“Where are you?”
Good Morning Friends,
The first question in the Bible was a question from the Devil. But today we continue to follow up on the questions that God asks and their motive is entirely different. And the ones we look at today are rhetorical and gracious and about God’s provision. The questions are straightforward but as for their deeper meaning, it all depends on the tone. They have a way of getting in our heads, like the one from Genesis: “Where are you?”
Scripture: They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:8-9 (NRSV)
Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.”
Luke 8:45 (NRSV)
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
John 21:1-6 (NRSV)
Message: Today’s scripture is an explanation of why there is misery and pain in the world. Let us first put our self in the position of answering the question from Genesis. You know the context in Genesis. It is related to a cover up, disobedience, hiding and making excuses for ourselves. The central character, Adam, is running away from God as he tries to give meaning to his situation. Adam’s plan is foolish and pointless. It becomes clear that to make this kind of decision to hide from God will dislocated us from just about anything and everything but especially the abundance of life. There is a dark reality here that cuts into the thin veneer of our civilization, the elemental violence, our limitation, the cumbersome ways of the world. And in our heads we think: Why are things the way they are? Notice that God is not just rhetorical but asks as a kind act of giving information. God want Adam to discover where he is. So too Jesus wants the disciples to remember their calling and that God can be touched. All in a way ask us what is going on in our heads. And for us today they make us to face up to the reality of our situations. What compels God to go looking for Adam? What compels Jesus to help the fisherman or a woman in a crowd? Nothing really except the good pleasure of divine character… love. God asks kind and personal questions. But the responses are very different. In Genesis Adam puts the blame on God. The thing is that when we are sinning we cannot think properly. Our rebellion effects our thinking. Thankfully God sees into our souls and how well we are pursuing the love of God. Friends, the sinful mind is hostile to God. The questions today let us know that our God will reveal to us His ways and that He wants a relationship with us despite our sin. We hide from God sometimes behind a tree and sometimes in a crowd and sometimes in our work all because we do not realize God’s goodness! God showed mercy and grace in the questions asked, even from the beginning.
Pray we realized that we are the ones hiding from God. Pray we realize that God asks kind questions. Pray we realize that God desires to draw us out. Pray we accept the grace offered in God’s kind questions. Pray we realize that questions can penetrate deep into our thoughts and processes causing us to respond, to think and to connect in a way that helps us to learn. Pray we realize just how precious we are to God and that God will seek us out like lost sheep when we have gone astray.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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