Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Come and See

I am not going to be preaching this weekend but I wanted to pass along some thoughts I had regarding the Gospel for this week.


The reading for Sunday is from John 1:43-51 and is one of my favorites, not because one of our characters here is Andrew but because of how Jesus calls the disciples.

When Jesus calls the disciples on the beach he says "follow me," it is as simple as that, follow me is the command.  Nothing more and nothing less.  Jesus reaches out to people with an invitation to come and see what this is all about.  For me this feels the opposite from what many invitations are in our society today, especially from the church.

I feel what I have witnessed from the church is not an invitation to come and see but rather a question of what do you believe, can you prove it and does what you believe line up with our beliefs.  Jesus does not call down to the beach and tell them to "believe in me" but rather "follow me" it is not until the end of the Gospel that we hear a profession of faith from the disciples, only after they lived, loved and traveled with Jesus did they come to believe and understand who Jesus was.


Things do not begin with a demand of faith but rather with an invitation to come and see!

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Epiphany Reflection 2015

Until just a few years ago I had only given passing thought to Epiphany (the day when the wise guys showed up).  I understood the event and all but the significance did not sink in until recently.  As I was reading this morning from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals (the prayer book from Shane Claiborne) the Psalm of the day jumped out at me.

Psalm 33: 1-6
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous: it is good for the just to sing praises.
Praise the Lord with the harp: play to God upon the psaltery and lyre.
Sing for God a new song: sound a fanfare with all your skill upon the trumpet.
For the word of the Lord is right: and all God's works are sure.
God loves righteousness and justice: the loving-kindness of the Lord fills the whole earth.
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made: by the breath of Gods mouth all the heavenly hosts.

A few weeks have now passed since we gathered on Christmas Eve to celebrate Christ's birth.  It was a night filled with singing the old comforting hymns, gathering around the table for a meal, and witnessing the light of the world scattering the darkness.  As the church emptied that night and everyone went home we were on the cusp of a new day, Christmas Day. 

There were presents to open, family to see, traditions to fulfill on that day and days to come.  However, as the days past we began going back to work with a brief pause for New Years. By now we are settled back into our offices, schools, roles and lives, while Christmas feels like weeks ago.  

Bam, Epiphany happens.  This is the day that the Lord has made and this is the day that we recognize and remember that Christ didn't come into the world for just us gathered in that church on Christmas Eve.  These wise guys that show up came from a distant land, from a far far far away place bearing witness to the Savior of the World.

We hear in the Psalm for today that we are to "sing for God a new song, sound a fanfare"  This is a day that should break us out of our post Christmas slumber, the post holiday routine and remind us that this child came not just for us but for the whole world!  This child is for the whole world and all people.  That for me is the significance of the day and the reminder for me that this day is not like any other day.  No day is like any other day because we are constantly being made new and the world is constantly being renewed.