In Luke 4 beginning at 14 and ending with verse 30 we hear the story of how Jesus was rejected from Nazareth his home town. We understand this passage, rightly so, as a reminder that Jesus could not be accepted by those who knew him, who watched him grow up and in turn who turned against him - attempting to end his life here in this moment. And yet Jesus not only survives, he preforms a miracle in front of them that they all witness but none see.
For any who know my husband they know his ability to be looking for something and simple not see it. He is always asking him "where is ______" only for me to tell him that it is right in front of him, or perhaps even on him. No this isn't old age, he isn't there yet, it is simple your brains inability to "see" something you are striving really hard to find. Psychology even has a term for this and my husband should be picture in the dictionary for he is truly skilled at this.
I digressed to this because our passage from Luke ends with the verse: "But he [Jesus] passed through the midst of them and went on his way." An angry crowd who was ready to hurt and hurl Jesus off a cliff, a crowd who Jesus grew up in and surly knew his face and what he looked liked - missed Jesus as he walked amongst them for safety. Jesus was able to disguise himself from them. As Christ, Jesus uses disguise elsewhere (an example would be the Road to Damascus) to hide his true identity. In this passage it isn't that Jesus refuses to do miracle or to heal people who need it, but he simple states that it won't work - it isn't that he won't, he can't. For these people in Nazareth the Jesus that they know isn't the Christ that Jesus has become. In knowing and accepting the humanity of Jesus they are unable to see the Divine. In Jesus' ability to simple walk away from the crowd proves his point - they are unable to fully see the all that Christ has to offer!
And this is where we sit today. Church for many has become old hat, church has become a place where we go to socialize. Christianity for many simply means meaning a decent person or allowing "Christian" (not even "Christ") ethics to set up your life and decisions. On the search or hunt for the historical Christ we have fail to see the Christ that live and dwells around us and through us. We have fail to open ourselves up to the Divine presence and worst we have become like those in Nazareth.
Let us change that! Open yourself up to the Spirit of God. Allow yourself to see Christ anew, to allow yourself to be Redeemed and to allow your Spirit to be an extension of God in the world. See what Christ can offer your life if you allow your Spirit to be open. God is here in our world. The Redeem is walking amongst us and we are serving Jesus in many disguise, don't be like those in this passage today that can't or won't see God. Don't be afraid of what the true Divinity of Christ can offer you and open your eyes to the Spirit Divine!
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Sunday, January 24, 2016
The Spirit Works Within and Through...
...sometimes without us knowing.
That is for sure. When you are working and living in the world connected to God, it is truly amazing to see and feel how the Spirit may be working within the world and yes, even within you, before anyone realizes. Recently I met a women whose husband had passed away only a few hours before. My encounter with this stranger was brief and she stated at least twice how she was a strong woman and that was one thing her husband admired; yet but the end I knew I had to give her a hug. The push to hug this woman was so powerful, I was overcome by it and further I knew that I would regret it if I did not. After I hugged this woman she told me that her husband, who had pre-written his obituary, had told people in lieu of flowers give someone a hug. Yup, that hug was the Spirit moving through me!
Every time we walk into our YMCA there is a greeter, usually these are people with some form of handicap. One of these greeters is a younger man who has difficultly with speech and so they have a computer generated voice for him and he pressed buttons to talk. I have noticed many people walking past him without giving him time to greet them, for there is a slight delay. My children stop wait for him to press his button and say hello. One day my oldest told him that his "computer voice was cool." The smile on this young man's face lit up the room, but the best one was when my middle child ask his name. He told us his name and now when they go in and see him, they remember his name. This is surely the Spirit working in them to show God's love!
Once my mom and step-dad were heading to a dog park, completely frustrated with their puppy and beginning to believe that they just "couldn't do it." It was a difficult conversation on the way to the park. When they arrived there was a woman there with several of the same bread dogs as theirs - a bread known to be wonderful but needs a dominate owners. This woman showed them some tricks, gave them advice and encouraged them. They walked away from that park feeling confident and several years later wouldn't imagine life without that dog. They are frequent dog-park goers and although that woman helped them that day they have never seen her again. That was the Spirit moving through that woman.
These might all seem like crazy examples or examples of just "decent people" but I want to point out that our life isn't always full of extreme moments in which we need God. Our life isn't all about the very low - but mostly life is about the every day. Life is about the ordinary days that we live striving each day to accomplish what needs to get down. Life is about the same-day to day unless we open ourselves to the Creator and the beauty around us. Unless we open ourselves up to see how even in the small details, the Spirit can move and work!
My middle child, who is my oldest son, told me while painting that my painting "wasn't beautiful" while comparing mine to his sister's whose was "sooo beautiful." My painting was a realist example while hers was a modern abstract piece. Mine looked like a bird, hers had all the right "colors" for that bird not all the right lines. Beauty, especially God's beauty, is found all around us in life. If we only look for it in the box we have created called "God" then we may miss out on the true beauty of the Spirit that is whirling around us.
That is for sure. When you are working and living in the world connected to God, it is truly amazing to see and feel how the Spirit may be working within the world and yes, even within you, before anyone realizes. Recently I met a women whose husband had passed away only a few hours before. My encounter with this stranger was brief and she stated at least twice how she was a strong woman and that was one thing her husband admired; yet but the end I knew I had to give her a hug. The push to hug this woman was so powerful, I was overcome by it and further I knew that I would regret it if I did not. After I hugged this woman she told me that her husband, who had pre-written his obituary, had told people in lieu of flowers give someone a hug. Yup, that hug was the Spirit moving through me!
Every time we walk into our YMCA there is a greeter, usually these are people with some form of handicap. One of these greeters is a younger man who has difficultly with speech and so they have a computer generated voice for him and he pressed buttons to talk. I have noticed many people walking past him without giving him time to greet them, for there is a slight delay. My children stop wait for him to press his button and say hello. One day my oldest told him that his "computer voice was cool." The smile on this young man's face lit up the room, but the best one was when my middle child ask his name. He told us his name and now when they go in and see him, they remember his name. This is surely the Spirit working in them to show God's love!
Once my mom and step-dad were heading to a dog park, completely frustrated with their puppy and beginning to believe that they just "couldn't do it." It was a difficult conversation on the way to the park. When they arrived there was a woman there with several of the same bread dogs as theirs - a bread known to be wonderful but needs a dominate owners. This woman showed them some tricks, gave them advice and encouraged them. They walked away from that park feeling confident and several years later wouldn't imagine life without that dog. They are frequent dog-park goers and although that woman helped them that day they have never seen her again. That was the Spirit moving through that woman.
These might all seem like crazy examples or examples of just "decent people" but I want to point out that our life isn't always full of extreme moments in which we need God. Our life isn't all about the very low - but mostly life is about the every day. Life is about the ordinary days that we live striving each day to accomplish what needs to get down. Life is about the same-day to day unless we open ourselves to the Creator and the beauty around us. Unless we open ourselves up to see how even in the small details, the Spirit can move and work!
My middle child, who is my oldest son, told me while painting that my painting "wasn't beautiful" while comparing mine to his sister's whose was "sooo beautiful." My painting was a realist example while hers was a modern abstract piece. Mine looked like a bird, hers had all the right "colors" for that bird not all the right lines. Beauty, especially God's beauty, is found all around us in life. If we only look for it in the box we have created called "God" then we may miss out on the true beauty of the Spirit that is whirling around us.
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