Advent Devotional for Tuesday, December 12
Based on Luke 22:54-69 (read it here: http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=32927722 )
December 12, 2006
Luke 22:54-69
Jesus stood before the council at daybreak, having been beaten and bruised. We can hardly imagine at this time of year that the Baby of Bethlehem could be so cruelly mocked, so viciously stripped and striped. Finally, having beaten him (so they thought) into submission, they said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” And Jesus said, in essence, “You have already made up your mind who you think I am. If I tell you, you won’t listen. If I ask you questions, you won’t answer. Your mind is already made up and nothing said or done now can change it.”
Have you made up your mind who the Messiah is? Be careful how you answer. One of the most tempting forms of idolatry is to worship our conception of Jesus as opposed to Jesus himself. It is so tempting because it feels so pious to worship our conception of Jesus; it feels so good to do it, like it couldn’t possibly be wrong.
In the Bible, we get many pictures of Jesus: Jesus the liberator who came to set people free. Jesus the holy prophet who fearlessly took on false religion and lived a perfect moral life. Jesus the truth who came to guide us into all truth. Jesus the life who came to give us abundant life. You can go to the gospels and find evidence for Jesus being understood as all of these things and many, many more.
Yet in the hands of our fallible humanness, we always seem to find one of those labels we like and we make it the label. Suddenly, Jesus is the truth at the expense of his love. Jesus is the liberator at the expense of the truth. Jesus is the life at the expense of self-denial. Jesus is holy at the expense of the fact he ate with sinners and prostitutes.
When we do this, we face the cold fact that we set ourselves up like this council, so sure that we know who Jesus is, utterly unprepared to let him surprise us. When Jesus can no longer surprise us, when our understanding of Jesus is so calcified that nothing new can come in, then even if Jesus tells us something we did not know, something new, we will be unprepared to hear it.
And if we are unprepared to be surprised by Jesus, we are totally unprepared to answer any questions he might ask us. When Jesus says, “If I question you, you will not answer,” you can almost hear a faint hope that they still might allow him to ask those amazing questions: the questions that bore through to your deepest soul and make you turn everything upside-down while showing you love like you’ve never known.
But if we can’t let Jesus surprise us, if we insist we know everything, every question will be heard as a threat. We will hear Jesus’ questions that would bring us life and instead, foolishly, we will fight them defensively or we will run away in fear.
Be surprised by the Man before the council this year; be surprised too by the Baby of Bethlehem.
December 12, 2006
Luke 22:54-69
Jesus stood before the council at daybreak, having been beaten and bruised. We can hardly imagine at this time of year that the Baby of Bethlehem could be so cruelly mocked, so viciously stripped and striped. Finally, having beaten him (so they thought) into submission, they said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” And Jesus said, in essence, “You have already made up your mind who you think I am. If I tell you, you won’t listen. If I ask you questions, you won’t answer. Your mind is already made up and nothing said or done now can change it.”
Have you made up your mind who the Messiah is? Be careful how you answer. One of the most tempting forms of idolatry is to worship our conception of Jesus as opposed to Jesus himself. It is so tempting because it feels so pious to worship our conception of Jesus; it feels so good to do it, like it couldn’t possibly be wrong.
In the Bible, we get many pictures of Jesus: Jesus the liberator who came to set people free. Jesus the holy prophet who fearlessly took on false religion and lived a perfect moral life. Jesus the truth who came to guide us into all truth. Jesus the life who came to give us abundant life. You can go to the gospels and find evidence for Jesus being understood as all of these things and many, many more.
Yet in the hands of our fallible humanness, we always seem to find one of those labels we like and we make it the label. Suddenly, Jesus is the truth at the expense of his love. Jesus is the liberator at the expense of the truth. Jesus is the life at the expense of self-denial. Jesus is holy at the expense of the fact he ate with sinners and prostitutes.
When we do this, we face the cold fact that we set ourselves up like this council, so sure that we know who Jesus is, utterly unprepared to let him surprise us. When Jesus can no longer surprise us, when our understanding of Jesus is so calcified that nothing new can come in, then even if Jesus tells us something we did not know, something new, we will be unprepared to hear it.
And if we are unprepared to be surprised by Jesus, we are totally unprepared to answer any questions he might ask us. When Jesus says, “If I question you, you will not answer,” you can almost hear a faint hope that they still might allow him to ask those amazing questions: the questions that bore through to your deepest soul and make you turn everything upside-down while showing you love like you’ve never known.
But if we can’t let Jesus surprise us, if we insist we know everything, every question will be heard as a threat. We will hear Jesus’ questions that would bring us life and instead, foolishly, we will fight them defensively or we will run away in fear.
Be surprised by the Man before the council this year; be surprised too by the Baby of Bethlehem.
posted by Rev. Michael Jordan at 7:47 AM
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