Does Jesus Fulfill Your Christmas Wish?

 

Good Morning Friends,

The world’s political powers even today try to leverage the influence of religious institutions. There is a battle of ideas on the ideologies that will withstand the test of time. Think of Russia, Iran, and China and how they each exert pressure to gain greater domination over others. Think about the United States and its party systems. They each try to create outcomes that align with their desires. It has always been this way and sometimes even the church is manipulated. It was true of the Roman rule during the time of Jesus, it was true during the Second World War in Germany, and it is true today. So, it helps us understand our own desires regarding power and politics in the light of what we believe and what others would want us to believe. We see it in the story of John the Baptist and his seeking for a new world order and in Jesus offering an alternative to the old ways, even as he honors John the Baptist while at the same time encouraging him to think differently in his jail cell. So, I wonder this morning about what we are to believe and what political captives need to be released even as I ask, Does Jesus Fulfil Your Christmas Wish?

 

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

 

Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10 (NRSV)

 

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

 

James 5:7-10 (NRSV)

Top of Form

 

Bottom of Form

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

 

 

 

 

 

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

 

Matthew 11:2-11 (NRSV)

Message: Sometimes I wonder what others wish the Kingdom of God to be like in the future and so too what our earthly Kingdoms are to reflect. In today’s Gospel text we see some of the divergent ideas and hopes for the Kingdom to come. Interestingly, Jesus defends our right the choose between judgement and love. Dietrich Bonhoeffer shares these thoughts, some from his jail cell, that reflect the message Jesus was sharing with John the Baptist and the cost of discipleship:

“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.”

“Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.”

“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

And So, we each are confronted by the same response that Jesus gave to John when he asked if Jesus was the one. And the tone of Jesus is the message, for it is filled with love and longing for one whose voice had cried in the wilderness as well as us. Interestingly, John’s doubts might be ours too. The beauty is how Jesus bring love into the equation to free us and to help us to see the reason we need to disciple others in the faith.

Pray we do not fret in the face of the anxieties of the world and the season. Pray we wish for the peace of Jesus, the Messiah, to share our life. Pray we wish for light to illuminate our understanding in a way that is not coerced. Pray we wish for love that redeems. Pray we seek the greatest good. Pray we put our faith into action and approach life with the right attitude about God’s will and the Kingdom of God. Pray we wish for and receive the gift of seeing more clearly and the gift of a love that frees us from fear.

Blessings,

John Lawson