“Jesus Goes Hunting”

Matthew 4: 12-23

 

A young executive was leaving the office late one evening when he found the CEO standing in front of a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Listen," said the CEO, "this is a very sensitive and important document here, and my secretary has gone for the night. Can you make this thing work?"

"Certainly," said the young executive. He turned the machine on, inserted the paper, and pressed the start button.  "Excellent, excellent!" said the CEO as his paper disappeared inside the machine. "I just need one copy."

Whoops! Leaders depend on their followers. Leaders find followers who know what they need. Jesus was no different. But not all bosses are equal.

The new vice president was flaunting his title so much that one of his co-workers finally said to him, “These days vice presidents are a dime-a-dozen. In fact, the title is getting so ridiculous, my supermarket has a vice president in charge of peas.

The new V. P. was insulted, and skeptical. So he phoned the store and asked for the vice president in charge of peas. The voice on the line asked, “Canned or Frozen?”

Company leadership or even positions of power and prestige in organizations often come about by chance. An old computer legend tells about how DOS (Disk Operating Software) beat out a competing brand to be included in the personal computer.

The competitor’s developer decided to play golf one morning and wasn’t in his office to receive a telephone call to come and share his system. Bill Gates and his friends were. And the rest is history.

Today we’re going to continue talking about Jesus’ call of disciples. I sometimes wonder if God chooses the Disciples specifically or used those nearby with the talents and abilities He could use.

Does it make a difference to be divinely appointed or does God use who is willing?

 

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

"Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea--for they were fishermen.

And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. (NRSV)

I mentioned last week that it depends on which Gospel you are reading regarding which Disciples were recruited in what order. I don’t think it matters a whole lot – and I don’t think Jesus every really marked one disciple out over any others. Each had unique talents and abilities.

It doesn’t seem like Jesus had to hold interviews or job fairs, did he? It doesn’t seem as if He needs to hunt down His disciples; they appear before Him as he travels. We usually think God chooses the disciples, but what if He just used those who were around?

What message would it send to use that God called ordinary people to do extraordinary things? What if He could call us too? 

The Gospel writers were slightly different in the way the ministry and life of Jesus and those who followed Him are recorded. Not in the important things, but in the ways that individuals would notice and report.

Unlike what some people’s views of Christianity may be, we celebrate and embrace the diversity of believers and recognize it would be boring otherwise.

Jesus doesn’t seem to have a corporate model of the ideal disciple in mind. But He does have the ideal corporate motto: Repent, believe in Me, Heaven is near..

But think about Jesus’ time.

Israel was a servant state to the power of the Roman Empire. Jewish hopes were based on the Laws given to Moses and most Jews could not see past the rituals that shadowed the coming Messiah.

The Messiah was just prophecy in most Jewish minds. It was hard to translate into flesh/blood.

To them, a Messiah meant a deliverer King, a fighting man with near supernatural ability to defeat the Romans and expel them in defeat. To most people the question was: Who was this hillbilly carpenter’s son that thought of Himself so highly that he spoke near blasphemy in their minds and in their hearing?

Jesus was not what they envisioned. They did not want a poor man of lowly means that had no power of making war. Jesus was a Man who fit every prophecy of a coming Messiah to the letter.  And He fulfilled them in full view of hundreds, if not thousands.

It’s amazing to know that there were some who knew that Jesus was the person the people had been waiting for over 400 years. They knew every last detail of His coming and His family ancestry, based on the clear words of the Torah and the prophets, and they still didn’t recognize Him, nor accept Him.

If you look back at Scripture, to when Jesus rose from the grave and appeared to the apostles and many others, even the men who followed Jesus for 3.5 years still did not understand the reason for the coming of the Messiah, and realize it was Jesus.

As Jesus spoke with them, just before He ascended to heaven, the disciples asked Him in Acts 1: 6-7: “Now those who had come together began to ask him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know what times or periods the Father has set by his own authority.”

At this time, even these men who lived, ate, and slept near the King of kings while He was a Man on earth, they still did not recognize His mission.

They would start getting their stuff together when the day of Pentecost came as they were filled with the Holy Spirit and the ability to speak out boldly of who Jesus Christ really was, what His mission had been, and revelation of what He had accomplished.

They would teach that He brought salvation to the Jew first, then to the Gentiles, as Paul, who wasn’t even an original disciple, eventually took the message to the Gentile nations in Asia Minor and the world.

If your look at it that way you begin to see that people may be called to discipleship, but they still have to grow into it.

So who does God call? Someone who can answer witty questions such as the one I remember from my Industrial/Organizational Psych class as an interview question:

You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night. You pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus: 

1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.

2. An old friend who once saved your life.

3. The perfect man (or) woman you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car?

Think before you answer. (The old lady, the old friend, or the perfect man or  woman?). By the way this is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application training process.

You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first; or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream partner again.

The candidate who gave the best answer (out of an initial 200 answers) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered: “I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams.”

This answer is what’s called “Thinking Outside of the Box." But people who think outside boxes are unorthodox, often headstrong, and given to streaks of independence.

Kind of how Satan got to be who he is. And that's not good.

But if you think about it Jesus wants people who are willing to submit themselves to living, thinking, praying, and worshipping inside the Box of Christianity and the church.

Jesus doesn't want people to be God - He wants them to be willing to follow God within God's Will.

God uses each of us as we are because we are all capable of discipleship on Jesus’ terms. Whether you call it hunting or fishing Jesus would have us share Him with the world. Amen.

 

 

“WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR”

John 1: 29-42 NRSV

 

This message is more a thought provoker meant to get you thinking a little bit about how Jesus called His disciples.

 

What does it mean to be a member, follower, adherent, disciple, associate, affiliate, partner, constituent, or component of an organization, interest group, or group of people with a common identity, cause, or need?

 

An international Evangelism Fellowship group estimates that there are about 16,000 distinct ethnic human “Gospel” groups in the world. They are distinguished by groups of people that have no barriers to communion within their group.

 

You can be community minded as a volunteer fireman, be a member of the Lion’s Club, volunteer to pick-up trash, support a political party, join Sam’s Club, or just be a member of your local church in good standing.

 

You can be recruited, self identified, volunteer, or be forced into a group such as the heart zipper (bypass) club many of you are a member of.

 

You can joyfully participate, resist, or even adamantly deny your membership.

 

But in the end, most people join or participate because it meets some kind of need or desire. We should always ask ourselves “What are we looking for?” in order to determine what to do and where to go.

 

(Some of us in the modern church have never had the opportunity to ask that question of church because we were born into it and will never attend another church in our life.)

 

Listen to our Gospel Lesson for today from John, Chapter1, verses 29-42:

 

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

 

This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'  I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel."

 

And John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'

 

 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God."

 

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

 

When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see."

 

They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon.

 

One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed).

 

He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).

 

This story picks up shortly after Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River.

 

Jesus is in the process of beginning His ministry and He is gathering disciples. Jesus identified and called His disciples into service. We feel He still does.

 

I recently saw a “Biblical Secrets” show on the History Channel that said Jesus wouldn’t have had much trouble finding followers because there were a lot of unattached men wandering around the Sea of Galilee, out of work, and looking for someone to free them from Roman occupation.

 

To these people, Jesus’ recruitment success, apparently, was due more to a desire for revolution and political intrigue, than a call to spirituality and ministry. 

 

I’m sorry but I reject that point of view. Sometimes we are so jaded by the times we live that we place agendas in the minds of historical figures that are fairly ludicrous.  Many churches and denominations are projecting social issues into the Gospel because justice and civil rights issues sell papers and fill some pews.

 

The men who would become disciples may have had a degree of discomfort with the government but that’s not reflected anywhere in the Biblical texts. They were more concerned with fellowship, relationship issues, and remaining in good standing in the Jewish Temple.

 

These were men who were involved with John the Baptist, or active in their local synagogues. They were hard workers and good citizens. Even Judas, had good work references.

 

The key to getting the handle on the calling of the disciples is one key verse: When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?"

 

I think Jesus was so special, so real and authentic, that he had answers that people wanted. He was a person who had the character, commitment, and love that people are looking for.

 

Jesus was fresh and different in His call to a more simplified Jewish faith, and that superficially captivated a lot of people.

 

What qualities is Jesus looking for in disciples? The same characteristics we should hold near and dear in church members. These are what He saw in the Disciples.

 

The first is integrity. If you can’t be honest with yourself Jesus isn’t where you want to be. You see we’re called to repentance; and if you can’t recognize and confess your sins, forget it.

 

The second is trust. If you’re not willing to trust God and others who trust God, then you will be wasting your time.

 

Third, you must have respect for authority, both for the church leaders around you, and a good old fashioned fear of God based on the knowledge of His Love. If you don’t, you’re spinning your wheels.

 

Fourth, you must be willing to commit to a search for competence. You have to study, understand, and apply God’s Word and Will to your life. Ignorance of God’s Will or Word will not prevent the consequences from happening.

Fifth, you should have a readiness to share knowledge and ideas with the people  around you and your family. You can’t hide your light under a bushel basket, as the song goes.

 

Sixth, and probably the most important aspect of being a disciple is accepting a

willingness to take responsibility that it just might be you who needs to do something, say something, or take on a job. You must lead, follow, or get out of the way, you can’t just sit there.

 

Seventh, you must develop a desire to be productive. Doing nothing to serve God should make you uneasy.

 

Eight, your productivity should be accomplished with enthusiasm, It’s the joy, hope, and love you have received from God’s Grace.

 

Ninth, and just a little harder, is setting and achieving goals and objectives of the church and/or ministry goals/plans, This follow through accentuates the use of resources. If the disciples hadn’t carried through after Jesus ascension – we wouldn’t have a church today.

 

Tenth, you need to sharpen and develop good interpersonal skills, in order to talk and interact with people in your faith and physical community.

 

Eleven and Twelve are the ability to listen and the desire to act on feedback-criticism to do better.

 

Jesus listened, communicated, taught, became an example, and cared for others.

 

Not only did He talk theory He lived His belief.

 

Remember John the Baptist watches Jesus walk by him – Jesus was involved and among the people and community. He wasn’t nor did He want to be a religious icon or figurehead, all things prohibited by Judaism.

 

We, as the embodiment of His church are called to do likewise. Amen.

 

The Oldest Story in the Bible
Matthew 3: 13-17 (NRSV)

A hillbilly comes to the city and is walking down the street. He sees this nun, runs up and knocks her over. He says, "You don't feel so tough now, do you, Batman!?"

(Now that's a case of mistaken identity) 

A snake and a rabbit were racing along a pair of intersecting forest pathways
one day, when they collided at the intersection. They immediately began to argue
with one another as to who was at fault for the mishap. When the snake remarked
that he had been blind since birth, and should be given leeway, the rabbit said that he, too, had been blind since birth.

The two animals then forgot about the collision and began talking about the problems of being blind. The snake said that his greatest regret knowing his identity. He had never been able to see his reflection in the water, and for that reason did not know exactly what he looked like, or even what he was. The rabbit declared that he had the same problem.

Seeing a way that they could help each other, the rabbit suggested that one feel
the other from head to toe, and then try to describe what the other animal was.
The snake agreed, and started by winding himself around the rabbit. After a few
moments, he announced, "You have got very soft, fuzzy fur, long ears, big rear
feet, and a little fuzzy ball for a tail. I think that you must be a bunny rabbit!"

The rabbit was much relieved to find out who he was, and proceeded to return the
favor to the snake. After feeling about the snake's body for a few minutes, he
asserted, "Well, you are scaly, you are slimy, you have got beady little eyes,
you squirm and slither all the time, and you have got a forked tongue. I think
you are a politician!"

In discussing identity a Rabbi tells the following story to illustrate the point that

what  people think about us matters:  

Charlie walks up to Harry in the street, taps him on the shoulder and when Harry z turns, he sends him sprawling to the ground with a solid punch to the nose. He then says, "take that, Michael, you lousy excuse for a human!!"  

The bleeding man yells   back, "I'm Harry, you idiot! I am NOT Michael."

Realizing his error, Charlie apologizes profusely and begs forgiveness for the error of mistaken identity. However, Harry remains furious and lets loose more insults.

Finally, Charlie says, "please Harry, calm down. Why are you so upset? Why do you care so much about how I treat this Michael guy?" 

Identity matters a lot in who we respect, are influenced by, and how we ourselves are treated by others. A reputation may cause or solve problems. 

In the Gospel of Matthew, 3: 13-17 this morning God is presenting His Beloved Son Jesus to the world. No one who heard God’s voice that day would have doubted who Jesus was. God was developing the birth certificate to prove Jesus’ identity to the people then, and to us now.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.  

And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."  

Jesus spent every day of His life being who He was. Latter scriptures proclaim His desire to do the Will of His Father even though He could have done something else.  

He did not rebel against God like Lucifer and the fallen angels did. He did not take advantage of His relationship to the Father to assert His Will into anything. How we handle the Free Will God offers us in the oldest story of the Bible. And Jesus’ story comes out the right way with the right identity intact. 

Henry Harbaugh, a Pastor of the German Reformed Church Seminary in the 1860’s, and someone who preached in this church frequently, called this passage of Jesus’ Baptism the “Messianic Ordination” of Jesus by God. 

Baptism, by the way, does not save anyone. It was never intended to do so. Rather, it is a time that we use, in following Christ’s example, of proclaiming our new Christian identity.  It is the day we are ordained to Christian Fellowship. 

Perhaps Baptist churches should change their names to the “Christian Identity Church.” 

We know that walking in faith and as authentic Christians giving forth the fruits of our walk that no one can ever steal our identity. The song says “They’ll Know We are Christians By our Love, but it should be “By Our Baptism!” 

Think back to the Garden of Eden. The serpent induced Adam and Eve to give up their identity as friends of God when he encouraged them to doubt God’s Word.

God has been working ever since to offer each of us the same opportunity to claim what Jesus received in Blessing that day in the Jordan River. We receive this blessing by acknowledging and believing in His Beloved Son. 

But friends don’t let identity theft screw you up. One of the most horrible incidents of identity theft came to a head in October 2012. 

When Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Richard Blanco—a member of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in Jacksonville—interviewed an individual suspected of driver’s license fraud in 2011, he wasn’t initially sure if the man was the victim or the perpetrator of identity theft. 

That’s because the man—now imprisoned and officially known as John Doe—had a stack of government-issued identification acquired during the 22 years he had been using a living victim’s identity. That included a passport, driver’s license, birth certificate, Social Security card, and identification allowing him unescorted access to a military installation as a Government Contractor. 

“He was extremely convincing that he was the victim,” said Blanco, a veteran trooper with more than 30 years on the force. “When you have 20 forms of identification and it’s in your possession,” Blanco explained, “it’s hard to not believe you are the person you say you are.” 

But John Doe was indeed an imposter, and while he was living under another man’s name, the real victim was living a nightmare. It all started in 1989, when the victim’s car was broken into and his wallet was stolen. His identity had been compromised. 

John Doe began using the victim’s name, even when he went to prison for aggravated battery. As a result, Blanco said, “If you run John Doe’s fingerprints, even today, they will come back with the victim’s name.” 

When the victim, a Miami resident, applied to become a corrections officer, he had to explain why his records showed a felony conviction. He urged officials to compare his fingerprints to those of John Doe’s.  

When the victim applied for a passport, he was denied because the passport office claimed he already had one—the one that John Doe had applied for and received. 

When Blanco was able to talk with the real victim, he heard two decades worth of frustration. The victim had filed a police report years before, but John Doe had never been caught or stopped.

Blanco remembers the victim telling him, “This guy has been living my identity. He’s gotten my license suspended and he’s had kids in my name.” 

When Blanco realized that he was dealing with a massive and long-running case of identity fraud, John Doe was arrested. The JTTF opened an investigation, and John Doe was eventually indicted federally on numerous counts of aggravated identity theft and fraud. 

In December 2013, a jury convicted John Doe—who continues to insist he is the real victim in the case—and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Despite DNA testing and a thorough investigation, his real identity remains a mystery. 

“It will continue to be a mystery unless he makes an admission to us,” Blanco said, adding, “I don’t know what he’s going to do when he gets out of prison, because the man doesn’t have an identity.” 

Friends that what Satan wants to do to each of us – steal our identities and take away any hope of ever regaining a relationship with God.

It’s the oldest story in the Bible that began even before God created us. 

His methods are cloaked with false light; things that look good and feel good, but have no lasting value; ideas that seem politically and humanly correct, but end in death and destruction and lives of sin. 

Did you know there’s a group who wants to put up a statue to Satan? It’s suppose to take the place where a cross had been displayed before. 

Folks that kind of stuff, even if we live in a free country, should make you shiver. It should be an alien thought for a Christian to deal with because we should never allow it to be a part of our identity. Just a few years ago our society would have considered them outcasts, now they are considered 1^st Amendment heroes. 

Come to the light and truth of Jesus. Allow His identity to become yours. God will bless you and keep you, and shine His face upon you as well. Amen.

 

“POWER WORDS”

John 1: 1-18 (NRSV)

 

The Sunday School teacher asked her class to draw pictures of their favorite Bible stories. She was puzzled by 8 year old Kyle's picture, which showed four people on an airplane, so she asked him which story it was meant to represent.

"The flight to Egypt," said Kyle. "I see ... And that must be Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus," the teacher pointed out, but then said, "but who's the fourth person?" "Oh, that's Pontius-the Pilot.

 

We remember names, words, and phrases that make an impact in our memory.

 

A collector of rare books ran into an acquaintance who told him he had just thrown away an old Bible that he found in a dusty, old box. He happened to mention that Guten-somebody-or-other had printed it.
 

"Not Gutenberg?" gasped the collector. "Yep, that was it!" "You idiot! You've thrown away one of the first books with words ever printed. A copy recently sold at auction for half a million dollars!"
      
"Oh, I don't think this book would have been worth anything close to that much," replied the man. "It was scribbled all over in the margins by some guy named Martin Luther."

 

Words have meaning. Words translate into power. Power translates into influence and changing behaviors.

 

A young boy had just gotten his driving permit. He asked his father, who was a minister, if they could discuss the use of the car. His father took him to his study and said to him, "I'll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study your bible a little and get your hair cut and we'll talk about it."
  
After about a month the boy came back and again asked his father if they could discuss use of the car. They again went to the father's study where his father said, "Son, I've been real proud of you. You have brought your grades up, you've studied your bible diligently, but you didn't get your hair cut!"

The young man waited a moment and replied, "You know Dad, I've been thinking about that. You know, Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair...."

To which his father replied...."Yes, and they WALKED everywhere they went!"

 

Have you ever considered how important words are to God? After all He gave us Holy Scriptures that tell us about Him, His ideas and desires, and His will. Listen to the most unique Gospel we have: John 1: 1-18:

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not one thing came into being.

 

What has come into being with Him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

 

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

 

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was His own, and his own people did not accept him.

 

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

 

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”)

 

From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

 

No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

 

A 7 year old went to the revival services on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights. He never went forward during any of the invitations.

 

After Friday night’s service he walked up the evangelist in the parking lot and said, “Let me ask you something.  You say I have ask Jesus Christ into my life.” The evangelist replied, “That’s right.”

“I’m 7 years old,” the boy said, “how big is Jesus?” “He pretty good sized,” the evangelist told him, “He was a carpenter.” “That’s what I thought,” the boy told him, “If I were to ask him into me, would he stick out?”

 

The evangelist smiled and told him, “You’ve got the message! More and more he’d stick out.”

 

When you are 7 years old it’s not too hard to take God at His word. This passage in John should simplify our understanding of God. Jesus was sent so we can know God better, and understand His love and grace on a personal level.

 

We try to muck it up with our doctrines, our traditions, and our human habits and desires, but our scriptures remain clear and concise. The incarnation of God into human form may have been mysterious but it resulted in our getting close to His Love and truth. 

 

Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary: "The plainest reason why the Son of God is called the Word, seems to be, that as our words explain our minds to others, so was the Son of God sent in order to reveal his Father's mind to the world."

 

Let’s talk about what calling Jesus God’s Word means.

 

Jesus speaks not a doctrine or a religion, but a reality, namely, that He Himself: "I am the truth." This is a profound transformation of the ordinary meaning of truth.

 

For humanity, statements are true or false; people may have truth or not; but how can they be truth, even the truth? The truth of which John’s Gospel speaks is a true reality—that reality which does not deceive us if we accept it and live with it.

 

Yet it becomes the words of God and not God’s Word when we speak it. We hold Jesus sacred but we can’t do the same for the words of God. They are important only as they truly reflect the truth of God’s Word Jesus. The words of God in our Bible remain only God’s words in human language.

 

Bibles can be burned and we don’t have to get upset. God’s Word can never be altered or destroyed.

 

It cuts through all the crap of human existence outside God.  If Jesus says, "I am the truth," he indicates that in Him the true, the genuine, the ultimate reality is present; or, in other words, that God is present, unveiled, undistorted, in His infinite depth, in His unapproachable mystery, yet now suddenly revealed.

 

Jesus is not the truth because His teachings are true. But His teachings are true because they express the truth which He Himself is. He is more than His words. And He is more than any word said about Him.

 

How do we reach this truth? "By doing it," is the answer of John’s  Gospel. This does not mean being obedient to the commandments, accepting them and fulfilling them. Doing the truth means living out of the reality which is He who is the truth, making Him our world.

But again, we ask, "How can this happen?" "By remaining in Him" is the answer of John’s Gospel, i.e., by participating in His life. "Abide in me and I in you," he says.

 

The truth which liberates is the truth in which we participate, which is a part of us and we a part of it. True discipleship is participation.

 

A man named Jack was walking along a steep cliff one day, when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down and to his horror saw that the canyon fell straight down for more than a thousand feet.
      
He couldn't hang onto the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep wall of the cliff. So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear him and lower a rope or something.
      
HELP! HELP! Is anyone up there? "HELP!" He yelled for a long time, but no one heard him. He was about to give up when he heard a voice. “Jack, Jack. Can you hear me?"
      
"Yes, yes! I can hear you. I'm down here!" "I can see you, Jack. Are you all right?"
      
"Yes, but who are you, and where are you?” "I am the Lord, Jack. I'm everywhere."
      
"The Lord? You mean, GOD?"  "That's Me."
      
"God, please help me! I promise if, you'll get me down from here, I'll stop sinning. I'll be a really good person. I'll serve You for the rest of my life." "Easy on the promises, Jack. Let's get you off from there; then we can talk."
  
"Now, here's what I want you to do. Listen carefully." "I'll do anything, Lord. Just tell me what to do." "Okay. Let go of the branch.""What?" "I said, let go of the branch. Just trust Me. Let go."
      
There was a long silence. Finally Jack yelled, "HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE ELSE UP THERE?" //// - You and I both know the answer to that question, don’t we?

 

Listen carefully friends, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not one thing came into being.”

 

Now those are power words. Believe in Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

THE GRINCH WHO TRIED TO STEAL CHRISTMAS

When Dr. Seuss (Theodore Guisel) wrote the story “The Grinch who stole Christmas” in 1957 he struggled for a long time with how to end the story. His overwhelming desire was to end it with a religious message of morality to the young folks who would be exposed to it. But he couldn’t find the perfect words.

Instead the story ends with the Grinch dancing around Whoville’s tree with a bigger heart. The Grinch seemingly has been forgiven and taken into the family of the Grinch’s intended victims. The Grinch has learned to abide, as a forgiven sinner secure in God’s amazing grace.

It is a heartwarming story of the dangers of the social and commercial high-jacking of Christmas and a story of forgiveness.

But the true story of a man who would-be Grinch and Dr. Seuss’s  life-sized inspiration is much more scary. Let’s read the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, verses 13-23:

Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

¹⁴Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, ¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

¹⁶When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.

¹⁷Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: ¹⁸“A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

¹⁹When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ²⁰“Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.”

²¹Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.

²²But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee.

²³There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

Have you ever considered that the story of Christmas is actually a very dark one? Mary and Joseph, and their country are forced to participate in a census carried on by oppressive occupiers known for cruelty, corruption, and bullying.

Then the town they are travelling to is so crowded, there's no safe and secure place for the pregnant girl about to deliver her child, a child whose very existence is controversial, that the couple settle for an animal's hut or cave, neither clean nor pretty, for the birth.

Meanwhile, the local king, a paranoid maniac, dying of a painful skin disease, who has killed his wife, sons, mother-in-law and countless others learns about the child. He, out of fear and paranoia, orders the massacre of all the male children under the age of two in a savage act of terror.

God intervenes and the mother and father escape, carrying with their child the guilt of survival.

There is some archaeological evidence and Jewish history to support this scriptural passage. We just don’t know how widespread the slaughter of the innocents was. This story lends the nativity some credibility that a happily-ever-after fairy-tale wouldn’t have.  

Jesus enters a real world, similar to ours, where children are poor, starving,   enslaved, and then poisoned in the name of power and greed. REAL Life is brutal.

Taking the Nativity story out of the grim context of the actual world it occurs in to make it pretty, defeats the purpose of the Incarnation, and why Jesus was needed.

This passage tells us of another night in Bethlehem. No angel chorus was heard that evening. No Gloria in excelsis. The air that night was rent with shrieks–shrieks and cries; sobs and tears. Newborn babies lie bundled in grave cloths–laid to rest–cradled in fresh-turned earth.

The birth of Jesus is not a fairy tale, it is a story that shows man’s need for a savior and rescue from the depravity of sin.

The streets of Bethlehem echo misery, and the prophecy of “Rachael weeping for her children” is fulfilled. That’s the story of the real Grinch.

I'm sure that most of you have read the story of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." If you haven't read the story, perhaps you have seen the movie.

Remember how everyone in Who-ville loved Christmas? Everyone, that is, except the Grinch. The Grinch hated Christmas and made up a plan to spoil the joy of Christmas in Who-ville. His plan was to dress up as Santa Claus and go into Who-ville and steal all of their Christmas presents, all of their Christmas trees, and even the food for their Christmas dinner.

What a terrible thing to do! Do you know why the Grinch hated Christmas so much? Well, according to the story, it was because his heart was too small!

He was so selfish that he hated to see anyone else who was happy and enjoying themselves. But, as you know, the Grinch's plan did not work. Why? Because the people in Who-ville knew that the real joy of Christmas does not come from the presents, decorations, and food -- it comes from a heart filled with love.

In the true story of the "Grinch" who tried to steal Christmas the Grinch tried to steal the very first Christmas. This "Grinch" was a king by the name of Herod.

After Jesus was born, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and asked where they could find the child who had been born to be the king of the Jews. "We have seen his star in the sky and want to worship him" they said.

When Herod heard about this, he told the men that when they found the child, they should come back and tell him where the child was so that he could worship him too.

The truth is, Herod didn't really want to worship Jesus, he wanted to kill him.  A lot of the would be grinches in our world today don't want to just ignore Christianity - they want to kill it.

Why? Perhaps his heart was too small! Herod was so selfish and greedy that he was afraid Jesus would become more popular than he was and perhaps even take over his kingdom.

Well, Herod's plan to kill Jesus didn't work. After the wise men found Jesus and gave him gifts, an angel told them about Herod's plan and they went back home without telling Herod where they had found Jesus.

An angel also appeared to Joseph and warned him of Herod's plan and told him to take Mary and the baby Jesus to Egypt where they would be safe.

And so, we see that since the very first Christmas, Grinches have been trying to steal the joy of Christmas. There may be some "Grinches" that are trying to steal your Christmas joy. It will never work -- unless your heart is too small.

Make sure that your heart is big enough to share the love and joy of Christmas with everyone you meet -- not just at Christmas -- but all year long.

Let us pray:

Dear Father, we thank you for the joy that Jesus brings. Help us to share that joy with everyone we meet. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.