Sermon Illustrations For Easter 6 (2020)
Illustration
Act 17:22-31
Paul is pleased with the city of Athens. The city has erected a statue to an “unknown God.” Paul, always the writer and teacher, shares his knowledge of God, teaching the Athenians about the God who made everything, and who is the “one in who we live and move and have our being.” When was the last time you were asked about God? When was the last time you talked about God? Often, we miss opportunities. This Easter season my grandson asked, “How resurrection could happen?” Rather than sitting and speaking about the power of God — the God in whom I live and move and have my being, the God whom I follow and preach about as my vocation, I asked him a question. “What did you learn in Sunday School?”
It was the wrong question as he hasn’t been to Sunday School in four years. His mom is not a churchgoer and they haven’t found a church that enables the whole family, infants and toddlers, a father who works nights, and a Mom caring for a family of six, that they can easily access. I wonder why I didn’t just sit down with him and talk about faith, wonder, and the unknowing nature of God? I wonder if I will have another chance? If the chance comes, I hope I share my faith rather than asking him to search his. What would you do?
Bonnie B.
* * *
Acts 17:22-31
What Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in the 1940s still applies to many today:
Man has learnt to deal with himself in all questions of importance without recourse to the “working hypothesis” called “God.” In questions of science, art, and ethics, this has become an understood thing at which one now hardly dares to tilt. But for the last hundred years or so it has also become increasingly true of religious questions; it is becoming evident that everything gets along without “God” – and, in fact, just as well as before. (Letters and Papers from Prison, p.168)
Paul tries to answer these sentiments. There are updated versions of his argument, that realities we already accept are in fact the God we worship. One thinks of the Higgs Boson, the existence of a sub-atomic particle which mediates between free-floating particles and the Higgs Field which creates a drag on these particles making possible the formation of matter (see Brian Greene, The Hidden Reality, esp. pp.63-65). Is this God functioning to create and hold the universe together? Evolutionary psychologists and historians have suggested that the development of the human brain (esp. its large prefrontal cortex which enables our superior ability to cooperate) may have evolved through the practice of religion (Nicholas Wade, The Faith Instinct, pp.54ff). Could it be like Paul says, that the realties and dynamics which we attribute to creation are manifestations of our God after all?
Mark E.
* * *
Acts 17:22-31
When Paul goes to Athens, he is “deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols” (Acts 17:16). As a typical Greco-Roman city, Athens was like a shopping mall for gods. There were shrines to pray for healing, shrines for love, shrines for luck in business, shrines to popular heroes like Hercules, shrines for the safety of the city, shrines and houses of worship for all of the various ethnic minorities, shrines for particular hills and groves –– even shrines for crossroads. At these shrines, people would pray, burn incense, make sacrifices, donate money, and various other activities. But, as Paul explains, in spending so much time and energy seeking healing or love or money or fame from these places, the Athenians fail to notice “he who is the Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands” (Acts 17:24-25).
We no longer have shrines to gods like Hekate and Hercules. Instead, we devote our time and energy toward new gods with names like Mercedes and Weight Watchers and Tinder. We believe more in the economy than in the divine, and throw our last dollar at whatever new fad has promised us happiness, praying that, this time for sure it’ll work. We forget that we are all God’s offspring (29) from one ancestor (26), and that what’s really important isn’t “gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals” (29).
It’s so easy to get caught up in what in what we, humans, make and forget the one who made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him — though indeed he is not far from each one of us” (26-27). Yet, as Paul tells the Athenians, we still have time to “repent” (30) and turn our thoughts toward the one “whom he appointed,” through whom “he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (31).
M T.
* * *
1 Peter 3:13-22
This is an old story, but one I think speaks to being ready and is a bit humorous, too. It was a cold winter day. An old man walked out onto a frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice and dropped in his fishing line. He was there for almost an hour, without even a nibble, when a young boy walked out onto the ice, cut a hole in the ice not far from him. The young boy dropped his fishing line and minutes later he hooked a bass.
The old man couldn't believe his eyes but chalked it up to plain luck. But, shortly thereafter, the young boy pulled in another large catch. The boy kept catching fish after fish. Finally, the old man couldn't take it any longer. "Son, I've been here for over an hour without even a nibble. You've been here only a few minutes and have caught a half dozen fish! How do you do it?"
The boy responded, "Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm."
"What was that?" the old man asked. "I can't understand a word you're saying."
The boy spit the contents of his mouth into his hand and said, "You have to keep the worms warm!"
That’s an extreme example, but it does speak to the importance of being ready. Peter writes, “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15) Can you give an answer for why you face adversity differently? Can you give an answer for why you live differently? Can you give an answer for why you have hope?
Bill T.
* * *
1 Peter 3:13-22
Peter’s reference to Noah is familiar even in our biblically illiterate age. So many Bible stories that were familiar to everyone in western civilization are now lost, even to believers! But Noah is familiar to cartoonists, commercials, and the people who read or watch them. To the first Christians, Noah in the ark was more than a humorous meme. It was the second most compelling biblical artistic theme in early Christian art in the Roman world, behind only Jonah. It is no coincidence that both personify preservation in the midst of the waters. Water, ever powerful as even we in this present age know (for who is safe against the power of hurricanes, floods, and tsunamis?) represented the forces of chaos, ready to unmake the world. For the Christian in a hostile environment, Jonah and Noah represented the safety and salvation of the believer in the midst of a threatening society. Usually the depiction of Noah in Christian art shows simply a figure with outstretched arms, the prayer position known as the orante, alone in a box shaped boat. There are no animals visible, no family, although there is often a dove with an olive branch in its beak.
Jonah and Noah faded in significance once Christianity was legal in the Roman Empire, perhaps because Christians were far too comfortable with their society, much like we are today.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Peter 3:13-22
Ira. D. Sankey was a gospel hymn writer. He wrote over eighty gospel songs and compiled more than ten hymnbooks. Because he was seeing his name appear on so many hymns, he began to write under the name of Rian A. Dykes. If the letters of the pseudonym are rearranged, they spell Ira. D. Sankey. Sankey has become known to us as the “Father of the Gospel Song.”
Sankey grew up in New Castle, Pennsylvania. In 1860, he enlisted in the 12th Pennsylvania Regiment. While in the army he was known for frequently leading religious services. After the army, and not felling called to the ministry, he became a clerk with the Internal Revenue Service. In 1870, Sankey was sent as a delegate to the Y.M.C.A. convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. At the convention he was introduced to evangelist Dwight L. Moody. From that encounter Sankey left his job with the IRS, and relocated his family to Chicago, and became Moody’s song leader.
In 1885, Sankey found a hymn in a newspaper that was published in London. The hymn was titled “A Shelter in the Time of Storm.” It was written by Vernon J. Charlesworth in 1869. Sankey later wrote, “It was said to be a favorite hymn of the fishermen on the north coast of England.” It had a difficult tune, so Sankey rewrote the tune, and changed the title to “My God Is the Rock of My Refuge,” which is based on Psalm 94:22. Today, the hymn goes by both titles.
The first stanza reads:
The Lord's our Rock, in Him we hide
A shelter in the time of storm;
Secure whatever ill betide
A shelter in the time of storm.
Ron L.
* * *
John 14:15-21
The prayer of Jesus shared in these verse touches my heart and my spirit. I sing with the joy that God is present for those who believe, for those who listen, and for those who love. These verses of Jesus’ prayer empower me, but they also challenge me. I look at the life and ministry of Jesus and recognize the love, the all-encompassing love, he shared with everyone. Everyone had the love of God shared with them, even those who betrayed, denied, and ran for safety. Everyone had the love of God offered to them, even the ones who rejected humility, sacrifice, and forgiveness as acts of love. Everyone has the love of God poured over and into them, the lame, the sick, the marginalized, the dead.
Can I, do I, would I love in this way? Jesus makes it pretty clear that I can’t do it by myself. I need the advocate, the Holy Spirit to help me. Maybe it is the Holy Spirit that has helped my learn to have patience with the one who always questions everything I do and every way I do it – and waits to complain to someone else rather than talking to me. Maybe it’s the Holy Spirit that has taught me to take a deep breath and say the words, “I love” when I am about to scream in frustration. Maybe it’s the Holy Spirit at work molding me into a true follower of Jesus. Praise God -- I believe it is!
Bonnie B.
* * *
John 14:15-21
A Pew Research Center poll taken in 2017 on the eve of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation found that 52% of American Protestants believed you have to have faith and good works in order to get to heaven! Not surprisingly, the Holy Spirit does not do too well. As long ago as 2008 in a poll by Barna Research Center, it was found that 2 of 3 Americans regard the Holy Spirit merely as a symbol of God’s presence, not a living reality. Martin Luther and Augustine have some good antidotes to these trends. The African father proclaimed in a sermon on this Lesson: “... without the Holy Spirit, we can neither love Christ nor keep His commandments.” (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.7, p.334) Luther agrees that there is no faith unless the Holy Spirit works on us:
Whoever is converted to faith cannot say anything else than that the Holy Spirit comes... It is the Holy Spirit, not reason, who teaches me to be baptized and to believe. Consequently, my life must consist in the Holy Spirit... (Luther’s Works, Vol.22, pp.302-303)
In the Spirit there is no need for works, the first reformer adds:
Thus all human works and laws vanish, yea, even the Law of Moses; for such a being [the Holy Spirit] is superior to all law... We must not confine faith to ourselves, but must let it break forth in action. (Complete Sermons, vol.2/1. p.280)
With the Spirit we can defy the world and all its false expectation:
Thus there develops in man a confident defiance of everything upon earth, for he has God and all that is His. He does all that is now required to do, and fears not. (Complete Sermons, Vol.2/1, p.292)
Mark E.
* * *
John 14:15-21
In Chinese culture, we gather together once a year for the Spring Festival, better known in the West as “Chinese New Year” or “Lunar New Year.” Although traditions in the diaspora have tended to evolve or fade over time, there is one practice that remains common: setting an empty place at the table for your ancestors. There’s different ways families do this. Some leave special foods on the family altar, while others simply leave an empty chair and bowl. My family was never very “traditional,” so besides the cultural traditions such as cleaning the house and giving money in red paper envelopes, we tended not to bother with most of the religious traditions like making offerings to the various gods associated with the New Year.
But we did leave an empty spot at the table.
As a kid, I always thought this was kind of weird and unnecessary. “I mean,” I used to pester my Dad. “They’re dead. That’s what makes them ancestors.”
That was until my grandfather died.
I finally understood why we leave an empty spot at the table.
It’s not because we “worshiped” our ancestors like gods. It’s because we missed them. We wanted to remember them. We wanted to feel like they were still there.
And then my nephew was born.
Not only does he look like the spitting image of my grandfather, he has part of his Chinese name. Now, the empty place at the table marks not only absence, but presence. It is a promise our grandfather made to us that one day he would return. Perhaps, it was not in the way we would have expected, but I believe that in some small way he is present in my nephew.
The ancients believed that pneuma, the “Spirit” in the hagia pneuma “Holy Spirit,” was a physical substance. While contemporary Christians tend to think of the Holy Spirit as a ghost, influence, or even a kind of divine force that binds the galaxy together (á là Star Wars), ancient Christians knew it was something physical that manifested something in our world.
That is why, when Jesus says to his disciples, “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you,” (John 14:18-20), I think about my nephew.
Because my grandfather did return. I see it. Just because, in our modern world, we know how heredity and genetics work doesn’t make it any less of a miracle.
So, what does it mean to see Jesus in others like I see my grandfather in my nephew? The Gospel of John answers the question simply, “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them” (21). This means that every time we see someone give to the poor, protect the widows and orphans, and love with overflowing abundance, we see Jesus in the world, living among and within us –– and loving us as we love others.
M T.
Paul is pleased with the city of Athens. The city has erected a statue to an “unknown God.” Paul, always the writer and teacher, shares his knowledge of God, teaching the Athenians about the God who made everything, and who is the “one in who we live and move and have our being.” When was the last time you were asked about God? When was the last time you talked about God? Often, we miss opportunities. This Easter season my grandson asked, “How resurrection could happen?” Rather than sitting and speaking about the power of God — the God in whom I live and move and have my being, the God whom I follow and preach about as my vocation, I asked him a question. “What did you learn in Sunday School?”
It was the wrong question as he hasn’t been to Sunday School in four years. His mom is not a churchgoer and they haven’t found a church that enables the whole family, infants and toddlers, a father who works nights, and a Mom caring for a family of six, that they can easily access. I wonder why I didn’t just sit down with him and talk about faith, wonder, and the unknowing nature of God? I wonder if I will have another chance? If the chance comes, I hope I share my faith rather than asking him to search his. What would you do?
Bonnie B.
* * *
Acts 17:22-31
What Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in the 1940s still applies to many today:
Man has learnt to deal with himself in all questions of importance without recourse to the “working hypothesis” called “God.” In questions of science, art, and ethics, this has become an understood thing at which one now hardly dares to tilt. But for the last hundred years or so it has also become increasingly true of religious questions; it is becoming evident that everything gets along without “God” – and, in fact, just as well as before. (Letters and Papers from Prison, p.168)
Paul tries to answer these sentiments. There are updated versions of his argument, that realities we already accept are in fact the God we worship. One thinks of the Higgs Boson, the existence of a sub-atomic particle which mediates between free-floating particles and the Higgs Field which creates a drag on these particles making possible the formation of matter (see Brian Greene, The Hidden Reality, esp. pp.63-65). Is this God functioning to create and hold the universe together? Evolutionary psychologists and historians have suggested that the development of the human brain (esp. its large prefrontal cortex which enables our superior ability to cooperate) may have evolved through the practice of religion (Nicholas Wade, The Faith Instinct, pp.54ff). Could it be like Paul says, that the realties and dynamics which we attribute to creation are manifestations of our God after all?
Mark E.
* * *
Acts 17:22-31
When Paul goes to Athens, he is “deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols” (Acts 17:16). As a typical Greco-Roman city, Athens was like a shopping mall for gods. There were shrines to pray for healing, shrines for love, shrines for luck in business, shrines to popular heroes like Hercules, shrines for the safety of the city, shrines and houses of worship for all of the various ethnic minorities, shrines for particular hills and groves –– even shrines for crossroads. At these shrines, people would pray, burn incense, make sacrifices, donate money, and various other activities. But, as Paul explains, in spending so much time and energy seeking healing or love or money or fame from these places, the Athenians fail to notice “he who is the Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands” (Acts 17:24-25).
We no longer have shrines to gods like Hekate and Hercules. Instead, we devote our time and energy toward new gods with names like Mercedes and Weight Watchers and Tinder. We believe more in the economy than in the divine, and throw our last dollar at whatever new fad has promised us happiness, praying that, this time for sure it’ll work. We forget that we are all God’s offspring (29) from one ancestor (26), and that what’s really important isn’t “gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals” (29).
It’s so easy to get caught up in what in what we, humans, make and forget the one who made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him — though indeed he is not far from each one of us” (26-27). Yet, as Paul tells the Athenians, we still have time to “repent” (30) and turn our thoughts toward the one “whom he appointed,” through whom “he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (31).
M T.
* * *
1 Peter 3:13-22
This is an old story, but one I think speaks to being ready and is a bit humorous, too. It was a cold winter day. An old man walked out onto a frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice and dropped in his fishing line. He was there for almost an hour, without even a nibble, when a young boy walked out onto the ice, cut a hole in the ice not far from him. The young boy dropped his fishing line and minutes later he hooked a bass.
The old man couldn't believe his eyes but chalked it up to plain luck. But, shortly thereafter, the young boy pulled in another large catch. The boy kept catching fish after fish. Finally, the old man couldn't take it any longer. "Son, I've been here for over an hour without even a nibble. You've been here only a few minutes and have caught a half dozen fish! How do you do it?"
The boy responded, "Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm."
"What was that?" the old man asked. "I can't understand a word you're saying."
The boy spit the contents of his mouth into his hand and said, "You have to keep the worms warm!"
That’s an extreme example, but it does speak to the importance of being ready. Peter writes, “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15) Can you give an answer for why you face adversity differently? Can you give an answer for why you live differently? Can you give an answer for why you have hope?
Bill T.
* * *
1 Peter 3:13-22
Peter’s reference to Noah is familiar even in our biblically illiterate age. So many Bible stories that were familiar to everyone in western civilization are now lost, even to believers! But Noah is familiar to cartoonists, commercials, and the people who read or watch them. To the first Christians, Noah in the ark was more than a humorous meme. It was the second most compelling biblical artistic theme in early Christian art in the Roman world, behind only Jonah. It is no coincidence that both personify preservation in the midst of the waters. Water, ever powerful as even we in this present age know (for who is safe against the power of hurricanes, floods, and tsunamis?) represented the forces of chaos, ready to unmake the world. For the Christian in a hostile environment, Jonah and Noah represented the safety and salvation of the believer in the midst of a threatening society. Usually the depiction of Noah in Christian art shows simply a figure with outstretched arms, the prayer position known as the orante, alone in a box shaped boat. There are no animals visible, no family, although there is often a dove with an olive branch in its beak.
Jonah and Noah faded in significance once Christianity was legal in the Roman Empire, perhaps because Christians were far too comfortable with their society, much like we are today.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Peter 3:13-22
Ira. D. Sankey was a gospel hymn writer. He wrote over eighty gospel songs and compiled more than ten hymnbooks. Because he was seeing his name appear on so many hymns, he began to write under the name of Rian A. Dykes. If the letters of the pseudonym are rearranged, they spell Ira. D. Sankey. Sankey has become known to us as the “Father of the Gospel Song.”
Sankey grew up in New Castle, Pennsylvania. In 1860, he enlisted in the 12th Pennsylvania Regiment. While in the army he was known for frequently leading religious services. After the army, and not felling called to the ministry, he became a clerk with the Internal Revenue Service. In 1870, Sankey was sent as a delegate to the Y.M.C.A. convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. At the convention he was introduced to evangelist Dwight L. Moody. From that encounter Sankey left his job with the IRS, and relocated his family to Chicago, and became Moody’s song leader.
In 1885, Sankey found a hymn in a newspaper that was published in London. The hymn was titled “A Shelter in the Time of Storm.” It was written by Vernon J. Charlesworth in 1869. Sankey later wrote, “It was said to be a favorite hymn of the fishermen on the north coast of England.” It had a difficult tune, so Sankey rewrote the tune, and changed the title to “My God Is the Rock of My Refuge,” which is based on Psalm 94:22. Today, the hymn goes by both titles.
The first stanza reads:
The Lord's our Rock, in Him we hide
A shelter in the time of storm;
Secure whatever ill betide
A shelter in the time of storm.
Ron L.
* * *
John 14:15-21
The prayer of Jesus shared in these verse touches my heart and my spirit. I sing with the joy that God is present for those who believe, for those who listen, and for those who love. These verses of Jesus’ prayer empower me, but they also challenge me. I look at the life and ministry of Jesus and recognize the love, the all-encompassing love, he shared with everyone. Everyone had the love of God shared with them, even those who betrayed, denied, and ran for safety. Everyone had the love of God offered to them, even the ones who rejected humility, sacrifice, and forgiveness as acts of love. Everyone has the love of God poured over and into them, the lame, the sick, the marginalized, the dead.
Can I, do I, would I love in this way? Jesus makes it pretty clear that I can’t do it by myself. I need the advocate, the Holy Spirit to help me. Maybe it is the Holy Spirit that has helped my learn to have patience with the one who always questions everything I do and every way I do it – and waits to complain to someone else rather than talking to me. Maybe it’s the Holy Spirit that has taught me to take a deep breath and say the words, “I love” when I am about to scream in frustration. Maybe it’s the Holy Spirit at work molding me into a true follower of Jesus. Praise God -- I believe it is!
Bonnie B.
* * *
John 14:15-21
A Pew Research Center poll taken in 2017 on the eve of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation found that 52% of American Protestants believed you have to have faith and good works in order to get to heaven! Not surprisingly, the Holy Spirit does not do too well. As long ago as 2008 in a poll by Barna Research Center, it was found that 2 of 3 Americans regard the Holy Spirit merely as a symbol of God’s presence, not a living reality. Martin Luther and Augustine have some good antidotes to these trends. The African father proclaimed in a sermon on this Lesson: “... without the Holy Spirit, we can neither love Christ nor keep His commandments.” (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.7, p.334) Luther agrees that there is no faith unless the Holy Spirit works on us:
Whoever is converted to faith cannot say anything else than that the Holy Spirit comes... It is the Holy Spirit, not reason, who teaches me to be baptized and to believe. Consequently, my life must consist in the Holy Spirit... (Luther’s Works, Vol.22, pp.302-303)
In the Spirit there is no need for works, the first reformer adds:
Thus all human works and laws vanish, yea, even the Law of Moses; for such a being [the Holy Spirit] is superior to all law... We must not confine faith to ourselves, but must let it break forth in action. (Complete Sermons, vol.2/1. p.280)
With the Spirit we can defy the world and all its false expectation:
Thus there develops in man a confident defiance of everything upon earth, for he has God and all that is His. He does all that is now required to do, and fears not. (Complete Sermons, Vol.2/1, p.292)
Mark E.
* * *
John 14:15-21
In Chinese culture, we gather together once a year for the Spring Festival, better known in the West as “Chinese New Year” or “Lunar New Year.” Although traditions in the diaspora have tended to evolve or fade over time, there is one practice that remains common: setting an empty place at the table for your ancestors. There’s different ways families do this. Some leave special foods on the family altar, while others simply leave an empty chair and bowl. My family was never very “traditional,” so besides the cultural traditions such as cleaning the house and giving money in red paper envelopes, we tended not to bother with most of the religious traditions like making offerings to the various gods associated with the New Year.
But we did leave an empty spot at the table.
As a kid, I always thought this was kind of weird and unnecessary. “I mean,” I used to pester my Dad. “They’re dead. That’s what makes them ancestors.”
That was until my grandfather died.
I finally understood why we leave an empty spot at the table.
It’s not because we “worshiped” our ancestors like gods. It’s because we missed them. We wanted to remember them. We wanted to feel like they were still there.
And then my nephew was born.
Not only does he look like the spitting image of my grandfather, he has part of his Chinese name. Now, the empty place at the table marks not only absence, but presence. It is a promise our grandfather made to us that one day he would return. Perhaps, it was not in the way we would have expected, but I believe that in some small way he is present in my nephew.
The ancients believed that pneuma, the “Spirit” in the hagia pneuma “Holy Spirit,” was a physical substance. While contemporary Christians tend to think of the Holy Spirit as a ghost, influence, or even a kind of divine force that binds the galaxy together (á là Star Wars), ancient Christians knew it was something physical that manifested something in our world.
That is why, when Jesus says to his disciples, “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you,” (John 14:18-20), I think about my nephew.
Because my grandfather did return. I see it. Just because, in our modern world, we know how heredity and genetics work doesn’t make it any less of a miracle.
So, what does it mean to see Jesus in others like I see my grandfather in my nephew? The Gospel of John answers the question simply, “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them” (21). This means that every time we see someone give to the poor, protect the widows and orphans, and love with overflowing abundance, we see Jesus in the world, living among and within us –– and loving us as we love others.
M T.
