John 1

Recruitment

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever been involved in recruiting people for a specific task or group? Have you ever been recruited? Recruiters are like match makers. They have a task or need to fill and they seek people with the gifts and graces that will satisfy that requirement. Back in my Navy wife days, I once worked with a recruiter to find a job in the new area to which we are being assigned. She found me a position that I absolutely could not have found on my own, as the company only worked with recruiters. I was only a few years out of college with no resume to speak of, and I was terrifically blessed to land this opportunity, thanks to her. It remains one of my favorite jobs of my pre-pastoring life to this day. It was a match made in heaven.

We continue our discovery of John’s profound words from the first chapter of his gospel today. John described the recruiting effort make by our Lord as he set about to gather up his disciples. As you read it, you may be surprised at how quickly it happened. Do you suppose the Holy Spirit was involved?

John 1 (Common English Bible)

35 The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples.36 When he saw Jesus walking along he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus.

John was very focused on this “Lamb of God” descriptor of Jesus. So many other words could have been used: messiah, rabbi, healer, teacher, miracle giver … yet John focuses our attention on the sacrifice that pure, unblemished Jesus came to bring to the world. He wanted these recruits to understand what they were being asked to do from the very beginning. They would accompany the Lamb of God as he performed many acts of ministry, traveling and recruiting others to come and see. Their mission would end with his death as he fulfilled the greatest part of his legacy. That was exactly what the Lamb of God was sent to do.

38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, “What are you looking for?”

They said, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?”

39 He replied, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

Come and see. Jesus had them with that invitation. Think about the unchurched people in your family, neighborhood, workplace and community. What might happen if you invited them to come and see?

40 One of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Christ ). 42 He led him to Jesus.

This is one of my favorite passages in the gospels. Andrew followed Jesus first and immediately went to his brother Simon to invite him to come and see also. It was an act of pure sibling love. Simon Peter became quite the hero in the gospel stories, but Andrew? Not so much. Maybe your role is to bring a superstar to the Lord, if not to become one yourself. Might we start with our own family, as Andrew did?

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

And thus, Simon was changed and Peter became the rock upon which the entire church was built.

Are you being recruited for some task by the Lamb of God? Are you recruiting others to join you? May the Holy Spirit guide all that we say and do as we invite others to come and see the one who gave up his life for the world.

Come and See by Kathy Schumacher

Sacrificial Lamb

Posted on by Betsy

One of the joys of watching an engaging series on television is the familiarity of the characters and setting. From Downton Abbey to Friends to Law and Order, our understanding of time and place serves as a shortcut to the unfolding plot line. For example, remembering Lady Mary’s indiscretion with the Turkish envoy Mr. Pamuk in the first episode of Downton Abbey sets the scene many seasons later for her reluctance to accept the possibility of a happy life with Matthew. Story threads like that give the viewer a sense of being woven right into the narrative along with the perfect table place settings and the growls and scowls of Mr. Carson. We instantly get the reference and feel included in the tale.

Hearers of the proclamations of John the Baptizer when he testified to the nature of Jesus would have felt the same kinship with the story. He described Jesus as the “Lamb of God,” a reference to the figure of the sacrificial lamb that appeared in many parts of the Hebrew lexicon.

John 1 (Common English Bible)

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is really greater than me because he existed before me.’ 31 Even I didn’t recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be made known to Israel.” 

There was a lamb in the Garden of Eden that lost its life providing clothing so that Adam and Eve could cover their original sin. There was a lamb offered by an angel to Abraham to serve as a substitute sacrifice in Isaac’s place. A lamb provided the Passover blood that marked the homes of the jews in Egypt, protecting them from the slaughter of the angel of death who had come with the final plague against Pharaoh. The Levitical practices of altar sacrifices required many lambs to give up their lives. Isaiah prophesied about the lamb born to be shorn and slaughtered for the sins of the nation. Sacrificial lambs were a familiar trope for the Hebrew nation, and John the Baptizer used that institutional knowledge to point to Jesus as the one and only Lamb of God, who will take away the sins of the world once and for all.

32 John testified, “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it rested on him. 33 Even I didn’t recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and testified that this one is God’s Son.”

We’ll be reading from The Gospel of John for a few weeks, so let’s pause for a moment and consider this marvelous book. John’s gospel presents the story of Jesus in a much different manner than the other three synoptic gospels. They are aligned in sequence, frame, and form, while John’s Gospel takes a different approach to the same story. John does not include a birth narrative, Jesus’ baptism, the wilderness temptation, the parables, the Last Supper, the agony in Gethsemane, nor Jesus’ ascension. While Matthew, Mark, and Luke focus on Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, John takes us straight to Jerusalem. He emphasized Jesus’ miracles and gave us eyewitness testimonies, like the one we read today. Note that John does not record the baptism itself but offers John the Baptizer’s eyewitness account of the event.

Who is the Lamb of God to you? What sin does he come to take away forever from your life? Will you allow his sacrifice to make you clean? What is your testimony about Jesus?

We don’t want to miss the point. In every iteration of the sacrificial lamb, God allowed its shed blood to provide safety, protection, a new start, and freedom. Like the representative body and blood of communion, we are offered an opportunity to accept Jesus’ sacrifice and be made new. How will you accept that gift today?

This is My Blood, Poured Out for You by Kitty Hawk UMC

Show and Tell

Posted on by Betsy

Show and tell is a common thing in lower elementary school classrooms. Children love to bring favorite toys, books, objects, and even newborn siblings to show to their teachers and classmates and tell them all about them. It is a great way to get kids used to the idea of addressing a group of people in a cozy, comfortable environment. They won’t all grow up to be public speakers, but this is a first step in training children in how to participate in class. I used to do a “brown bag children’s sermon” in the summer where children brought me something in a brown bag and were allowed to tell about the object. Then I had to come up with a Bible story or Scripture that corresponded to the contents of the bag. It was a challenge to think fast on my feet! I had one rule: no live or previously living thing could be in the bag. We had a lot of fun with it.

When you think about it, most of the Gospel is a show and tell experience. The people of the time saw Jesus and his ministry and then were encouraged to go and tell others. From the shepherds and the wisemen, to the eye witnesses of the feeding miracles, to the woman at the well, it’s all one big show and tell moment.

John 1 (Common English Bible)

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is really greater than me because he existed before me.’ 31 Even I didn’t recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be made known to Israel.” 32 John testified, “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it rested on him. 33 Even I didn’t recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and testified that this one is God’s Son.”

John’s early show and tell defined who Jesus was. He was the Lamb of God. He was the savior who would take away the world’s sins. He was the one who received the Holy Spirit in the baptismal waters of the Jordan river. He was God’s Son.

Friends, today is a reminder that we are invited to the show and tell party as well. What has Jesus done for you? Who is he to you? Can you share a word of testimony about the Son of God today?

People won’t recognize Jesus until we do.

Well Played, Southwest

O Final Light

Posted on by Betsy

Advent begins in darkness. This is a deliberate thing, meant to bring us back to a time when the prophets declared that the “people were walking in darkness.” That scripture is a word-figure for the reality of the absence of the Light of the World from our lives. Before Jesus arrived, God’s people had descended from the Garden of Eden into deep and hopeless darkness, until it was so ink-black you could not see your soul in front of your face.

We recognize the descent into darkness and Advent’s ascent into light in the things around us. The Advent wreath has four unlit candles on the first day of Advent. Each Sunday we light one, then two, then three, then four, and FINALLY we arrive at Christmas Eve, when the white Christ candle standing at the center is lit. What a joyful moment that is to behold…all the flames dancing at once in the air of anticipation met and expectation unfolded.

Ponder this Christ Candle lighting liturgy from the United Methodist Church:

O Finality.
O final Light.
O luminous One,
outshining lamp, stars and sun.

O End of Night.
O Day’s Light without ending.
O Light, all light,
outshining lamp, stars and sun.

Break forth, O heavenly Light, and reign to the ages of ages.
Shine forever and let no more greed or hatred near.
Illumine and save all creation,
outshining lamp, stars and sun.

O Light, we shall see face to face.
O Radiancy, we shall ever bear upon our foreheads.
O Splendor of Love, the world of greed and hatred ending,
outshining lamp, stars and sun.

That is a rich and beautiful series of images, emotions, and ideas. You may want to read it again. But the repetition of “outshining lamp, stars and sun” truly stands out. Jesus is the true light that illumines everything; a light that no one can extinguish.

Maybe Christmas Eve tomorrow will be dark for you. Grief, loneliness, illness, separation, missing your family, financial hardship…many things can dull the light. But all these things are worldly. Jesus is the Light of the World, and he longs to shine warmth, joy, and peace into your dark places.

Today is a day to do nothing else but embrace the Light. His light brings healing. His light brings solace. His light shines the way to eternal light, where literally none of those things matter. As much as it matters here and as deeply as you are feeling it, NONE of it will matter in eternity.

John 1 (NIV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 

4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

No darkness can overcome Jesus. He outshines the lamp. He outshines the stars. He outshines the SUN.

Bask in that light today. If you are headed to a Christmas Eve service tomorrow, listen for the light, look at the light, and be the light. If you aren’t, ponder these words again just like Mary pondered the angel’s proclamation of Jesus’ birth…in your heart.

Jesus is the Light of the World! A light no one can extinguish.

Light of the World by Kathy Schumacher

Nothing Good

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever been made to feel uncomfortable about your hometown or home state? Perhaps it has a questionable reputation or a funny name (I’m looking at you, Intercourse, PA) that makes it easy for people to joke about. When I was a student at Penn State, being from New Jersey often felt that way. There was a Saturday Night Live skit that was popular at the time, where Joe Piscapo would say, “I’m fruhm Joisey! Are you fruhm Joisey, too?” and I heard that a lot. Then I would be asked what Turnpike exit I lived near, as though New Jersey was just a turnpike for the real people to traverse as they traveled to more interesting places. As if!

I wonder if Jesus felt that way, being from Nazareth.

John 1 (Common English Bible)

43 The next day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”

46 Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”

Nazareth is the place where Jesus grew up, and was a small, nondescript town with a population of about 200-400 people. Nathanael’s derogatory remark reveals his own prejudice about this little nothing of a place. Nazareth was southwest of the Sea of Galilee, located north of Jerusalem, well beyond Samaria. Being so small, and not adjacent to major cities, it was the last place one would expect anything interesting to happen. I suppose that calling someone a “Nazarene” would have been like referring to them as a “bumpkin,” or even a “hillbilly.”

Nathanael’s question is pretty sarcastic. He assumes that Nazareth couldn’t produce anything of worth, let alone the Messiah.

But notice this: Philip’s response was not to rebuke Nathanael, but simply to invite. 

Philip said, “Come and see.”

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here is a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are God’s Son. You are the king of Israel.”

50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these! 51 I assure you that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up to heaven and down to earth on the Human One.

There is much to be learned from Philip’s response. What a beautiful example of how to witness to a skeptic! He doesn’t argue, he simple invites. Being invitational when it comes to sharing the Gospel is the best way, I believe. Bible-thumping, loud proclamations, self-righteous posts, and every other presentation that excludes those who haven’t yet heard or are filled with doubt is not the way to win others to Christ.

Philip chose wisely in this conversation, and so should we. How can you be winsome and invitational in your own speech? Jesus invites us to follow him. May we invite others in the same way.

Come and see!

Come and See by Kathy Schumacher

I Am Not the Messiah

Posted on by Betsy

Many years ago I attended a pastor’s retreat where we were encouraged to set boundaries, recognize our limitations, and learn to lean on God for strength and direction. The oft repeated mantra for the weekend was, “I am not the Messiah.” It began as a humorous call-and-response led by one of the speakers, but as the weekend went on, we became aware of the many times in ministry when we fall into the trap of thinking we should have all the answers, be able to solve everyone’s personal problems, raise funds, cast big visions, preach stellar sermons every week, resolve every conflict, and have the ability to fix everything. Part of this conundrum is based on our natural desire to help our people and our churches get better and thrive. The other part is based on unrealistic expectations some congregants have of their ministers. In any case, remembering that “I am not the Messiah, I just work for him” is a healthy way of dealing with our own limitations and the truth of Who is really in control.

This is a life lesson for everyone, not just clergy.

I chuckled when I read today’s lectionary, remembering that good lesson from many years ago. In actuality, we were quoting John the Baptizer when we chanted, “I am not the Messiah.” Do you remember the event?

John 1 (New International Version)

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

Before we get to the punchline, let’s stop right there. “He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” In that one golden sentence we find the shared call of every single follower of Jesus. We are not called to be God. We are not called to sit in the judgement seat that God occupies. We are not here to save people, like Jesus does. We are not called to resolve issues with an iron fist. We are not called to determine the parameters of the sheepfold. Those things are of the Lord. All we are called to do is witness to his light.

19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

John reminds us that we serve the Lord in a wilderness of secular thinking. We serve the Lord in the bumpy places where there is confusion and hurt. We serve the Lord by witnessing to the glory of God in the darkest places. We serve the Lord when we reflect his light.

24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

How about you? How can you witness to the Light? How can you offer the hope of the Living Water to the people who are parched and dying of thirst?

No, we are not the Messiah. But pointing to him every day and in every way will bring us great joy. Our witness is strongest in our actions, behaviors, and choices. These are the things people notice. As the old song says, “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” So, go and witness to the light.

Witness by Michelle Robertson

Come and See

Posted on by Betsy

The images still haunt us. A healthy, young, 24-year-old athlete lay dead on the football field. Players who surrounded him were weeping. An ambulance drove across the grass as an athletic trainer performed CPR for nearly 10 minutes. An AED was used to shock the young man’s heart back into life. Oxygen was administered. When he was finally stabilized enough for transport, he was taken to the ICU of the nearest hospital, which happened to be only two miles away. Today, Damar Hamlin is recovering and making tremendous strides. He is breathing on his own and talking. Thanks be to God!

This morning I read a thread on Twitter from a hospital chaplain asking that people not label this as a “miracle.” His reasoning is that by labeling everyday medical procedures as miracles “we end up with people who deny its legitimacy.” A doctor retweeted it and gave a lengthy explanation of all the step-by-step medical science that was the reason for Hamlin’s recovery, calling each step a miracle. I have to say I’m with the doc on this one. The doctor saw what the chaplain couldn’t. God was with Hamlin every step of the way. Life after death is a miracle. I don’t care what avenues of medical science God uses … he is still the author of all life who performs miracles every day. Who’s with me on this?

Today’s lectionary passage is all about people seeing for themselves. Jesus invites us all to “come and see.”

John 1 (The Message)

29-31 The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I’ve been talking about, ‘the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.’ I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God.”

32-34 John clinched his witness with this: “I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ That’s exactly what I saw happen, and I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.”

Come, See for Yourself

35-36 The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb.”

37-38 The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus. Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, “What are you after?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 He replied, “Come along and see for yourself.”

I believe miracles are happening all around us every day. From the profound to the ordinary, God is present. Here is an example from the mundane: my husband and I drove 12 hours on I-95 through four states a few days ago and never once slowed down. If you’ve ever driven that route, you know that was a miracle!

They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day. It was late afternoon when this happened.

40-42 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, “We’ve found the Messiah” (that is, “Christ”). He immediately led him to Jesus.

Jesus took one look up and said, “You’re John’s son, Simon? From now on your name is Cephas” (or Peter, which means “Rock”).

Finding the Messiah in the ordinary is miraculous. Receiving grace and compassion from a stranger is a miracle. God sending his son to forgive the sins of the world was the best miracle of all. You have the opportunity to come and see this Passover Lamb for yourself and then invite others.

Come and see!

The Power of Prayer photo by the New York Times via Facebook

Follow Me

Posted on by Betsy

Unpopular opinion: I think requiring adults to attend church membership classes before they are allowed to join is antithetical to the Gospel. Fortunately, I have always worked in churches that supported my position and I have been able to invite and receive people into the life of the church without requiring the typical four-to-six week indoctrination class.

My position is this: Jesus recruited his “membership” with two words: Follow Me. He didn’t require a six-week class, so why should we? Mind you, we have always had an “orientation” meeting, so that new members could be introduced to the aspects of the church. But that is more about me getting to know them than them getting to know the church. We provide new members with literature about the denomination and encourage them to take Bible studies. But in regard to “joining” the church, I believe that if the Holy Spirit has called you to join, the church shouldn’t put a process in the way of the promise.

Today’s lectionary is one of many examples of Jesus inviting someone to simply follow him.

John 1 (Common English Bible)

43 The next day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

Watch what happens next. Philip was invited to follow Jesus. He immediately turned around and brought someone else in. See how that works?

45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”

46 Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”

Remember that Jesus was rejected in his own hometown. There was a pervasive attitude that Nazareth, a little podunk place, was an unlikely location for God’s son, the King of Israel, to grow up. Kind of like being from New Jersey. (I can say that…I’m from Jersey.)

Philip said, “Come and see.”

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here is a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are God’s Son. You are the king of Israel.”

50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these! 51 I assure you that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up to heaven and down to earth on the Human One.”

You see, when the church encourages people to simply follow Jesus, the people see heaven open up in their lives. They encounter the Son of God for themselves. They invite him to be the king of their hearts, with no membership class required of him before they welcome him in.

Where is Jesus calling you to follow him today? Is he calling you to a new path? Is he asking you to put your feet on a road of righteousness that you are not currently walking? Is he inviting you to follow him into a sincere way of repentance and cleansing, leaving the old things behind so that you can follow him in a new direction?

Jesus invites us to follow him. No pre-registration required.

Just say yes.

Follow Me by Michelle Robertson

In Your Midst

Posted on by Betsy

I was stuck at a tire repair shop this week, waiting for a leaky tire to be diagnosed. Alas, the leak was too great and a new tire had to be purchased. While I waited, I stumbled upon The Great British Baking Show’s holiday episode. What joy! Four former contestants returned to compete in three Christmas-themed baking challenges.

One contest was to make holiday cake pops. This peaked my non-baker’s interest, as I have always wondered how they are made. Do they use a special ball-shaped form? A muffin pan made of perfect spheres? Do they bake cake into thick squares and then sculpt them into neat balls and stick a lollipop stick in the bottom?

Well I was stunned. None of these methods are how you make a cake pop. Lo and behold, you bake a regular pan or sheet cake and then MASH IT UP when the cake is cool. Then you take the mashed-up cake and mix it with…wait for it…buttercream frosting. Then you scoop it into your buttered hands, shape it into lollipop-sized balls, shove a stick in the bottom, and frost.

Who knew??

The things you learn at the tire shop.

Today’s passage from John 1 is a little like me watching how cake pops are made.

What exactly are we looking at? What weird mashup of things has created what we are seeing? The people were confused. They saw a man named John who was baptizing people, so they assumed him to be the messiah. Little did they know what was really going on.

John 1 (The Message)

19-20 When Jews from Jerusalem sent a group of priests and officials to ask John who he was, he was completely honest. He didn’t evade the question. He told the plain truth: “I am not the Messiah.”

21 They pressed him, “Who, then? Elijah?”

“I am not.”

“The Prophet?”

“No.”

22 Exasperated, they said, “Who, then? We need an answer for those who sent us. Tell us something—anything!—about yourself.”

23 “I’m thunder in the desert: ‘Make the road straight for God!’ I’m doing what the prophet Isaiah preached.”

24-25 Those sent to question him were from the Pharisee party. Now they had a question of their own: “If you’re neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?”

26-27 John answered, “I only baptize using water. A person you don’t recognize has taken his stand in your midst. He comes after me, but he is not in second place to me. I’m not even worthy to hold his coat for him.”

A person you don’t recognize has come to save you. He is in your midst.

Did you ever stop to think that you encountered Jesus in someone, but didn’t recognize him? Did a loving pastor, grandparent, teacher, youth worker, friend, parent, stranger, etc. show you a moment of unexpected grace, startling unconditional love, or unwarranted mercy in such a way that later you recognized that they were being Jesus to you in that moment?

A cake pop isn’t really a round ball of cake. John isn’t really the messiah. That person wasn’t really Jesus. But when you had that moment with them, you were ushered into the Light.

Go and be someone’s unexpected light today.

Nobody Really Knows What’s Inside by Gail Driver

Darkness into LIGHT

Posted on by Betsy

Advent begins in darkness. This is a deliberate thing, meant to bring us back to a time when the prophets declared that the “people were walking in darkness.” That scripture is a word-figure for the reality of the absence of the Light of the World from our lives. Before Jesus arrived, God’s people had descended from the Garden of Eden into deep and hopeless darkness, until it was so ink-black you could not see your soul in front of your face.

We recognize the descent into darkness and Advent’s ascent into light in the things around us. The Advent wreath has four unlit candles on the first day of Advent. Each Sunday we light one, then two, then three, then four, and FINALLY we arrive at Christmas Eve, when the white Christ candle standing at the center is lit. What a joyful moment that is to behold…all the flames dancing at once in the air of anticipation met and expectation unfolded.

Ponder this Christ Candle lighting liturgy from the United Methodist Church:

O Finality.
O final Light.
O luminous One,
outshining lamp, stars and sun.

O End of Night.
O Day’s Light without ending.
O Light, all light,
outshining lamp, stars and sun.

Break forth, O heavenly Light, and reign to the ages of ages.
Shine forever and let no more greed or hatred near.
Illumine and save all creation,
outshining lamp, stars and sun.

O Light, we shall see face to face.
O Radiancy, we shall ever bear upon our foreheads.
O Splendor of Love, the world of greed and hatred ending,
outshining lamp, stars and sun.

That is a rich and beautiful series of images, emotions, and ideas. You may want to read it again. But the repetition of “outshining lamp, stars and sun” truly stands out. Jesus is the true light that illumines everything; a light that no one can extinguish.

Maybe this Christmas Eve is still dark for you. Grief, loneliness, illness, separation, missing your family, financial hardship…many things can dull the light. But all these things are worldly. Jesus is the Light of the World, and he longs to shine warmth, joy, and peace into your dark places.

Today is a day to do nothing else but embrace the Light. His light brings healing. His light brings solace. His light shines the way to eternal light, where literally none of those things matter. As much as it matters here and as deeply as you are feeling it, NONE of it will matter in eternity.

John 1 (NIV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 

4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

No darkness can overcome Jesus. He outshines the lamp. He outshines the stars. He outshines the SUN.

Bask in that light today. If you are headed to a Christmas Eve service, listen for the light, look at the light, and be the light. If you aren’t, ponder these words again just like Mary pondered the angel’s proclamation of Jesus’ birth…in your heart.

Jesus is the Light of the World! A light no one can extinguish.

Becca’s Moon by Becca Ziegler