the ministry of presence they

were with those in jail they were with

those who were sick with the poor with

those who were in need with those who

were so often forgotten with those who

were alone and you know what's

interesting is the passage really isn't

about transformation they weren't prison

reformers or or or social reformers I

don't mean that those things are bad I

just mean that what Jesus is saying is

you actually cared about spent time with

saw the value of people you might

otherwise have forgotten I wonder if

Jesus were writing today or speaking

today if he wouldn't say when I was in

prison when I was sick when I was an

assisted living when I was in hospice

when you knew I lived on my own and

hadn't had anyone over in a while I

can't help but think at my dining room

table I have a big family five kids my

wife and I seven people but we have

eight dining room chairs I can't help

but think what Jesus is saying in

Matthew 25 is that one indication that

I'm a sheep and not a goat is that I'm

looking to fill that chair this guy's

dad was dying and alone and all he had

was Judge Judy and I feel like that's an

indictment on the church we should be

the people who are thinking of the

Lonely thinking of those that are

forgotten we should be their window to

the larger world uh first of all because

they're made in the image of God and

they matter second because it might be

that that's the first time in their

lives they're actually open to hearing

the gospel that the life of busyness is

gone the life of of social activity is

gone all they have is their bed and

daytime television and maybe someone

who's there hoping to tell them about

the gospel I think of an elderly couple

that I met with at our my church

recently who actually in retirement

spend one day a week sitting with people

in hospice who are dying it's amazing

just practicing the ministry of presence

so here's my hope in hearing this

podcast and in reflecting on this

article that you will be thinking of one

lonely person one group of lonely people

that God might be calling you to

practice the ministry of presence with

and towards don't delay because the

question who will visit the lonely the

answer should be Jesus Through the

presence of his people hey thanks so

much for watching this episode of wake

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