People are trying to decide who Jesus is...this man who has power to heal, speaks with unusual authority, and keeps his word. He attends the Festival of the Passover after telling his brothers not to expect him. He is not the socialite who throws out a casual "see you at the Passover," but never really intends to find you there. This year will be a different Passover for those who do meet up with him there. It is to be a stage for his teachings. His words are not imprisoned in a synagogue, kept out of the outside world. The world is, after all, to be the context for his words, accessible to anyone. We are not told the content of his teachings there, only that they are from God and they have caused some to plot against his life.
Jesus will confront those who are obsessed with the application of individual Mosaic Laws but who are blind to the presence of God's Spirit. Though the leaders hate him for this he remains out in the open, untouched, unafraid.
The Pharisees want to discredit Jesus by questioning his origins. He is from Galilee, they say, reason enough to ignore or resist him. Galilee was not messianic territory. Jews were big on genealogy. Where and who you came were prime credentials. Galilee was of no repute, was far from Jerusalem, and known for its zealous rebels.
These arguments are recapitulated in modern American politics as public figures posturing for elections, want to discredit the President by questioning his origins....his race, his birthplace, his religion. "He is not from here," they cry across the media. These claims are only made more insistent when the truth is spoken for there are those for whom the truth is inconsequential to their cause. If this happened to Jesus, we should not be surprised if the same counterfeit claims confuse the people in this age.
The Pharisees were right as far as they went....Jesus was living in Galilee, a haven for the insurgents of his day. That was enough to discredit Jesus in the eyes of many. But they needed to dig more deeply for the real truth of who Jesus was. His birthplace was Bethlehem, cited as the Messianic home in Isaiah the prophets words. And Jesus' family tree, if they had troubled to trace it, would have led to Jesse, the grandfather of the great King David. The final covenanting promise of a great king that would bring peace, a land, and a future would have rested now with Jesus. (2 Samuel 7:11).
What would looking more deeply into the origins of our leaders reveal? All power comes from God. The Pharisaical attempts today to label opponents with damning false evidence may get temporary traction. Probing at the surface for foible and folly may confuse the people for the moment. But such is not of God who knows the heart and who promises are true and eternal.
In the reign of God there shall be no need to bring others low in order to raise ourselves high, for we will discover the real truth that all are heirs, "sons and daughters" of the King. Come quickly Lord Jesus.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Keeping Count: John 6: 1-15, 27
People are drawn to counting things. Numbers quantify and measure and from that they provide a certain sense of control. We measure the temperature on an outside thermometer and then dress to gain some control over the environment. We count the cost of an object and judge its value. We even quantify the heavens by the speed of light, distances by light years and use the formulas of relativity to probe the realm of God's heavenly creation.
During WWII Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of England, used statistics to exaggerate British prospects in the struggle against Nazi Socialism, and so hoped to control and elevate the all important morale of his countrymen. We tend to trust numeric reports.
Of course, numbers create as much anxiety as they do control. The disciples counted all the loaves and fishes that were gathered to feed the hundreds gathered on the hillside to hear Jesus speak. They became certain that there was not enough for all to eat and wanted to beat a retreat, letting each one take care of themselves.
"Everyone has a number," Jake, the young Wall Street newcomer says to his boss. "What's yours?" In other words, how much is enough? When is scarcity no longer a threat? What is the number of success? "More," is all Josh Brolin says as he plays the long experienced broker in the movie "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." A contemporary brokerage firm commercial these days asks the listener the same question, "What is Your Number?" Every retiree is meant to be challenged to give an answer to the queries of how much is enough.
"Don't waste your energy striving for perishable food like that, " Jesus teaches his disciples after they have miraculously provided bread for all to eat. There is no number that is adequate to the extinguishing of our perceived needs. "Throw your lot in with the One God has sent." (John 6: 29).
Jesus is not a number. Unlike the disciples of old and of so much fundamentalist religious speculation today that wants to quantify salvation and control God, Jesus wants us to throw our lot in with him. When you see him you see God, he would explain. Bet it all! Things change then.
Instead of checking my biking computer to measure the length of today's ride, throwing in with God reveals the gratitude in me for the abundant breath of life felt as I inhale that which no number could provide. Each day God restores our bodies, souls, and lives in ways that are more than enough. "I am the Alpha and the Omega." In God all things have being. Still today no one can count the stars or measure the heavens. There is a God and we are not it. Throw your lot in with Him.
During WWII Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of England, used statistics to exaggerate British prospects in the struggle against Nazi Socialism, and so hoped to control and elevate the all important morale of his countrymen. We tend to trust numeric reports.
Of course, numbers create as much anxiety as they do control. The disciples counted all the loaves and fishes that were gathered to feed the hundreds gathered on the hillside to hear Jesus speak. They became certain that there was not enough for all to eat and wanted to beat a retreat, letting each one take care of themselves.
"Everyone has a number," Jake, the young Wall Street newcomer says to his boss. "What's yours?" In other words, how much is enough? When is scarcity no longer a threat? What is the number of success? "More," is all Josh Brolin says as he plays the long experienced broker in the movie "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." A contemporary brokerage firm commercial these days asks the listener the same question, "What is Your Number?" Every retiree is meant to be challenged to give an answer to the queries of how much is enough.
"Don't waste your energy striving for perishable food like that, " Jesus teaches his disciples after they have miraculously provided bread for all to eat. There is no number that is adequate to the extinguishing of our perceived needs. "Throw your lot in with the One God has sent." (John 6: 29).
Jesus is not a number. Unlike the disciples of old and of so much fundamentalist religious speculation today that wants to quantify salvation and control God, Jesus wants us to throw our lot in with him. When you see him you see God, he would explain. Bet it all! Things change then.
Instead of checking my biking computer to measure the length of today's ride, throwing in with God reveals the gratitude in me for the abundant breath of life felt as I inhale that which no number could provide. Each day God restores our bodies, souls, and lives in ways that are more than enough. "I am the Alpha and the Omega." In God all things have being. Still today no one can count the stars or measure the heavens. There is a God and we are not it. Throw your lot in with Him.
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