Day 5 - Every man deserves his day in court.

Day 5 – Every man deserves his day in court.
I’m going to cut right to the chase. If you want a definitive explanation of our day you must read my wife’s blog. She killed it. I will not attempt to recreate the wheel that she already got rolling.
All I would like to do for a moment is paint a picture of where I now sit. If you know me well, this may make you smile.
First off, I’m in Africa.
Secondly, I stole a cold Pepsi from the fridge downstairs. (Lord, tomorrow I will find out whose it is and pay them back…I promise.) I am enjoying that beverage, after a very long hot day, immensely. I will say though that Pepsi in Africa is a bit sketchy.
Third, I’m sitting a top the guest house veranda on a wicker couch with a cat that decided to become my very close friend. The sound of crickets and sirens exchanging songs like that of peace time and tribal war that this country knows all too well. I sit half way between Lake Victoria and Kampala. The birth place of the Nile River that God plagued for His people’s freedom and a city ravaged by HIV and an even more prevalent killer that comes on the wings of a mosquito.
Are these epidemics Modern plagues of judgment or God’s megaphone for mercy? You tell me. This land has had more evil dictators than Egypt. (I saw Idi Amin’s house today.) Yet, I don’t sense God’s judgment here. I see opportunities for mercy. (Okay, I’m back I had to kill a mosquito on my arm. Don’t want to take any chances. Where was I?) Oh yeah, 20,000 people for every doctor. Half the population has access to clean drinking water. Justice for the rich, malaria for the poor. Yet the fingerprints of God are all over this land.
I had an illuminating moment talking to my friend Henry today. I mentioned to him that I saw his King’s house today. (there is a “king” of Uganda) He looked startled and said, “He’s not my King!” As if to say that role of “King” was already taken by the Messiah. I laughed it off and then thought how much happier many ‘post election’ Christians would be if they thought the same way.
I’ll wrap this up before I get myself in trouble.
Every man deserves his day in court, so the saying goes. I had mine today with Tracy sitting on my left and one of my heroes Juliet Hatanga sitting on my right. I could watch the lips of Tracy’s grandmother praying during the entire proceeding. Our attorney presented our case and the judge scribbled out her ruling as fast as she could write. We will hear her ruling on December 4th, which is Wednesday. We’ll come back to the courthouse and listen to the ruling be read out loud. Some of you may know that December 4th is my birthday. How crazy is that? This whole journey is beyond me in so many ways.
The lights of Uganda flicker beneath me from Lake Victoria to the capital. The cat woke up to chase a gecko. My Pepsi is almost gone. I’ve read my fill of N.T. Wright for the evening and I’m listening to some Bruce (not Springstein or Willis).
The cat is back and I’m needing to sleep. This has been a perfect day. Not without suffering. Not from getting my own way. Perfect from realizing what’s truly valuable. It was a masterpiece of finding the Kingdom alive in unsuspecting places. It’s everywhere. As we rise to the dawn chorus of Jesus let us practice resurrection in the way we love and live.
He is risen when the orphan is loved, when friendship is shared, when we quench the thirst of another in service, when the elderly heard, when His song is sung in you. He is risen.
Thanks for being my friend.