Reflection on Luke 4:21-30 and 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

 

The problem was that they were expected to use their gifts the way the family wanted them used, and not necessarily the way they should be used.  This is one of the story arcs in Disney’s recent movie, Encanto.  Beyond the great music…which really is catchy in that stuck in your head all day sort of way…Encanto has a great storyline that could be preached in a million ways.  Luckily for you, I will not preach it in a million ways today.  Instead, I want to focus on two of the gifted family members in the movie and the promise and problems that each of their special powers provide.

First, there is Luisa who is super strong…like pick up a church and move it to a better spot strong. She actually does that.  She is so strong that the village continually has heavy tasks that only she can solve with her super strength.  Luisa showers honor on her family because of her hard work every single day. But, is Luisa only her muscles, or is she something more?  Is she not allowed rest?  Luisa is expected to use her gift the way the family wants them used, and not necessarily the way they should be used.

Then there is Isabela, whose beauty is picture perfect and who has the ability to make beautiful things grow.  Rows and rows of beautiful roses are her specialty.  She honors her family by making the town beautiful and making certain everything grows well.  No weeds for her.  But, why cannot Isabela make a mistake like everyone else?  And, why is her creativity limited to roses and the requests of her town and family?  A flowering cactus is also beautiful after-all.  Isabela is expected to use her gift the way the family want them used, and not necessarily the way they should be used.

The very pressures that Luisa and Isabela feel are the very pressures that Jesus experiences as he arrives back in his hometown.

While in town, Jesus delivers a short but powerful sermon to the people of his hometown about bringing “good news to the poor,” “proclaiming release to the captives,” announcing “recovery of sight to the blind,” letting “ the oppressed go free,” and proclaiming “the year of the Lord’s favor.” And, the people of his hometown are completely captured by his gracious words.  People envision their own lives filled with release from captivity, with clarity of sight, and freedom, and the restoration of all that once was. 

In today’s time, Jesus’ words would create in people a longing for the prosperity and optimism of the 1950s and 1990s.  Jobs would pay more than enough, homes would be built in the suburbs, children would play together in the cul-de-sacs without masks, and everyone would be free from the struggles and fears of today’s world. 

With visions of a better world capturing their minds, the people hope to make Jesus and his power their own.  “Wow, I can’t believe that’s Joseph’s son!” someone remarks.  This powerful man of God is one of their own!  And, with Jesus standing right there, the people of Jesus’ hometown feel special, and loved, and saved by God.  They apparently feel wrapped with the love of God that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

And, right here where most problems in the faith start.  When we, people of faith, expect Jesus to follow us rather than expecting that we will have to follow Jesus, there will always be problems.  It is true.  How many times do we convince ourselves that our enemies are evil, and, therefore, we expect that our enemies will also be God’s enemies?  How many times do we expect Jesus to look like us and act like us rather than expecting that we will need to look and act like Jesus?

I remember one day showing a picture of Jesus dressed in Native American garb, with his long hair braided, to a member of the family.  The picture is actually kind of cool because every item of clothing that this native Jesus is wearing comes from different Native tribes throughout the Americas.  The meaning being that Jesus embraces all tribes and draws us all together in him.  This is a very biblical notion.  Of course, the artist knew that the historical Jesus did not actually look like this image. 

But, the family member that I showed the picture to scoffed and laughed at how ridiculous and inaccurate such a depiction was.  This is the same guy who has a painting of pasty white, blue eyed German Jesus hanging on his wall.  He could not see the irony because he has unknowingly made Jesus his own, rather than allowing Jesus to make him Jesus’ own.

Jesus knows that the people of his hometown are doing the same thing in their heads.  Jesus says, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’” 

Jesus knows that the people of his hometown want him for themselves.  They want Jesus to take care of the people at home first.  That is the meaning of “Doctor, cure yourself” in this context.  In other words, they expect Jesus to be the doctor who takes care of his own before anyone else.  They expect Jesus to “do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.”

The people of Jesus’ hometown automatically, and selfishly, assume that they will be the recipients of God’s love and favor, not the bearers of God’s love and favor. 

Jesus quite starkly reminds the people of his hometown that the great prophet Elijah, during the great famine, did not come to the people of Israel, but to a widow and her son all the way over in Sidon.  Nor did the great prophet Elisha cure any lepers in Israel, but rather only cured Naaman who was a Syrian.  In other words, we follow Jesus and do what Jesus thinks is right, and help those who Jesus thinks we need to help.  Jesus does not follow us, nor does he do what we think is right.  He does not just show up to help those who we think should be helped first.

Jesus’ sermon was not a “feel good” sermon after-all.  “I’m not here for you…I’m here for your neighbor…I’m here for the foreigner…I’m here for the captive…Now, come and follow me.” This is what Jesus is essentially saying as he quotes the book of Isaiah in his sermon.

No wonder the people tried to throw Jesus off of a cliff. 

(Sung badly to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me”)

Jesus loves your neighbor, this I know, for Isaiah tells me so.  Poor and foreign to him belong.  They are weak but he is strong.  Yes Jesus loves them.  Yes Jesus loves them.  Yes Jesus loves them.  Isaiah tells me so.

The truth is that we can get so full of ourselves and our needs and our wants that we become completely blind to others.  And, just because I am preaching these words does not mean I am immune to it.  I too prefer a good old “feel good” sermon with some great old hymns any day.  After-all, who wants to follow Jesus into the lives of those who reside in the darkest of places?  It is hard to even bring myself to look into those dark places, so I would rather just worry about myself thank you very much.

But, Jesus is not afraid.  Jesus is not afraid to go into the dark places.  In the old version of the creed we say that Jesus descended into hell.  There is nowhere that Jesus fears going, no length that Jesus would not go in order to save those who dwell in the dark.  That is love.  That is a love that never ends.  That is a love that bears all things and never loses hope.  And, that is a love worth following.

As you have probably seen already, our congregation’s new working vision statement reads, “Come and See, Come and Serve, Follow Christ.”   “Follow Christ;” that is the foundation of who we are.  We are a people who strive to follow Christ wherever he goes.  We strive to love those who Jesus loves.  We strive to serve those who Jesus serves.  We strive to see what Jesus is doing and we desire to emulate that. 

We strive to follow Jesus as he loves our neighbor…even when they do not deserve it…even when they are our enemy…even if they live in the darkness…and even if they are exactly like us and need God’s salvation.  “Come and See, Come and Serve, Follow Christ,” is all about seeing Jesus for who he is, serving those Jesus serves, and following the life of love that Jesus lived.

After-all, Jesus is the one who has a love that is “patient;” and “kind;” that “rejoices in the truth;” and “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things;” and above all else, “never ends.”  Jesus’ love never ends. Therefore, Christ is the only one who is worthy of being glorified and followed.

Reflection on Luke 4:14-21

 

Once while I was away on vacation, a certain lay preacher filled in for me (whose name I will not mention…suffice it to say that his first name resembled the mouth of a duck and his second the plumage of a bird).  He had the wonderful opportunity to preach on Jesus’ very first sermon.  This is a golden piece of scripture that would be worthy of memorization.   

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 

And then Jesus preached: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

As I understand (I was not there, of course), the nameless lay preacher read Jesus’ sermon, stood there staring at the congregation, and then said something to the effect of:

“You heard Jesus, now go do it.”

And, that was it!  He went and sat down.  Oh, how you yearn for the day for one of my sermons to be so concise!

What a great way to get you thinking about what Jesus said!  What a great way to shove you out the door into the ministry of Jesus Christ!

And, I promise that I will end with your ministry in the world this morning, but this short, simple sermon of Jesus is so vital to the rest of Jesus’ ministry, and the words reverberate so much throughout the stories recorded in the gospel of Luke that we need to take a closer look.  After-all, if we did not, we would miss Jesus’ idea of freedom.

So, what exactly is it like to be freed by Christ?

It is like being literally blind to the beauty around you…being blind to the curly hair of your new baby and suddenly, by God’s grace, you rub your eyes and you are able to see the little red curls and the giggling smile of recognition on your baby’s face.

What is being freed by Christ like? It is like you are a server in a restaurant who keeps making mistakes all night (wrong drink orders, dropping plates) all because your mind is distracted and concerned about how you are going to pay rent the next day, and a group of five teenage boys who have sat at a table for over an hour and ordered little more than nachos and couple of cokes ends up leaving a $250 tip. It is enough to keep you in your apartment for another month.

What is being freed by Christ like? It is like being trapped in a school where you are not able to go to the bathroom because you fear the beating from bullies that might take place, and then coming home to find out that your family quite suddenly will be moving, to a new place, a new school, and a new chance at having real friends.

What is being freed by Christ like? It is being jailed up, confined, unable to convince anyone you are a person of worth; unable to convince anyone that you are not your past, and then someone comes, unlocks the door, and says, “I believe in you. Now go be the person God created you to be.”

Jesus lays out his purpose quite plainly in his first sermon recorded in right here in Luke. Spoiler alert: Jesus’ purpose has to do with freedom.

Reading from Isaiah, Jesus proclaims, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (NRSV, Luke 4:18-19).

If you have ever wondered what salvation is all about in this life, I will give you a hint: it is about freedom.

It is about the poor having worth.

It is about freedom from all that binds you and holds you back.

It is about all of your debts being wiped out in a year of jubilee and having the opportunity to start again fresh with no obligations weighing you down.

It is about being able to see; to truly see the world and its need to be loved.

According to Luke Jesus’ entire purpose of coming down, to be born in the flesh, is to go around and free people from whatever holds them down.

He does it you know...frees people.  Just read in the Bible how this simple sermon echoes throughout Jesus’ entire story.

Jesus frees a boy plagued with a demon and frees him from his past.

Jesus' power heals an unclean woman who has suffered from bleeding for 12 years.

Jesus heals a man who was out of his mind, living out in the cemetery like a wild dog, and, thus, frees his community from the fear of the man.

Jesus feeds more than 5,000 hungry souls who are searching for something more in life.

Jesus tells the story of an outcast in society who is the only one to stop and help a poor soul, beaten on the side of the road.

And, Jesus forgives a criminal with a death sentence who merely asks to be remembered, (because, quite frankly, no one wants to remember a criminal). Jesus says to the criminal, “Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

As we work our way through the book of Luke this year we will see how Jesus makes it his mission to ensure that we are freed from all that keeps us bound, captive, hostage, and unable to move.  Jesus wants freedom for you.  Jesus desires that you might truly live.

But, your freedom is not the only one Jesus cares about, of course.  There is the rest of the world out there too.  So, Jesus cares deeply that this work of freedom continues. It did not stop when Jesus died. It did not stop when Jesus rose up into heaven. The Holy Spirit did not stop working when it came upon Jesus, but the Holy Spirit also descended on Jesus' disciples. The Holy Spirit still descends on us, and sparks the holy desire of freedom within us, his followers.

Jesus, after reading this text of freedom of Isaiah, sits down and declares, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." In other words, this task of freedom does not stop with Jesus.

Now, for all you Bible nerds out there, or Bible nerd wannabes, the grammatical tense of Jesus’ words, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" is not the present tense which indicated that Jesus' work is once and done. Rather, it is the perfect tense which, for all you non-Bible nerds out there) means that this fulfillment of scripture is ongoing, even repetitive. This scripture, just like the energizer bunny from years ago, is just going to keep going and going and going.  This scripture is going to keep being fulfilled through the work of the Holy Spirit in his followers.

Yes, I am talking about you…and me.

We are disciples of Jesus Christ. We are a people who have been baptized into a life of freedom. We are a people who care about the poor no matter what got them to that place. We are a people who care about the blind, both physically and spiritually. We are a people who care about the detained and imprisoned and thrown away. We are a people who care about the world being restored to the way God intended it to be.

We are a people who have been freed and who set free.

“I have been freed, and I set free.”  Say it with me: “I have been freed, and I set free.”

And, if you are feeling stuck in the faith, if you need to be pointed in the way to go in your life of faith then ask yourself, “Where are people trapped?” “Where am I trapped?”

And, when you ask those questions, you will see that Jesus has found you and your purpose has also found you.

I have a very practical question to ask you. Which of these items sparks a sense of interest in you? Pay close attention to the one that is calling to you:

Good news to the poor.

Release to those held captive.

Sight to those who cannot see, either physically or spiritually.

Healing to those who are hurt.

Giving voice to the voiceless and freeing the oppressed.

Forgiveness to those indebted.

Which one seems to stick with you? Which one causes you more questions? Which one does God want you to see?

Focus on that one. Write it down. Keep it on your nightstand. Be open to how Jesus desires to use his Holy Spirit to create freedom through you.

Be set free by Christ, and set free through Christ.

Reflection on John 2:1-11

 

Joy.  Joy has somehow become elusive in the exhausting state of our world.  But, I have dwelled way too much on the woes of life lately.  What I hope to dwell on is joy.  And, I am not talking about the happiness that bursts forth when you get the purple gum balls from the gum machine.  I know, it does not take much to make me happy.  More than that, I yearn to hold the joy in my soul that comes when I realize that God has bathed my entire life in grace; and your life too.  I yearn to have the joy of God’s grace bursting forth from my lips and shaping my every thought. 

I yearn for the joy of God’s grace. 

So, what is this thing called grace that I yearn for so much?

God’s grace is wine that appears out of nowhere when the wine that we humans provide for the wedding celebration runs dry. It is six water basins intended for washing being transformed into nearly three thousand bottles of additional wine, all so that a young couple might be able to supply an appropriate feast for their guests without the fear of shame.

Grace is God’s abundance when our own attempts are meager. Grace is God’s abundance just when it is feared that we do not have enough.  Grace is God’s abundance just when we started to think that God does not care.  Grace causes wine stewards to be bouncing with joy that an abundance of the best wine was saved for last.

It really means something that the first sign that Jesus provides in John’s gospel is one in which Jesus provides more joy, more blessing, and more abundance than the young, newly married couple (or any couple for that matter) deserves. The story of the wedding at Cana is a story of pure, heavenly grace that creates pure joy.

And, all of that abundance…all of that grace from Jesus comes because it was asked.

Did you notice that?  In conversation with Jesus, his mother mentions the problem of the wine running dry.  “They have no wine,” she simply remarks.

And, sometimes, prayer is as simple as that. Sometimes, prayer is simply talking to Jesus as if he were sitting right next to us…because through the power of the Holy Spirit he is. We do not need the finely crafted words heard from highly trained pastors who write their prayers ahead of time so that they might sound eloquent and theologically precise.

Our words can be very simple.  Actually, prayer does not even need to be thought out very well. The words of prayer can simply tell the truth of a situation: “They have no wine.”

Jesus’ mother certainly did not pray: “We know of your divine providence and trust that you can always provide for our needs. We ask that this day your providence shine down on us, your humble servants, that this couple, faulty as their preparations have become, may be blessed by the exuberant bounty of your wine that you provide from your own hand.” No, Mary’s prayer simply tells the truth, “They have no wine.”

It is interesting to note that Jesus really had no intention of doing anything about this situation until his mother asked. Jesus’ response was shockingly dismissive: “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come."

As jarring as Jesus’ response might be to us who prefer to have our Jesus with a side middle-class kindness, this dynamic of prayer is nothing new. Throughout the Bible we see requests being raised up toward heaven and God deciding to change course only after hearing the prayer.

In the beginning of Exodus, it is when the people of God cry out because of the pain of their enslavement that God hears their groaning and decides to take action (Exodus 2:24).  God changes course.

Later, Moses convinced God not to destroy the people that God had just saved from the Egyptians after they had fashioned a golden calf and started to worship the calf instead of God (Exodus 32:9-14).  God changes course.

When King Hezekiah falls ill and is told by Isaiah that he will soon die, Hezekiah pleads with God to extend his life so that he might get his house in order. God grants the request and the King lives 15 more years (2 Kings 20:1-11).  God changes course.

Then there is the famous encounter of Jesus with the Canaanite woman who asks Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus initially refuses because it is not a part of his mission, but the woman quite cleverly convinces Jesus to have mercy and show some grace. (Matthew 15:21-28). 

Jesus changes course.

All of this is to say that prayer is not simply a form of one-sided meditation intended to calm our fears (though that can be a side benefit). Prayer (talking with God) is an actual conversation with the living God.  And, in that actual conversation we can sometimes convinced God to change course and show grace.

So, when you pray, pray boldly.

It is OK to pray for the impossible. It is OK to pray even if you have no idea what you want the outcome to be. It is OK to pray the boldest of prayers. Sometimes, Jesus will agree and wine will appear where there previously was only water.  Sometimes your bold prayer will result in the joy of God’s grace.

Take a moment to search your heart. If you could pray anything at all, what would it be? What is it that you want God to hear? What is it that you wish God would take an interest? Take a moment right now to pray boldly.

Silent Prayer

When Jesus’ mother raises the issue of the wine, she is “praying boldly.” She hopes that Jesus will do something about the problem. But, there is a second part to Jesus’ mother’s prayer that is just as important as the first.  When Jesus questions whether or not this is really something about which he should intervene, Jesus’ mother says to the wedding servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Her words cannot simply be overlooked in anticipation of the amazing and miraculous events that are about to take place. So, let us pause in the story for a second and take note that Jesus’ mother tells the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them.

What are Jesus’ possible responses here? Jesus could have said, “Go home, the party is over.” Jesus could have said, “I have some wine at my house, go fetch it.” Jesus could have said, “Who needs wine when we could have beer!” In other words, Jesus could have said any number of things.

The whole point here is that Jesus’ mother does not have a particular expectation of Jesus, she simply makes her request and waits to see what Jesus will do…if anything at all.  She trusts that Jesus will respond the way he sees fit.

In all honesty, sometimes when we pray boldly, the answer will be “No.” When Jesus’ mother makes her request, she holds open all the possibilities.  In other words, she allows God to be God.  She allows Jesus to do as Jesus sees fit.  She, herself, is not the savoir of the world; she simply talks to the savoir of the world.

We see this same dynamic going on when Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus prays boldly that his life be spared, but he is still open to what God the Father has in store.

“And going a little farther, [Jesus] threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’”

Jesus has no problem asking for something bold, “let this cup pass from me,” but he also knows that God the Father will decide whatever God needs in order to bring grace and joy to the world. And, in hindsight, can there be anything more deeply grace-filled and joyful than the forgiveness of the cross and the hope of the resurrection?  So, Jesus’ prayer ends, “yet not what I want but what you want” (Matthew 26:39).

Sometimes, the right answer to our prayer is “No,” or “Not yet,” and we simply do not know why. But, at other times the water might be turned into wine in an act of abundant and undeserved grace and joy for all. In either case, the way that we the disciples of Jesus Christ pray is the same: we pray boldly and then wait patiently for whatever God has in store.

Pray boldly, wait patiently. 

Do you feel stuck in faith? Do you feel as if your faith has started to run dry of joy? Then do this one simple act of discipleship: open yourself to the possibilities that God could have in store by praying boldly and waiting patiently.

Reflection on Matthew 2:1-12

 

When you look at the three kings making their way to the Christ child, crowns of gold and gems on their heads and rich gifts in their hands, it is easy to assume that their lives are full and rich.

Following a divine star to their destination, it is easy to assume that the kings are special, with a divine appointment for this royal task of delivering gifts to the savior of the world.

But, if you would take the time to look closely, underneath the distracting shine of the crowns, you would see a different truth. If you looked closely at their faces, you would see the dark circles under their eyes and the struggles of life in the creases of their wrinkled foreheads.

You see, the moment the first king was summoned by the star to travel to Bethlehem, he was sitting all alone in his castle. The light of the star fell upon him as he sat eating alone.

Most days he ate alone, slept alone, and kept his own company. Even his kingdom rarely appealed to him for guidance. He was a lonely king, surrounded by the cold company of his gold.

As he gathered his things to travel to the newborn king, he took some of the gold as a gift in one hand, and carried his loneliness in the other.

Miles away from the first king was the second king who also held a secret underneath the gleaming riches of his crown. The secret had something to do with that crown that shined upon his head. For, when the star shown on him, directing him to travel to see the newborn king, his brow furrowed in worry about the cost of such an expedition.

You see, the truth was that the king had almost no riches, aside from that gilded crown on his head. He was as poor as his people, but he was expected to represent the nation as a rich and powerful leader. How many times had he given up his own dinner completely in order to impress a royal guest?

Giving up the valuable frankincense that was once gifted to him, and giving it to the newborn king was both an honor and a terrible sacrifice.  He gathered together some pride and left.

Still, many miles further was the third king. His kingdom flourished, and he was beloved by his people. All was well. Except that when the star shown on him to lead him to the Christ child, he did not see it. He did not see anything for that matter. He was blind. It was a servant who told the blind king that the star had appeared and summoned him.

How long had it been since the king had seen the faces of his family? How long had it been since he could see his brothers? “Too many years to count,” the king thought to himself. He did not even know where his family was any longer.

Grabbing some myrrh as a gift for the newborn king, and with help from an assistant, he mounted his camel with sadness in his heart and blindness in his eyes.

Now you know the truth. Now you know not to be distracted by the crowns of gold and gems on these foreign king's heads, or the rich gifts in their hands as they arrive and make their way through the door to honor the new king.

The first king bows bearing a gift of gold and loneliness. The second king arrives next to the first, bowing and bearing a gift of frankincense and poverty. The third king is helped to his position by the servant, and he bears his gift in the wrong direction, his blindness no secret to anyone in the room.

The child king coos at the sight, and is briefly distracted by the gleam of the gems on the walls. But, soon the child toddles over to the first king, pushes the gold aside and gives the lonely man a hug. It is his first hug in years. The king’s heart melts, and for the first time in years the king feels a strange and beautiful sense of joy, and belonging.

Soon, the child takes the bag of gold, pulls and scoots the bag the short distance to the second king and says, “You take, you take.”

The other two kings assume it is the crazy antics of a small child, but the second king knows better.  It is a gift for him. The child knows him.

The child takes the frankincense and sets it next to the bag of gold. “Yours,” he giggles. Then the child’s smile fades as he looks straight into the king’s eyes and says “For you.” Never had the king been given such a gift.

Wandering off toward the third of his kingly visitors, the child relieves the king’s tiring arms of the dangling myrrh and pushes it toward the second king.

 The third king soon feels the Christ child playing with his face; first his lips, then his cheeks, then his nose, and finally the child playfully, and gently, tugs at his eye lids.

Opening one eye lid, the child whispers, “peekaboo,” and the blind king sees the child’s lips say the words.

The king sees the child’s lips!

The king can see!

For the first time in years, the king can see!

They had each traveled to bear gifts to the child king, but what they had never expected was that they would be the ones to receive a gift. And, they certainly had never expected the last gift the child had in store.

The small child whispered to the once blind man, “Brothers” and pointed to the other two kings. The now seeing king focused his new eyes on the other two men, searching beyond the gleam of their crowns and beyond their dark circled eyes and wrinkles.

Seeing clearly, he recognized two faces that he remembered from his youth.  Almost simultaneously, the first king’s lonely eyes focused on the other two men in recognition. 

The child’s last gift was the gift of brothers being drawn together.

The Christ Child had brought them all together once again. And, as they rejoiced, the star above their heads shone brighter and gave light to the world.

-----------

This story is most rightly considered a legend of course.

Anyone who has studied their bibles knows that the men who visited the Christ child were not kings, but were magi, or men of wisdom. They were probably astrologers.

They also would note that the bible does not say how many of them visited. There may have been three, there may have been fifty three.  The bible certainly does not say anything about any ailments each one had, nor does it report of any healing that occurred because of the Christ child. As I said, the story is best considered a legend.

But, that does not mean the story holds no truth.  To the contrary, the story holds heaps of truth.

When John the Baptist asks from prison the truth about Jesus…whether or not he is the Messiah, Jesus sends a response which will seem very familiar.

“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”

This is the truth of Jesus presented in the legend.  He is the one who welcomes the foreigner with an embrace.  He is the one who gives the blind their sight.  He is the one who gives good news to the poor, and draws together those who have drifted apart. 

The story you just heard may be a legend, but it is full of the truth of Jesus Christ. It tells the truth, that we do not bear gifts to Jesus, rather Jesus bears gifts to us.

With that in mind, there is one more gift for you this morning.  Following the star changed the wise men profoundly.  And, the Bible says that they returned home taking another way.

Their experience with the star and with Jesus changed them and it changed the way they go.

I pray that your encounter with Jesus’ star also changes you.  I pray that your encounter with Jesus’ star changes the direction you travel from this day forward. 

May you too travel in Jesus’ ways which open the eyes of the blind, allow the lame to walk, cleanse the sick and embrace the outcast, allow people to hear and understand, raise the dead and dead in spirit, and bring good news to the poor. 

May you too be guided by a star.  May you too be touched by Jesus’ presence and guided by Jesus life.

Reflection on John 1:1-18

 

“In the beginning was the Word…”

It is so weird that it has never struck me before.  There is a truth in those six words that is so utterly amazing that I cannot believe it never sunk into this thick skull before.  “In the beginning was the Word…” 

Our culture is so paranoid about endings, that I am not certain we put all that much effort into thinking about beginnings. 

We fear death; an end. 

We fear losing the things and people we hold dear: friends, pets, houses, neighborhoods, care-free summers and holidays spent with those we love.  It makes us sweat to consider losing any one of them; all endings. 

We put insurance on those things and people we hold to most dear: life insurance on us and our family, house insurance, car insurance, hand insurance…yes, I did say “hand insurance.”  I once had a girl tell me that my hands were so perfect that hand modeling should be my career.  She urged me to get hand insurance.  I was 16.  Doritos or hand insurance?  You know which won.

But, our lives get so wrapped up in the world falling apart, that we try to protect what little we have.  And, all of it is done in the hopes that we will never have to face “the end.”

Even the church has a tendency to focus on endings.  We set our hopes on heaven and make eternal life the goal.  We hope one day to see God face to face, in heaven, surrounded by those others we yearn to see again.  Even in the church, we have a tendency to focus on the end.

And, maybe that is why I never saw it before.  Maybe, that is why I have always sort of glossed over these first six words in the gospel of John as some sort of beautiful poetry, and nothing more.

But, there is more.  And, though it is poetry, there is so much more to be seen in these first six words: “In the beginning was the Word…”

It all comes down to this.  Whenever there seems to be nothing, God’s Word is there.  Right?  Before the universe was born, when there was simply a vast nothingness, God’s Word of light and life was there. 

Do you not understand what this means?  It is still true!  Whenever it seems that life has all come plummeting to a dark end, God’s Word is there.  It is not an ending, it is a beginning.  Whenever we face a new beginning, God’s Word is there with us.

That simple truth just blew my mind.  Whenever life falls apart, my mind always leads me to believe that God has left town.  Right?  If blessing does not seem to be coming my way, but rather black muck and mud, I think that I have no reason to believe that God is anywhere near.

But, I would be supremely wrong.  If it feels like there is nothing left that is because it is a beginning.  As we just heard, what is the only thing that the Bible says is in a beginning?  God and God’s Word.

And, by God’s Word, we are not imagining Bibles floating around in the vacuum of space. 

No, we are imagining a loud utterance across the face of the deep that calls forth light and life.  We are imagining loud cries that create a new beginning for a man who had blind since birth, but now he has just started a life of sight! 

We are imaging loud cries that allow a man who had been left to beg along the side of the way to get up and walk and live! 

We are imagining loud cries that open up a tomb and allow the dead to come out, be unbound, eat, and live! 

We are imagining loud cries that burst open tombs and proclaim new life to the entire world.  For God so loved the world!

We imagine ourselves, tired and weary and worn.  We see ourselves slumped down in the darkness of the end thinking that we are alone, but listening close only to discover that when there seems to be nothing, the God’s Word is still there.  And, we were mistaken, every dark place that we view as an ending is really a beginning in which the Word inhabits, itching to bust forth at the right time.

The Word after-all, is God’s dream becoming reality.  It is God dreaming big and dreaming wild so that water and trees and unlikely animals like the platypus burst forth on the scene.  It is God dreaming big so that the stars glimmer and babies are born and lives of love bloom. 

It is God dreaming big, and being right there with you, ready to make that dream a reality just as you face a new beginning.

You know what gets me every time I watch a video?  It is the faces of sheer joy and love that you see in those videos where soldiers come home unexpectedly to their families. 

The set ups are all different.  In one, the soldier shows up unexpectedly in a classroom, and the student looks up and falls apart in tears of joy.  In another, the soldier shows up at a birthday party that the family had expected him to miss.  In each face we see the unexpected tears of joy and happiness that comes when someone we love suddenly arrives and an old story suddenly ends, and a new story begins.

Well, I am here to preach something to you this morning sisters and brothers of Jesus Christ that will put a tear of joy into your soul.  The world might seem dark.  The world might seem like it is nearing an end.  And, people’s lives might appear to float around in the darkness, but I am here to tell you that this is not an end.  It is a beginning.  And as with all beginnings before, the Word is present right here, right now in this new beginning.  God has unexpectedly shown up!  And the Word is with God, and the Word is God.  And, the Word is here to shine new light and new life upon the darkness of this world.  “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

That is right, Jesus Christ, the word made flesh, by the power of the Holy Spirit is right here, right now in this new beginning, and God has only begun to start to dream. 

God’s dreams are big.  They are even greater than the platypus.  I know you are thinking, “What could be greater that a platypus?”  I do not know for certain, but what I do know is that what God has in store is even greater. 

And, I also know that what God has in store is for this new beginning to be full of grace and truth.  It is right here in the scriptures.  It is a new beginning that has heaps of grace upon grace, like an endless mountain of buttery mashed potatoes for the soul.  What could be better than mountains of buttery mashed potatoes?  Well grace and truth is better than that!

And, if there is one thing that we can all agree on, it is that this world needs a whole lot more grace and truth. 

We desperately need more people looking upon each other with grace rather than hate. 

We desperately, need more people looking upon each other with eyes willing to see the truth rather than assumptions and lies. 

We desperately need more people looking at our world and seeing God’s light despite the darkness.  Am I right?

And, so it will be.  See, it is happening.  God is making all things new.

“In the beginning was the Word.”