A friend of mine posted a challenging question on Facebook inviting us to ponder what identity God wants to birth in us this Christmas. After meditating on that in light of what we've been learning on Bible Quiz Team this year (John 1 - 10 so far), I wrote this poem.
Light
Magi in the east, intrigued
By messages in the sky,
Discerned a sign, a star so bright
That they journeyed west
By day and night
And couldn’t help, try as they might,
But pursue and follow
That radical, surprising light.
The Son of God, enfleshed,
Sent unto his own to die,
Stirred the Jews, provoked a fight.
He played, forgave,
Did what was right,
And caused dissension by restoring sight
To each one who followed
The radical, surprising light.
Now I see that Star and Son,
And hear my own call from on high.
Upon my couch this Christmas night,
I long to grow
By His own might
To “show God’s love aright,”
To be to my own world
A radical, surprising light.
Rebecca Brist
Christmas, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Signs of Christmas
Is it wrong to ask God for a sign? I always used to think it was because of Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:39: “He answered, ‘A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign!’”
But Isaiah 7 gives the background for Jesus’ frustration with the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees who were asking him for a sign. In those days King Ahaz was king of Judah. Ahaz was “shaken [with fear] as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind” because of an alliance that had been made two nations that were about to march against Judah. God told Ahaz not to worry, that He had it under control, and that the defeat he feared “will not take place; it will not happen.”
So God invited Ahaz to ask him for a sign, “whether in the deepest depths or the highest heights.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”
God was evidently frustrated with Ahaz’ false piety. Through Isaiah He replied to Ahaz, “Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Fast forward 700-some years and now the leaders of God’s people have decided to take God up on his offer of a sign. But the maddening irony of it was that the very sign that God had given to the closed-fisted Ahaz was now standing before the Jewish leaders, and they had the audacity to ask Him for a sign! He was the sign: Immanuel.
The sign that our destruction “will not happen.” The sign that our loving God has us in the palm of His hand.
God’s not opposed to giving us signs. He wants to give us signs. He gives us signs every day of our lives. The question is, do we recognize those signs?
Open our eyes, Lord. Especially during this season when we remember that You provided us salvation by sending us Your Son.
But Isaiah 7 gives the background for Jesus’ frustration with the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees who were asking him for a sign. In those days King Ahaz was king of Judah. Ahaz was “shaken [with fear] as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind” because of an alliance that had been made two nations that were about to march against Judah. God told Ahaz not to worry, that He had it under control, and that the defeat he feared “will not take place; it will not happen.”
So God invited Ahaz to ask him for a sign, “whether in the deepest depths or the highest heights.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”
God was evidently frustrated with Ahaz’ false piety. Through Isaiah He replied to Ahaz, “Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Fast forward 700-some years and now the leaders of God’s people have decided to take God up on his offer of a sign. But the maddening irony of it was that the very sign that God had given to the closed-fisted Ahaz was now standing before the Jewish leaders, and they had the audacity to ask Him for a sign! He was the sign: Immanuel.
The sign that our destruction “will not happen.” The sign that our loving God has us in the palm of His hand.
God’s not opposed to giving us signs. He wants to give us signs. He gives us signs every day of our lives. The question is, do we recognize those signs?
Open our eyes, Lord. Especially during this season when we remember that You provided us salvation by sending us Your Son.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
John 2: Thoughts, Meditations, and Speculations
(Just some speculation about how it might have really “gone down.”)
On the third day. Hmmm. Jesus had only known his disciples for three days prior to this wedding feast. So, imagine the conversation that probably happened just two days before.
Jesus to Mary: Dear Woman, you know that wedding that we’re going to the day after tomorrow?
Mary: Yes?
Jesus: Do you think it would be okay for me to bring my new friends with us? Could you get them an invitation?
Mary: Oh, probably! You know how the Goldsteins love you! How many invites do you want me to ask for?
Jesus: Eleven.
Mary: Eleven?
Jesus: Yes.
Mary: Okay! I’ll see what I can do! Hannah owes me anyway; I’ve been helping her plan this feast for weeks now!
So, with that as backdrop, cut to the day of the feast. Mary finds out the wine is gone, and her first thought is to bring it up to Jesus.
He utters the famous words, “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.”
Mary doesn’t say a word. She glances across the room toward a table where 11 boisterous men sit, all drinking their wine with gusto. Her look says it all. The 11 recently added guests may have a lot to do with the wine being gone! With a raise of her eyebrow that only a mother can master, she turns from Jesus toward the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you.” She doesn’t know what Jesus will do, but she knows He won’t let her down. Especially after the strings she had to pull to get his buddies there!
Did the servants observe the undercurrent of the conversation? No doubt, and they were loving the subplot!
Jesus had envisioned a different way of introducing himself and his ministry to Israel. Ever since he was 12 years old and had visited the temple with his parents, the scene of the greedy moneychangers in the temple courts had haunted him. Every year when He returned to celebrate Passover, it seemed to have gotten worse. He knew that His first public act as the Messiah would be to clear away the moneychangers and merchants.
Now He reconsidered. Should not His first public act as Messiah be to bless the woman who had given Him birth, sacrificed her reputation and indeed her whole life to provide him with love and nurture? Mary’s lot hadn’t been easy. Yes, this was a better idea. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Here was a way to illustrate that the merciful shall obtain mercy before holding the unmerciful merchants and moneychangers accountable.
Jesus spied six stone water jugs, the kind the Jews use for ceremonial washing. Ah! Here was a brilliant symbol, indeed! A way to illustrate that the old religious system was being replaced with a new order. The Bridegroom is here, and the time for joyous celebration in freedom is about to replace the somber sacrificial rituals. The jugs were empty—they had no power to take away sins. But the wine of the new covenant—his own blood—would make perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Jesus ordered the jugs to be filled with water and taken to the master of the banquet. What had been amusing to the servants up until now suddenly took on a rather risky feel. They didn’t feel too happy about serving water to the master when he was expecting wine. How thrilled and relieved they were to see the delighted smile on the master’s face upon tasting the water that had been turned into wine! They glanced at each other in utter amazement, and at the first opportunity began spreading the word about what had happened. One ecstatic servant told the disciple named John, and John made him slow down and tell the whole story in detail from beginning to end.
When Jesus heard the master of the banquet give his opinion on the matter, His spirit rejoiced in the prophetic and symbolic meaning of the comment. “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
Yes, the new covenant Jesus was about to offer was the best. And it had been a long time coming. Those who were willing to receive it would savor it and appreciate it with awe.
This was the first of His miraculous signs. In this way He revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him. And His mom was happy, too.
On the third day. Hmmm. Jesus had only known his disciples for three days prior to this wedding feast. So, imagine the conversation that probably happened just two days before.
Jesus to Mary: Dear Woman, you know that wedding that we’re going to the day after tomorrow?
Mary: Yes?
Jesus: Do you think it would be okay for me to bring my new friends with us? Could you get them an invitation?
Mary: Oh, probably! You know how the Goldsteins love you! How many invites do you want me to ask for?
Jesus: Eleven.
Mary: Eleven?
Jesus: Yes.
Mary: Okay! I’ll see what I can do! Hannah owes me anyway; I’ve been helping her plan this feast for weeks now!
So, with that as backdrop, cut to the day of the feast. Mary finds out the wine is gone, and her first thought is to bring it up to Jesus.
He utters the famous words, “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.”
Mary doesn’t say a word. She glances across the room toward a table where 11 boisterous men sit, all drinking their wine with gusto. Her look says it all. The 11 recently added guests may have a lot to do with the wine being gone! With a raise of her eyebrow that only a mother can master, she turns from Jesus toward the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you.” She doesn’t know what Jesus will do, but she knows He won’t let her down. Especially after the strings she had to pull to get his buddies there!
Did the servants observe the undercurrent of the conversation? No doubt, and they were loving the subplot!
Jesus had envisioned a different way of introducing himself and his ministry to Israel. Ever since he was 12 years old and had visited the temple with his parents, the scene of the greedy moneychangers in the temple courts had haunted him. Every year when He returned to celebrate Passover, it seemed to have gotten worse. He knew that His first public act as the Messiah would be to clear away the moneychangers and merchants.
Now He reconsidered. Should not His first public act as Messiah be to bless the woman who had given Him birth, sacrificed her reputation and indeed her whole life to provide him with love and nurture? Mary’s lot hadn’t been easy. Yes, this was a better idea. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Here was a way to illustrate that the merciful shall obtain mercy before holding the unmerciful merchants and moneychangers accountable.
Jesus spied six stone water jugs, the kind the Jews use for ceremonial washing. Ah! Here was a brilliant symbol, indeed! A way to illustrate that the old religious system was being replaced with a new order. The Bridegroom is here, and the time for joyous celebration in freedom is about to replace the somber sacrificial rituals. The jugs were empty—they had no power to take away sins. But the wine of the new covenant—his own blood—would make perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Jesus ordered the jugs to be filled with water and taken to the master of the banquet. What had been amusing to the servants up until now suddenly took on a rather risky feel. They didn’t feel too happy about serving water to the master when he was expecting wine. How thrilled and relieved they were to see the delighted smile on the master’s face upon tasting the water that had been turned into wine! They glanced at each other in utter amazement, and at the first opportunity began spreading the word about what had happened. One ecstatic servant told the disciple named John, and John made him slow down and tell the whole story in detail from beginning to end.
When Jesus heard the master of the banquet give his opinion on the matter, His spirit rejoiced in the prophetic and symbolic meaning of the comment. “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
Yes, the new covenant Jesus was about to offer was the best. And it had been a long time coming. Those who were willing to receive it would savor it and appreciate it with awe.
This was the first of His miraculous signs. In this way He revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him. And His mom was happy, too.
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