Stir
There is a
scene in the Bible — Matthew 11 — where John the Baptist sends one of his
disciples to ask Jesus a question: “Are you the one who is to come, or are we
to wait for another?” It is one thing to do the dirty work for a friend and ask
a girl whether she thinks he is cool or whatever, but it is another thing to ask
the Messiah if he really is, well, the Messiah.
Are you really
the one?
Jesus turns to
the poor fellow, whose knees I imagine were knocking as loud as the bass
drummer in the grade school band, and says, “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.
And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
Wait. What?
That’s it?
Nothing else? No Roman Road, or long, detailed analysis of the Hebrew Scriptures?
No theological declaration that articulates the Trinity?
Just “Go and
tell…”
Notice how
Jesus doesn’t answer the question with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.” Also, isn’t it
interesting how Jesus does not proclaim himself but proclaims the reign and
love of God in this interaction? Ultimately Jesus came among the people to
serve them, bringing life. Instead of casting away those persons who are
at the margins of society -- persons that many would want to send away and out
of sight -- it is precisely to those people that the Messiah came to restore
and save.
Some of us at
First Presbyterian Church are reading a book titled Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the
Soul of a Generation by Eboo Patel. In it, Eboo recalls a moment in his
journey of faith when he ran across a guy who was always starting up new clubs
at his college. When Eboo asked why he always was doing something, his
colleague replied, “Because the most important thing you can learn is how to
turn an idea into reality…”
So I ask you,
what have you seen? If all you have seen is the ‘bad’, I invite you then to
step back, take a deep breath, and listen with your eyes for the goodness of
God. As you do, it is my hope you’ll recognize how Jesus comes among us in His
Word and through the Spirit to stir us up, to get involved in his ministry among
those who are left out, on the margins of society, and who are in need.
Our involvement
need not be as extravagant and exciting as restoring sight to the blind and
hearing to the deaf. Rather, what God may stir up with us is to remind people
of their beloved-ness, to see people as the beautiful creation they are, and to
tell others about the goodness and love of God.
Chances are,
this won’t answer any real questions.
But it might inspire hope, bringing to fruition the very real idea that God
loves the world…
So friends,
tell the world what you have seen. Tell your colleagues about God’s love by
exhibiting God’s love. Change the world by loving! Change the community by
loving! Change yourself by loving!
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