What Are You After? Jesus Wants to Know!

Our scripture reading this week has us following Jesus as he calls his first disciples:

JOHN 1

The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb!  He forgives the sins of the world!” 

John clinched his witness with this: “I watched the Spirit,  like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ That’s exactly what I saw happen, and I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.”

The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb.”

The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus.  Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, “What are you after?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”  He replied, “Come along and see for yourself.”

They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, “We’ve found the Messiah” (that is, “Christ”). He immediately led him to Jesus.

Jesus took one look up and said, “You’re John’s son, Simon? From now on your name is Cephas” (or Peter, which means “Rock”).

As I read, I imagine I am one of the two disciples of John walking behind Jesus.  My friend is with me, hurrying me along as we try to catch up to Jesus.  When Jesus looks over his shoulder, he sees me falling behind, and immediately slows down.  His smiling face shows compassion, not impatience.

When he asks “What are you after?”, I think, “Healing!  Wholeness!  YOU!”  

I wonder how Jesus sees me.  Old?  In pain?  He seems willing to accommodate my slow pace - maybe it is possible that I too could be one of Jesus’ disciples!

How would you answer Jesus?  What are you after?  How do you think Jesus sees you?

If you could see yourself the way Jesus sees you, he would say, "Wow! I'm pleased. I'm impressed. You are remarkable. Here is a friend who is truly impressive. You cause me to catch my breath." We need to see ourselves and each other the way Jesus sees us. When we do, the whole world is charged with the grandeur of God. - John Predmore, S.J.

Illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Sweet Publishing, Ft. Worth, TX, and Gospel Light, Ventura, CA.

Chosen and Marked by My Love

 This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.

Painting by Daniel Bonnell

These are the words that Jesus heard when he rose from the Jordan River on the day of his baptism.  

As a human being, how would he have felt when he heard God's words?  How might these feelings have affected his ministry? 

Do we make space to hear God's words of love and affirmation to us?  How might we respond?  Do we dare?

Song-writer John Bell, who was inspired by the words of Jesus, writes:

Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger than your fear.

When I hear these words, I hear confidence, caring, and authority.  Jesus had no doubts about who he was and what he came to do.  He had no doubts about the power of love to conquer fear.

The good news - Jesus enters into our broken world, takes our brokenness, and invites us to receive his power, love, and the gift of the Holy Spirit…through OUR baptism, perhaps.  Thus begins our journey of transformation and healing. 

I hope that you are experiencing the same affirmation that Jesus of Nazareth received when he rose from the Jordan River, saw the promise of a new day, and heard the voice, “You are my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” From this day forward, may you step forth with courage as you step onward and upward. Your baptism and your call to respond to the needs of the time gives you full authority. 

- John Predmore S.J.

How Can We Comprehend Such Love?

Our fourth Advent candle brings us to the heart of

Life, to God’s heart of love for all that God has 

created and sustains.   

Luke 1. 26-38  MSG            

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,  to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”  But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.  The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”  

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.  And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.  For nothing will be impossible with God.”  Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

It is no surprise that Mary asks, “How can this be?”.  How could she, a virgin, bear a son?

And similarly, how can we comprehend the love of a God who would begin a love story with a birth to a virgin…a perfect love that led God to embrace a lost and fallen people in this way?  Perhaps a love this wide and this deep is beyond complete understanding? 

Dozens of times this Sunday, we will sing and speak and listen to descriptions of this love.  “O living Love, within our hearts be born!” we will cry out.  We want this love in our hearts too!

How can we comprehend such love?  I’ve been trying all week, and I am now at peace knowing that I may never fully understand.  This is the awe and mystery that makes the birth of living Love in our hearts possible.  We ask, and let God do the rest. 

May it be so.

Faith is not belief, an assent to a proposition; faith is attachment to transcendence, to the meaning beyond the mystery. 

- Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

Illustration by Elizabeth Wang,T-03247B-CW ‘Heart of Love’, copyright © Radiant Light 2006, www.radiantlight.org.uk

How Did Mary Find the Courage to Say Yes?

Ecce Ancilla Domini (The Annunciation) Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1849-50

Luke 1:26-38  MSG

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary.  Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:

Good morning!

You’re beautiful with God’s beauty,

Beautiful inside and out!

God be with you.

She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you:  You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great, be called ‘Son of the Highest.’ The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; He will rule Jacob’s house forever—no end, ever, to his kingdom.”

Mary said to the angel, 

“But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”

The angel answered,

The Holy Spirit will come upon you,

the power of the Highest hover over you;

Therefore, the child you bring to birth

will be called Holy, Son of God.

And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is?  Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant!  Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.

And Mary said,

Yes, I see it all now:  I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.

Let it be with me just as you say.

Then the angel left her.

Mary is described as thoroughly shaken, wondering. I see that on her face, as Rosetti has painted her. Where did she get the courage to agree to what Gabriel has proposed?  Did you notice that God waited for Mary to agree?  Is the Holy Spirit with her in these moments? 

Mary & Elizabeth - Reverend Lauren Wright Pittman. 

Mary hears about Elizabeth's miraculous pregnancy before she agrees to accept God's plan. Does this news help give her the trust and courage she needs to say yes?

Luke 1.39-45 (excerpt)

Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. 

And Mary said,

I’m bursting with God-news;

I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.

God took one good look at me, and look what happened—

I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!

What God has done for me will never be forgotten,

the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.

His mercy flows in wave after wave

on those who are in awe before him.

He bared his arm and showed his strength,

scattered the bluffing braggarts.

He knocked tyrants off their high horses,

pulled victims out of the mud.

The starving poor sat down to a banquet;

the callous rich were left out in the cold.

He embraced his chosen child, Israel;              

he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.

It’s exactly what he promised,

beginning with Abraham and right up to now.

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home. 

Mary says, “God took one good look at me, and look what happened—I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!”  How excited she is now!

Mary and Elizabeth are together filled with the Holy Spirit. Nothing is impossible with God! 

It is that sense of God’s presence in our lives that allows us to trust in the power of God’s peace even when we do little…Be sure to make this inner peace your utmost priority. . . . When we radiate the peace of Christ we are peacemakers, and then our peace action can witness to this inner peace. But without that inner peace our actions easily become instruments of the powers of war and destruction.  -   Henri Nouwen 

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

 - Isaiah 26:3 

What is the Story About? Who is in it?

 

This Sunday, November 23, is the last Sunday of the church year.  As we approach it, I have been thinking about all of the stories we have experienced together in worship this year, and how they fit together to make up the larger Christian story. They are like chapters in a book…can we summarize it somehow?  How would you summarize it? 

The words that came to my mind are from the United Church New Creed - the title of this blog:

We are not alone,

    we live in God’s world.

We believe in God:

    who has created and is creating,

    who has come in Jesus,

       the Word made flesh,

       to reconcile and make new,

    who works in us and others

       by the Spirit.

And how do we respond to this new life?  The Creed continues:

We are called to be the Church:

    to celebrate God’s presence,

    to live with respect in Creation,

    to love and serve others,

    to seek justice and resist evil,

    to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,

       our judge and our hope.

Rev. Donna has chosen the passage from John 20:19-29  for us to recall this week:

Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors of the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side. The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were awestruck. Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.”

Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said. “If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?” 

But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  The other disciples told him, “We saw the Master.”  But he said, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.”

Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room.  This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.”

Then he focused his attention on Thomas.  “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side.  Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.”  Thomas said, “My Master! My God!”

Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.”

Just as the creed summarizes, Jesus does not leave his disciples alone…he is sent by God to give them peace…and then sends his disciples out to do the same.  

I invite you to prepare for worship by reflecting on the Christian story too.  What words or passages come to your mind?  What does it mean to live with God in his world? 

“…in spite of all its extraordinary variety, the Bible is held together by having a single plot….

God creates the world; the world gets lost; God seeks to restore the world to the glory for which he created it. That means that the Bible is a book about you and me, whom he also made and lost and continually seeks…”- Frederick Buechner 

Image by Hanneke Visschers from Pixabay

Jesus is Such an Inspiration!

 

Our scriptures for this week begin with Jesus’ response to devastating news, the brutal killing of someone dear to him.  But we also see how he responds, despite his grief, to seeing people around him who are sick… and then later, hungry. 

We read about his inner and his outer responses to unfolding events…how he FELT and what he DID.  What an inspiration he is to me!

READING  Matthew 14. 13-21  MSG

When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. 

But unsuccessfully—someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. 

When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick.

Toward evening the disciples approached him. 

“We’re out in the country and it’s getting late.  Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.”

But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.”

“All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said.

Jesus said, “Bring them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers.  About five thousand were fed.

In preparation for our worship together, I invite you to reflect first on how you respond inwardly AND outwardly to bad news.  How do you respond inwardly and outwardly to people in need? 

And then, remember a time when God gave you more than enough… more than you asked for, or perhaps something even better than you asked for! 

I hope you can be with us on Sunday to experience all of this together. 

Life Has Been a Bit Challenging Lately - or is it just me?

I’m almost afraid to tune into the evening news any more.  I’m feeling discombobulated this week.  Cooler temperatures have been a bit hard to adjust to.  Plumbing - have I mentioned plumbing (or washing machines) lately?  Don’t get me started.  I feel like life is out of control.

Oddly enough, I have been practicing gratitude more than usual this week, not less.   To do this, I have been using one of the variations on the ancient prayer of Examen:

1. I ask God to shine his light on the day just past 

2. I replay the day, asking God to bring to my mind the things I have been grateful for.

3. I review the feelings that surfaced in the replay of the day, both positive and negative.

4. I choose one of those feelings (positive or negative) and pray from it.

5. I look toward tomorrow, asking God for help with whatever I need.

I have been surprised this week that with my usual routine disrupted I have found there are new things to be grateful for.  I’ve learned by reviewing (in God’s presence) the feelings in my day that I can cope quite well with being out of control.  And that not holding on quite so tightly to my schedule, there is room for new delights and discoveries. 

This week in worship we will continue to practice gratitude.  We will hear again the passage from Luke 17:11-19 in a different translation.  You might want to read it for yourself or pray the Examen in preparation.  I wonder what you might discover?

For more information on the Examen:  Rummaging for God.

Luke 17:11-19 NIVUK

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance  and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’

When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.  He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?  Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’

I am gradually learning that the call to gratitude asks us to say, “Everything is grace.” Whether there is suffering or joy, I can say, “Yes, I want to live this, and I want to discover in this more fully the gift of life.” - Henri Nouwen