After the wet, wet, wet, wet spring and early summer we are in a two week stretch of hot, hot, hot, dry, dry, dry weather. The heat index has been as high as 110 and always in the high ninety's and low 100's, with the play being performed in oven-like conditions. As disciples, we don't feel much compassion for the Roman soldiers, temple guards, Pharisee's or other religious leaders as the characters they portray, but as fellow cast members, we feel for them because of the cumbersome costumes they have to wear at each performance. The laundry people also have our gratitude for the volumes of costumes needing to be washed each morning for that night's performance.
Many of us who do "up top" jobs such as lawn care, maintenance, Holy Land presentations or transportation don't get to escape the heat for long on play days or non-play days either and it is a blessing to be able to take time in the air-conditioned buildings or our motor home for a quick break from the outside. The first week of August we change to a three day performance schedule for two weeks and then to just Friday and Saturday for the last two weeks of August when it really gets hot. Then on to September and October and the issue of smaller casts, cooler nights and all the end of season "complaints". But for the moment, it is HOT.
Part of the lesson here is that it's not always easy to do ministry work, but then again, it wasn't easy for The Son of Man to do what He did for us. Our discomfort and our "manna and quail-type" griping are small change compared to all that Jesus and the early disciples and many Christians today go through to practice and advance their faith and the benefits we reap from their efforts. We are blessed beyond measure and it's appropriate for us to acknowledge that by enduring the heat (or rain, or cold), keeping a smile on our face and living in joy for what we have now and what is promised to us in the future. All for our good and His glory. Thank You, Lord.
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