What Kind of Messiah Were They Expecting? Who is Jesus?

 

COME THOU LONG EXPECTED JESUS

born to set your people free;

It seems likely that first century Jews expected a warrior on a mighty stallion, to set them free from their Roman occupiers.  Jesus turned out to be a very different kind of king - a meek and mild man entering Jerusalem on a donkey.  How confused they must have been, and some people disappointed or unbelieving, maybe even angry. 

What kind of Messiah are we expecting when we approach Christ in prayer?  A fixer, a doer, a powerful Saviour who gives us a straightforward, single answer…the answer or result we want?  

The old hymn continues

from our fears and sins release us;

let us find our rest in Thee.

These lines speak of a very different kind of freedom than I previously thought I wanted.   And because God is God, the freedom is and will continue to be much better!

Who are you expecting?  Does the conflict between our expectations and reality continue to this very day?  

This Sunday is Palm Sunday.  I wonder who we are expecting?  

Luke 19:28-40   MSG

After saying these things, Jesus headed straight up to Jerusalem. When he got near Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Olives, he sent off two of the disciples with instructions: “Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, you’ll find a colt tethered, one that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says anything, asks, ‘What are you doing?’ say, ‘His Master needs him.’”  The two left and found it just as he said. 

 

They brought the colt to Jesus. Then, throwing their coats on its back, they helped Jesus get on. As he rode, the people gave him a grand welcome, throwing their coats on the street.

 

Right at the crest, where Mount Olives begins its descent,  the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed:

Blessed is he who comes,

    the king in God’s name!

All’s well in heaven!

    Glory in the high places!

Some Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, get your disciples under control!”          

 

But he said, “If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise.”

 

Inner Eyesight

Spirit, open my heart

    to the joy and pain of living

What has the joy and pain of living been like for you recently? Is your heart really open to the joy and pain of reality?

I confess that most of the time mine is not. When I'm surprised by joy I don't give myself time to really relish it. I'm too busy and focused on my to-do list. But I am getting better at it!

When pain comes, my fear, (Falsehood Experienced as Reality), roars so loud that I am tempted to run away. When I do face the reality I face it like a problem to be solved, rather than a life to be lived. Am I really willing to feel it?

Occasionally, the joy and pain of living happens when we are alone…maybe we receive some good news in an email. Or we read the bad news in the newspaper. But more often, other people are involved…unless we run away.

In St. Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae, he asked them to face openly the joy and pain of living in community. 

He suggested they face it dressed in the wardrobe that God has picked out for all of us as Christians: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline, forgiveness, love, and gratitude. 

He suggested that living in community was like a dance. We listen to the music and we keep in step with the people around us. We don’t go off doing our own thing. The peace of Christ will allow us to do this, if we let it.

May it be so.

Excerpts from Colossians 3 MSG

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it.

Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness.

Art from Regent student, Daniela Armestegui

Do You Know How Much God Loves and Attends To You?

One of the most difficult things I've had to learn on this journey with Jesus, is how much God loves me.  And yet, this lesson has also been one of the most delightful!  I frequently told Kirk, my spiritual director, “I have no problem believing that he exists, and no problem believing he is all powerful, but I just can't believe that he would bother with me. He's got bigger things to do!”

But I often feel God’s presence, and Kirk directed me to this verse from Hebrews 11. Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.  Kirk was helping me to understand that God’s presence was   God responding to me.  God loves each of us so much that he responds to each of us when we seek him.

It is against this backdrop of love and attention that we go on to read Chapter 12.  Just as we may not understand how much God loves us, we may mistake God’s training as trouble or even punishment. 

Hebrews 11 and 12

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

Keep your eyes on Jesus. In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through. So don’t feel sorry for yourselves.  Have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?  My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.  God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; 

it’s training, the normal experience of children. 

Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? 

We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best.  At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

I would never call myself mature in my relationship with God, but I happily return to his presence for more training.  I hope to see you on Sunday in worship as we learn together in God’s presence.

Despite all your uncertainty

this is certain: I will hold you,

and be with you, and in you,

and in all you encounter.

My grace will endure.

And in the end, you will be whole,

and blessed,

and at home in me.

Be at peace,

and come with me

into the future.

__________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

www.unfoldinglight.net

Image By Rembrandt - Return of the Prodigal Son

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22353933

How Would Jesus Use Social Media?

An unpleasant encounter on Reddit this week made me begin a process I had been avoiding - recruiting new moderators for the Moderation Team. I was avoiding it because I didn't know how to use the tools that Reddit provides for this, and there always seemed to be more urgent things to learn about Reddit. 

I drafted an application, posted about the need and then began to wonder about the criteria I would use to evaluate applicants. Moderation experience?  Location and/or time zone?  Knowledge about the group's subject matter?

I found the answer in the scripture that Rev. Donna chose for us this week.

John 13. 21-35

After he said these things, Jesus became visibly upset, and then he told them why. “One of you is going to betray me.”

The disciples looked around at one another, wondering who on earth he was talking about. One of the disciples, the one Jesus loved dearly, was reclining against him, his head on his shoulder. Peter motioned to him to ask who Jesus might be talking about.  So, being the closest, he said, “Master, who?”

Jesus said, “The one to whom I give this crust of bread after I’ve dipped it.” Then he dipped the crust and gave it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. As soon as the bread was in his hand, Satan entered him.

“What you must do,” said Jesus. “Do it and get it over with.”

Judas, with the piece of bread, left. It was night.

When he had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is seen for who he is, and God seen for who he is in him. The moment God is seen in him, God’s glory will be on display. In glorifying him, he himself is glorified—glory all around!

“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”

We can speculate a lot about how Jesus would use social media if he moved into our neighborhood in 2026. The only thing I know for sure is that however he used it, he would use it with love and grace.  Love one another, he said.  In this world so full of anger, pain, and loss, sometimes the most important thing is simply to be kind.

As a follower of Jesus, I'm always looking for practical ways to follow in his footsteps.  There are lots of other reasons to attend worship on Sunday too - we'll be gathering at the Lord’s table of grace, for example.

Image:  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ibrahim.ID

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