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Vengeance and Grace
By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
January 30, 2022
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Luke 4:21–30 (ESV)
21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘ “Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.
Today we begin where we left off last week. I find this to be a bit ironic to be honest, because so often we begin where we left off. So often we seem to repeat the same things over and over again. All too often I find myself struggling with the same vices that I have struggled with for years. And I ask myself why am I still here? Why am I still tempted with this? Why have I not moved forward and beyond?
The answers can be many, in fact it might be that you are right where you are supposed to be spiritually. Not every moment of our walk of faith is going to filled with miraculous signs and wonders. At times life is just ordinary. Life is plain. Life is just a cycle of repeated scenarios. Yes, there are moments that are different, moments that take our breath away. Moments that give us hope. Like for no reason your husband brings you flowers. Or you wake up in the morning and you find that your kids have put away all the clothes you folded and didn’t have the energy to worry about. There are moments where hope seems to astonish us, but it is not in the big things, miracles are rare, it is instead in small things that take us by surprise.
While I drive around town making deliveries I tend to listen to podcasts and audiobooks. This week I listened to a podcast called “Ask NT Wright Anything.” These episodes are filled with questions people have sent in and the famous former Anglican Bishop, professor, and bible scholars will give answers to them. This week Tom, as he desires to call himself, mentioned something that I had not really thought about. NT Wright wrote a biography on the life of Paul the apostle, and I do not know what the conversation was about because my ears tuned out when Tom said Paul wrote this while he was struggling with depression. This floored me. It made me realize that even our Biblical Heroes were human just like us. Of course, I already knew this intellectually but to actually hear someone say that Paul wrote this portion of scripture while he was struggling through depression made me realize just how human and ordinary, we all are.
Our spiritual lives, our lives of faith, are ordinary most of the time. We have moments we feel closer to God than ever, and then there are moments where we seemingly rinse and repeat. Our prayers discuss the same struggles, the same needs, the same, the same, the same. And in those moments, we can be caught off guard. In the moments of monotony, we can become distracted. During those times, our faith is at its greatest risk. It is easy to hold on to our faith around Christmas, and Easter. It is easy to claim faith when we speak about our stances on particular issues, we find to be important. But how often do we check how our faith has shifted when we are going through the ordinary times? Do we even notice the drift when we have spent the week consuming news media that is exclusively one sided?
I mention this because that is what is going on in this passage today. And yes, part of it is repeated from last week. Today’s passage begins with the one sentence sermon from Jesus, which is the first sermon that Luke has recorded in his gospel account. It is by no means Jesus’s first sermon because today’s passage clearly states that Jesus had been active within the community of Capernaum.
Jesus had just finished reading a portion of scripture in Isiah that stated, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) After reading those words, Jesus sat down and everyone looked at him with eagerness. Jesus just sits there for a moment; he lets the words sit on the surface of their minds and begin to seep into those forgotten recesses. Then as the words begin to make their way into their mind and as he notices the eagerness building on their faces, he says, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Again, he stops, he lets the words move the people. He allows them to interpret them as they will. We often hear what we want to hear. It might surprise you but most of what you think I have said over the past twelve years of ministry has not come from my mouth, but your own mind. Most of what has angered you, blessed you, comforted you, or inspired you are not my words. You can go back and look at every sermon I have given over the past ten years on my blog, unfortunately you can’t look at the past twelve because I started the blog ten years ago. You can read every one and you will probably not find the words that set you off in positive or negative ways, because in most cases I did not say them. I am not that smart. I am not that observant. I am just the same person that at one time sat listening to the pastor in those same pews you all sit in today. We hear what is in our hearts. We hear what the Sprit of God wants us to hear. If it angers you, that anger is not something you need to direct at me, but at yourself because it might be that your ideas are going against God, and God is calling you into repentance. If it inspires you, it is the Spirit guiding you into a new place of examination. If it comforts you, it is the Spirit telling you to just stay and rest for a while.
The congregation spoke well of the words that Jesus spoke, they marveled at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They testified or bore witness to these things. They were amazed at what this simple carpenter from among them was saying. But then there was a turning. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
They were excited, they were moved, and then just as suddenly there was a turning. They went from amazement to confrontation. In a heartbeat the atmosphere changed, the sun was shining and now a thunderstorm is looming.
What is the change? As the words Jesus spoke and read began to mix within the minds of those that listened, they began to hear the words that were unspoken. He did not finish the passage, they might say. He is claiming to be the Messiah yet his is Joseph’s son. He is doing this. He is saying that. Jesus at this point had only read the scripture and spoke one sentence of commentary and the atmosphere of the room went from praise to something much darker. Are we going to sit here and listen to this? And in Mark’s gospel account this gets a bit deeper, they add the son of Mary. They in a sense are saying are we going to sit here and listen to the self-righteous talk from an illegitimate son of a … I do not think I need to finish that statement. We know what it is because we might have had those thoughts ourselves at times or have had those sentiments sent in our direction.
In the span of a breath, a heartbeat, the room went from marveling at the words of Jesus to a riotous mob wanting to kill him. What happened in that heartbeat? The spirit revealed their hearts and they could not handle it.
Jesus did not speak the words of vengeance that would have finished that passage of scripture. It is what Jesus did not say that set people off. The neglected words were directly pointed at the people that sat in that place of worship. The people of Nazareth were proud. They were filled with righteous energy. They were zealous for their God and their people. But there was something sinful within that. They failed to see the humanity of others.
When the weather changes Jesus begins to speak again. He points out the difference in attitude between his hometown and the response from the people at Capernaum. Are they jealous that Jesus was doing miracles for them and judging us? We are told in other gospel accounts that Jesus was unable to do any miraculous signs in Nazareth because of their lack of faith. I want us to stop for a moment and consider this. Nazareth was not a town that lacked faith. This is the town Mary and Joseph both lived and worked. Mary was in our understanding a child, and an angel visited her and said to her that she had found favor with God. This child listened to those words and accepted them. She accepted them because she lived in a community that had faith. They believed in God; they knew that God could do amazing things. They did not necessarily lack faith, but their faith may have been misplaced.
Jesus proclaimed the year of the lord’s favor and his countrymen were angry. This tells us a great deal. They wanted the blessing but they wanted it for themselves. When Jesus neglected to read the portion of scripture that spoke of God’s vengeance, he opened the blessing to all people and also opened the door of vengeance to all people.
The Nazarenes regarded themselves as people of God, they were currently the ones that faced oppression, they were the ones that needed liberation, and freedom. They were the ones that deserved God’s blessing because they were children of the promise. They were faithful heirs of Abraham. Jesus is pointing out the hypocrisy of their own hearts. If God were to release them from oppression, what would they do? If God would grant them freedom, how would they respond? Their mind was on vengeance they wanted to give back everything they felt they endured. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. They were the chosen ones of God and they wanted everyone to know their power. But that is not what the call of God was about. God chose Israel not to be his instrument of judgement but revelation. There is a difference. We want power and influence, and we want them on our terms, but often God does not work like that. If the population rises and overthrows a tyrant what happens? The oppressed become the oppressors. Our desire is to make those that caused trouble, taste the trouble that they have caused. Nazareth did not want to become a light of God’s goodness to the nations but they wanted to be the arm of God’s vengeance. They wanted to be God’s arm but they themselves were not God’s arm because their faith was not in God, but in their own nationalistic ideology.
Jesus goes on to say, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaves were shut up for three and a half years and famine came over all the land. There were many widows but Elijah was not sent to them but was instead sent to Zarephath in Sidon. Why? There were many lepers in the land of Israel that desired relief and healing from their condition during the days of Elisha but God did not cleanse them. Instead, he cleansed Naaman, the servant of an enemy king. God blessed the Gentiles. Even when his own chosen people were struggling in famine and disease, he chose to give blessing through his prophets to people that could not claim special privilege. Why?
God does not give salvation through heritage, or even through systems of belief. God’s salvation is through believing loyalty and living that belief out in the world. The widow had only enough flour and oil for one serving of bread. They were about to starve, and yet she trusted that this prophet that came to her door spoke words of truth and she acted accordingly. Naaman also trusted that the words of the prophet were true and he listened (He argued at first but he eventually listened), and he took a plunge into the Jordan and was cleansed of his leprosy. His response to this was to ask for dirt from Israel so that when he went home and served his king, that he could offer his prayers not to the gods of his land, but on the holy ground of God the Most High.
Jesus points out to us as well as his own countrymen that God is not concerned with our understanding of faith. He is concerned with how we live that faith out in the world. Yes, there are times where God uses us as instruments of vengeance but more often, we are to be instrument of grace. Grace is the default setting, not vengeance.
This excited the people. They in their righteous fervor were filled with wrath and they drove Jesus out of the synagogue, out of the town and they took him to a hill. They in a sense became a lynch mob ready to take the life of the offending person. I use that term because it is important. It is connected to the darkness of our own history, and our own misplaced righteous zeal. There was a time in our history that our sense of right and wrong was so twisted that if anyone questioned it, we would drive them out of town and hang them from a tree. This was not done by people regarded as criminals but by upstanding citizens. People that sat in church on Sunday, people that could quote scripture and gave their tithe. They might have even provided charity to those under their oppression. Yet if they felt that their privileged status was questioned, they were triggered and did the unthinkable.
The lynch mob is sinful. It will always be and always has been sinful. When we take the law into our own hands, we deny true justice even if we by chance right. If we do not extend the grace, we desire for ourselves to others, we do not understand nor have the gift in ourselves. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he said, “Forgive us our sin as we forgive those who have sinned against us.” This statement is the only statement that Jesus explained when he was asked by his disciples to teach them to pray. He expanded this section because it is the most important. If we do not extend justice to others, we do not have justice. If we do not grant liberty to others, we do not have liberty. If we do not extend forgiveness and grace to others, we, ourselves, do not have forgiveness nor have we truly experienced grace. I want this to sink in. I want it to saturate your mind and seep deep into your soul. The people of Nazareth in all their zeal and righteousness were the problem. They wanted the privileges of grace, but they did not want to be the instruments. They wanted God’s favor, but they did not want that favor to extend beyond their own people. They wanted to control, they wanted to be the instruments of blessing and curse. They wanted to be god. We are no different. We want. We desire. We claim. We proclaim. But do we live? Do we live as a light to the nations or do we reflect vengeance? Do we extend grace, liberty, release, and healing; or do we extend more of the same oppression?
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil
For your is the kingdom, the power, and the glory
Forever and ever. Amen.
If you would like to help support the continued Ministry of Willow Creek Friends Church please consider donating online:
https://secure.piryx.com/donate/nlcsJT87/Willow-Creek-Friends-Church/
To help support the personal ministry of JWQuaker (Jared Warner) online and in the community click to donate.
Is it Today?
By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
January 23, 2022
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Luke 4:14–21 (ESV)
14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
What is the Christian life? This is a question that most of us have struggled with the entirety of our journey of faith. What is a Christian? The answers to this question are as numerous as the number of denominations. It is as numerous as the amount of people that claim faith. It might even surprise you that the answer to this question extends beyond those that believe because even those outside of our faith, those that may be seeking or those that may be in open opposition have their own answer to this question. What does it mean to be a Christian?
The answer we give to this question has weight. That answer can direct you path in faith’s journey. It can lead you closer to God, and it can also lead you away. The answer we give to that very important question not only directs us in our journey of faith, but it also dictates how we live our lives within our community. People see your answer to that question. They see your faith in how you respond to the clerk running the register at Walmart or Target. They see your faith in how you drive your vehicle on the interstate. They see your faith in how you study, how you participate in athletic competitions, how you handle stress, and how you speak to those that hold a different opinion. People see your answer, they see your faith. I ask again, what is the Christian life, and what does it mean to be a Christian?
Faith and action have been something our traditions within the church have struggled with throughout church history. There are cycles in our history. At times we have focused on charity, at other times theology, there are times where we have focused on procedures, and at other times we have focused on grace. None of these focuses are wrong, in fact, most of these focuses are extremely important. Within every major movement within the church the leaders within that movement noticed something within our answer to the question of what it means to be a Christian that was not being express. They saw something that was being overlooked, or something that was being too heavily emphasized that seemed to be overshadowing the gospel. That began to speak out against these things and they raised awareness of the areas that were lacking. We can see this throughout our history. We can see it within the various divisions of denominations and religious orders. We see it even among Meetings of worship within communities. These cycles and divisions tell us something about ourselves and our answer to the question that we all encounter.
This is the history of faith. It has been a struggle from the dawn of time and will continue to be a struggle when time ends. It is a struggle that began the moment our first parents looked at the tree of knowledge and listened to the voice of deception. We struggle because we want to have the knowledge of good and evil. We want to be the masters of our destiny. We desire the power to rule.
If we were to look at the story of our first parent more closely, we would see that they already had the thing they desired. God had already given them the power and authority to bring all of creation under their stewardship. They did not need anything more than what they already had. Yet they were unable to see the truth they were living in. They were distracted, they turned from the light of their God and were trapped in the shadows of their own making. They began to rely on themselves instead of listening to the voice of their creator, and they allowed chaos to emerge.
They turned, and yet God remained. They shifted their focus and even in their movement away from Him God continued to call them back to him. We often look at the story through the eyes of our ancestors, we often see this as a story of the fall, but do we ever really consider the story as a testimony of God’s faithfulness?
We turned; we were distracted yet God continued to work. God continued to call his good creation back to him. We see this through the lives of the patriarchs, in the history of Israel, and in the life of Christ. It is not only a story of humanity’s fallen state, but also a story of God’s goodness and his great love.
This is where we find today’s passage. Jesus, in Luke 4, is just beginning his ministry. In the verses prior to this Jesus had been baptized and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. The temptation by the accuser or adversary reflects the temptations that we all face. They are not necessarily things that we should not have, but we are tempted to obtain those things in ways that could cause harm in some way. Every student wants to obtain a good grade on an exam. That is the desire not only for them but also for their teacher. When a student is tempted to cheat on that test, they might think to themselves that they are not causing harm. They think that it is the desired outcome of all parties so what harm could come from it. We might not see the harm, but if we allow this temptation to take hold, if we take the shortcuts to obtain the desired result, we leave behind the opportunity of true understanding and wisdom. Cheating on a fifth-grade spelling test might not seem harmful, but if we allow that behavior to continue eventually that fifth-grade student becomes a graduate student. If that student allowed the temptation to take hold, they will eventually take that same short cut into the workplace. They are now the lead engineer in charge of the construction of the overpasses on a complex interstate highway and they do not understand the principles of engineering. Their cheating, their taking of a short cut to obtain a desired result now threatens the safety of millions of people driving to work every morning.
We may not see the harm. We may not understand the long-lasting impact of our decisions. I was once the student that cheated on a spelling test, and I am thankful that my teachers did not allow that behavior to persist. I still cannot spell if my life depended on it but I have learned better ways.
Jesus comes back from his trials in the desert and he returns home. He returns to Galilee, and to his hometown Nazareth. I again want to mention verse 16, “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.” Jesus made it his custom to worship at the synagogue. He made it his custom to join with his community for corporate reading of scripture, prayer, praise, and education. Jesus gives us an important example of the Christian life in this verse. We need to worship together. It is important, not just for our own spiritual life, but for those within our community. I am a pastor; I need everyone else in this Meetinghouse just as much if not more than you need me. I need you because you remind me of who God is, and who I am before God. You might say, that is what I do for you and it is, because the community of worshipers encourage each other.
This is not the only important thing that Jesus shows us in this passage. He stands in the synagogue and he begins to read from the scroll of Isaiah. This is an important passage to the community of believers. It speaks of deliverance, recovery, liberty, opportunity, and redemption. This prophecy was written prior to the exile of the people of Israel and it speaks of the return not just of the people of the tribe of Judah but of all of Israel. It is their desired future. It is a proclamation of God returning his people back to their rightful place. But there is a problem. The people in Nazareth love this passage, it gets them excited. It speaks to the condition of their heart. They are a people that identify as being poor because they are living under the rule and dominion of others. They see themselves as captive because they do not have the liberty to live as they would like. They see themselves as oppressed. They see themselves in this passage. And they are excited to hear these words because they give them hope. The problem is there is more to these verses.
The first words recorded by Luke in Jesus’ public ministry begin with the prophet words from scripture of a Spirit-filled Redeemer that will set all things right. Jesus reads these words and he rolls up the scroll and he returns to his seat. Everyone heard what was said and they look at him in expectancy. Why? They are used to hearing these words of redemption but usually they are coupled with a declaration of the vengeance of God for those that are oppressing the people of God. Jesus does not go there. He instead rolls up the scroll hands it back to the synagogue ruler to be put back into the cabinet they keep the scripture and he sits down. They look at him in expectancy because Galilee was filled with zealots. Galilee is filled with people ready to jump into action. The Jewish wars which resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, are said to have begun in this region. These were people filled with righteous zeal ready to use whatever means necessary to bring about the world they desired. Yet, Jesus does not speak about the vengeance of God. He does not encourage the people of God to take up arms, or to take forceful action against those that oppose God. He speaks only of, “proclaiming the good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, recovery to the blind, liberty to the oppress, and the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus is telling us something important in this selection of verses. By not proclaiming the vengeance of God he is opening this blessing up to all people. These words are not just for one people group or nation, these words extend to all. And when he sat down with all eyes on him, he said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
In Luke’s account of the gospel the first sermon Jesus gives is one sentence. And within that sentence we are told what it means to be a Christian. We are to take part in bringing hope to the poor. We are to participate in granting freedom to those that have been living under bondage. We are to provide care to those that have been struggling through illness. We are to provide relief to those that are living under a system of oppression. We are to proclaim that God is for all people.
I have often made mention of the holy rhythm of Christ. I have said that this is the rhythm of life that we should participate in and I have even shown how our own mission statement reflects this rhythm. Jesus’s rhythm of life is to withdraw often to isolated places to pray, he made it his custom to worship with the community, and he ministered to the needs of those around him. Our mission statement states that we are a people, “Loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others.” We love God by making it our custom to worship together. We embrace the Holy Spirit by withdrawing to pray. And we live the love of Christ with others when we listen to the Spirit through our prayer and our worship and we see areas where we can minister. And our ministry is to participate in the words that Jesus read in Scripture.
These words are the mission that God gave to our first parents when he told them to be fruitful and multiply, and to bring all the earth under their dominion. That first mission was to make the entire earth into the garden of Eden. We were to take the image of God out into the world and to become his representatives to all the earth. That mission has not changed.
Our mission remains the same from the dawn of time. We are still to bear the image of God to the world around us. We are to bear the light of God in the darkness. The problem is we are tempted to take short cuts. We are tempted to use our knowledge to force those around us to submit. We are tempted to focus on the knowledge of evil instead of the knowledge of good. And we do this because our attention is distracted. We forget that we must bear the image of God. Who is God? What is God?
Is God the instrument of vengeance? Yes, he can be, but that is not the whole story. Is God love and grace. Again yes, but this is also not the whole story. God is who he is. God is the creator of all things seen and unseen. God watched as the things unseen rebelled against him and distracted the things seen from him. God had ever right to act out in anger and devastate his creation, but that is not what God did. God will not suffer open rebellion against him, but he will give every opportunity for us to return to him. That is why Jesus came. That is why we celebrate and worship his birth, life, his death and resurrection. We celebrate this because God came to us so that we could be restored to our rightful place. So that we could be freed from the oppressions of our own making. And Jesus calls us to participate in that continued mission.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[1] “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Is it today? Will we live this out in our homes, in our schools, in our places of business, in our halls of justice, in our churches, and in our lives? Is it today?
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Lk 4:18–19). (2016). Crossway Bibles.
If you would like to help support the continued Ministry of Willow Creek Friends Church please consider donating online:
https://secure.piryx.com/donate/nlcsJT87/Willow-Creek-Friends-Church/
To help support the personal ministry of JWQuaker (Jared Warner) online and in the community click to donate.
Facing Our Dragons
By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
January 9, 2022
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Luke 3:15–17, 21-22 (ESV)
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
There are a few people in scripture that have attracted my attention to such a degree that I can hardly pull myself from their story, John the Baptist is on of those people. I find his life fascinating, though scripture does not give us much information about it. This leads us to speculation. Speculation is a place of imagination that can be beneficial when we do it with knowledge, but it can also be detrimental when we put too much trust in our own interpretations. We speculate when we lack information. We make attempts at filling the gaps with our own collected knowledge and we move forward with that information. We fill the gaps but with what do we fill those gaps?
Speculation is something we all participate in. We fill the gaps of our knowledge with many things. We do not fully understand the nature of our economy so we speculate. We do not understand the full nature of the origin of life so we speculate. We do not understand the mysteries of God, so we speculate. We do not fully understand the intricacies of interpersonal relationships so we speculate. We speculate all the time and we do it without even a second thought. Children seemingly do this with ease. They do not understand what is going on around them so they develop a story that will help them explain just why they are afraid of the dark. It does not make sense for them to be afraid, they know everything in their room and yet they are afraid, so they in their speculation will place a monster in their closet or under their bed, just to fill the gap within their experienced story so that they can cope with the unknown.
The monster, in the mind of the child is real. You cannot convince them that it is a figment of their imagination, and when you attempt to use reason or logic you will find yourself with a fearful child that does not trust even their parent. So how do we assist the child? How do we move them into reality and away from errant speculation? We walk with them. We bravely take their hand and approach the closet, like the courageous heroes of their stories and we face the monsters. We walk with them; we listen to their stories and acknowledge that in their mind they are real. And we ask them to join us on a quest to vanquish the foe. We sneak toward the closet door, making sure they are right behind us, and we turn on the light. What do we find? We find the error in their speculation and we provide space for them to process in their own mind what has caused the error in their thinking. We walk with them, we think with them, and we overcome with them. We participate with their story so that they can develop the mental pathways within their own mind to fill the gaps between knowledge in a way that will be accurate and healthy.
We might laugh at the speculations of a child, we might even mock those young minds when we ourselves are tired and do not have the time to participate in a knight’s quest to rid the realm of imagined dragons, but do we realize that adult speculation and the adult imagination can be similar?
Our lives are filled with incomplete information. We do not and cannot know what our future will hold so just like the child we fill the gaps of our knowledge with imagined solutions to our problems. We do not know so we speculate. But what do we use to fill those gaps? Do we bravely adorn our bodies with armor to boldly approach the unknown to find answers, or do we fill the gaps of our knowledge with imagined superstition? There are dragons all around us. Dragons that threaten to keep us cowered in place. Dragons that threaten harm if we attempt to take a step forward, or that will breathe fire to consume the bridge we might try to cross. Will we brave the dragons of our own imagination?
I speak of speculation because everything I know about John the Baptist is just that. It is a construct of a man that I have made in my own mind that I believe is based on the understanding that I have gained from study. Everything I know is just that, speculation, no matter what I am speaking about. I might be right or I might be wrong. The words I speak might be helpful in moving me forward in the perceived quest I have entered in my life, or they might be the words that a child speaks in their mind that will keep them awake at night unable to move their feet from their covers for fear of the monster under the bed. We must acknowledge our limitations. We must recognize that we are finite beings with limited understanding. We make our decisions and move forward in equal parts courage and fear because we speculate.
Today we meet John the Baptist once again on the banks of the Jordan. We are told that the people gathered there were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ. I want us to recognize this for what it is. The people were in expectation. They wanted something, they hoped for something, they longed for something. For what were they longing? The Christ. They were out there in the wilderness looking for something and they were wanting to find their answer. Could the answer be John?
What is going on in the first century that would lead adults to seek out answers in such a manner? This was a nation of people that had a long history and distinct history. We look at and study scripture and we make assumptions about Israel that may not be reflected in the narrative of history. We often see them as a great and mighty nation, but they were never great in the eyes of the world. We make assumptions of greatness based on our understanding. Israel was small. It was always small by worldly measures. The land that they ruled even at their greatest strength was about as great as the smallest nation in Europe. Their military might we imagine was mighty, but in reality, they were always a step behind the technological advancements of the surrounding nations. We see this early in their history and it continues. We are often told that history is written by the victors, but why is it that we know the history of Israel? They were a small nation conquered, exiled, and ruled over. They were and are great not because of who they are, but because of what they are. They were the people through whom God chose to reveal Himself.
This can be deceptive. For some, the idea of this chosen status means that they can do no wrong. If this is something that you believe I want you to read the writings of the prophets. Israel can do wrong, and they did do wrong. Some might believe that this chosen status means that they have a divine mandate of existence. That is closer to the truth, if God chose a people to reveal himself through, then there must be a remanent of that people in existence for the revelation to continue. But what does the revelation mean?
This is where the expectant people find themselves as they approach and listen to John. Each of them has some understanding as to the purpose and nature of their people and their nation. Some believe that their existence is one of knowledge, some believe it to be political, some merely religious. They bring all these speculations to the table and they project them to John, because in those speculations there is this hope of messiah. This anointed one that will move them forward into their divinely appointed future. What is our definition of future success? How do we know that success has occurred?
They are out there in expectation. They are in the wilderness with questions in their hearts, and speculations in their minds. They want something and they think they know what it is. They believe that this man, John, could be the fulfillment of that, but why?
What do we know about this man? We know that his birth was special, in fact it resembles the birth of their own nation. God called Abraham to follow him out of all the nations and people of the world. It was through this one man that God was going to reveal himself through to the entire world. The only problem was that this one man and his wife were unable to bear a child. All this divine knowledge, all the blessings from God, and they had no family to pass it to. It was only after a ridiculous time, when the prospect of giving birth to a child had passed from possible to comedic did the promise become fulfilled. And Sarah laughed. Who would not laugh at the prospect of a century old woman giving birth and raising a child? We have women nearing that mark in our Meeting, they know and we know that their bodies have long since stopped preparing itself for that prospect. Yet it was just such a body used by God. It was just such a situation that God brought hope to the world. When all our speculations and imagination cannot manifest a reason, God is there.
John’s mother was barren, she was beyond the age women normally bear children. She like her ancient mother, Sarah, had given up hope of ever knowing that aspect of life. We may not realize just how dire and amazing this truly is. There is more to the story. In our day and age, we speak a great deal about marriage and human relations but I think we have missed the point. I have over the past few months considered the point of it all. Again, it is speculation. What if the point of marriage is less about the things we think and more about the community and faith? I base this speculation on the traditions of the Jewish people. The fact that John’s father and mother were still married is amazing. In their tradition they should not have been married if procreation was the sole purpose of marriage. Elizabeth was barren, she was unable to provide her husband with progeny to carry on the name. Zechariah was well within his rights to have divorced Elizabeth both socially and religiously. Yet he did not. The relationship was more important. To Zechariah and to his family it was more important to have Elizabeth included in the community than the prospect of a child. I want us to think about this for a moment. It was more important to the community that Zechariah and Elizabeth be there, together, than a baby.
Offspring are a blessing from God, no matter where or when they come into a family or a community. They give us an opportunity to bless others, they give us an opportunity to encourage and to extend our cultural identity into the next generation. We should cherish the gift, but that gift is not the point of the relationship. It was more important to Zechariah to continue in relationship with Elizabeth even through the blessing of offspring had passed them by. We often miss this because they were eventually blessed with a child. We miss the years of barrenness because we focus on the blessing.
The people in the desert in expectation also missed the point. They also failed to see the deeper story because they instead looked at the blessing. Could John be the Christ? His advent was miraculous just as Isaac to Sarah. Is God revealing Himself yet again? The short answer is yes. But we miss the point if we base our speculation on only part of the knowledge. When Jesus spoke of John he said, “among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Jesus like the people in the desert, knew that John was important, but unlike the people in the desert Jesus knew the true reason why. The people of the desert came out to John, they came in expectation, with questions in their hearts concerning John. They came out knowing that John had a very public a miraculous story. John, in all likelihood, would have been given every possible advantage their society had to offer. He could have stepped into any messianic role offered. At a word he could have inspired an army to form to begin the battles of independence. Why, because they all knew that he was the child of a barren mother. His life reflected their history. In their mind God could have been ushering in the new kingdom just as in days of old. John could have become everything the human heart could imagine or desire.
But that is not the path that John took, because, like Jesus, John knew more of the story than we know. John answered the people saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” John could have walked the paths of human greatness. He could have commanded armies. He could have demanded the riches of a king. But John knew that there is something beyond human understandings of greatness that is more important.
It is that unseen power and knowledge, that caused Zechariah to stay wed to Elizabeth even though the blessings of offspring were denied. It was that unseen power and knowledge that drove John to walk away from the luxuries human success could offer and dwell in the wilderness. It is that unseen power and knowledge that allowed him to look at everything the world has to offer and say, no that is not what is important.
We can speculate. We can use our knowledge and reason. We can move forward believing that we have all the answers. We can even move forward within the knowledge we possess knowing that it is incomplete. We can move forward knowing that in our greatest understanding of the world around us can at any moment fall into chaos and drive us to enter into the same place so many children find themselves in, so afraid of the dark to move their foot out from under the covers. What do we do in the midst of the fear, what do we do when the chaos looms?
John said that he baptizes with water. Have we ever thought of the reality surrounding this? It is something tangible something we can control, something we can define. When we use water to baptize we are saying that we have a full understanding of the power of God. By this rite I can control the one that created the universe. No, at best the waters of baptism are a testimony against the forces opposed to God. It is at best a statement of belief and alliance. The power that the waters of baptism hold are empty unless there is something more. That is the truth of John’s testimony. Whatever power or hope you have in our human understanding is mere speculation unless you recognize that there is something greater beyond. When the investor looks at risking their human fortunes in the market, we look at them in awe and wonder. We say they risked much in the face of chaos. The truth is that they made calculations and they only risked as much as they were comfortable in losing. They are fully aware of the chaotic chances that loom around them, but they move forward. We praise those that risked and succeeded and we scorn those that risked and failed. But do we see the truth around it all? Do we understand why some failed and others succeed? Do we see?
The reason John is the greatest among those born of a woman is not because John was great, it is because his parents saw the truth. Their life lived together in faith was more important than anything else, because their life lived in faith was devoted to the true law of God, “Love God with all you have and your neighbor as yourself.” They gave up their life of selfish ambition and they lived their faith. Do you not think there was a time Elizabeth suggested that Zechariah divorce her for better prospects? Do you think there was not a moment where Zechariah was tempted to listen? We like to think we can control and manipulate the world around us. We want to do things to succeed and move forward. That is baptism, that is financial speculation, that is political ideology. That is humanity using our knowledge to slay the dragons. But our speculation only goes so far. We face the dragons and we know that in an instant that chaotic force can have its vengeance. Why risk it? What remains?
“He who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” There is only one that brought order to the formless void; that is the word of God. The command of God is to love him with all your heart, with all your spirit, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. “[And] when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” Jesus embodies the word of God. He lived it out to its fullest and showed us how to face the dragons of chaos around us. It is not by the strength of our armies or the wisdom of our minds that we can move forward. But it is our faith in God. It is that unseen power of faith that kept Zechariah and Elizabeth together, it is that unseen strength of faith that propelled John their son. It is faith that was revealed to Abraham and it is faith that made his offspring the instruments of divine revelation. It is when we use our speculation in conjunction with faith that we will overcome the dragons of life. It is when we walk in that relationship with humanity and the divine that we can face the trials in true strength. It is when we begin to think we can control it all that we will fail. It is when we believe that we can control our own future chaos will overtake us. Because faith allows us to see ourselves for who we truly are. Faith allows us to acknowledge our weaknesses and, in that weakness, allows others to stand with us. Faith shows us that we need help to overcome our dragons. And it is through faith that the Spirit of God fills the gap not with speculation but with hope.
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