John 3:22-36 - Walking Together With Jesus

I love a good wedding. One of my favorite moments is when everyone stands up to catch a first glimpse of the Bride. I try to take a moment to look over to the Groom and see his face as his future wife is arriving at the aisle. Pure joy. Uncontrolled smile. Hope. So much of my wedding day was a blur but there is one moment that will be etched in my memory forever. Etta James beautifully belted out, “At last, my love has come along…” as Erin arrived at the other end of the aisle. I lost it. Tears. She was beautiful and we were about to begin our forever journey together! I’m welling with emotions just thinking about that moment. Anytime “At Last” comes on, I stop whatever I’m doing to take Erin’s hand dance with her. It’s one of my favorite traditions.

I’ve had the privilege of officiating a few weddings here recently that have been very meaningful to me. Whether I do their premarital counseling or not, I try to spend a bit of time with the couple so that I know them collectively. It is typical that I know one better than the other so I make it a point to get to know them as a couple so I can best tell their story for those who come to witness their union. There are a few promises I make to them: I don’t want to do anything that draws attention to myself and away from them and I will be their advocate if there are people trying to take over “in their best interest.” 

I approach officiating weddings differently than most preachers. I tell the couples story, interlacing it with scripture, so that everyone who is there walks away knowing better the journey towards committed love this couple took. I share their funny moments, when they fell in love, what they respect and appreciate about one another, etc. Everyone who hears what I say will know fully well why this couple is getting married. I do have a section where I call them to continue in the journey of love together, reminding them of the love of Christ that is immeasurable, and to dive deeply into that love for one another. Those in attendance, I always remind them of their responsibility to hold the couple accountable for the love they profess today. They are to walk with them and remind them of their commitments when times are hard.  

In John 3:22-36, we have just read in the previous section about God’s love for the world, a love that draws us into the light where we find true life. John brings us back to John the Baptist and his disciples. They are baptizing in the same area where Jesus and his followers are baptizing. Those with the Baptist were concerned about the success of Jesus’ ministry, that it might be taking away from John’s. Thankfully, John the Baptist, understands his role clearly. He is to tell the story of Jesus so clearly, God’s love come in the flesh, that Jesus continually increases to the point where John is forgotten. John the Baptist uses imagery from weddings to tell the people of his role. He’s the Best Man. He is not the Groom. His job is complete when the Bride and Groom come together and he can take joy in sliding into the background. 

All of the metaphors and stories up to this point come together in what I believe is our mission as Christians. We need to continually catch glimpses of God to see the overwhelming joy and love he has for the world. We need to invest in time with God and his bride to know their love story so we can clearly communicate it so the world knows the depths of love they share. When we know God’s love for the world, we see the world through his love and communicate his love more clearly through how we love those we encounter in the world. 

In this season of Lent, starting Wednesday Feb 17, I want to invite us to walk with Jesus through the “signs” John lays out in his Gospel. Pay attention to Jesus’ actions, who he blesses, gives his attention to, and how he communicates God’s love for the world. As you read these stories in our preparation for Easter, consider taking time to walk with Jesus every day as you reflect on the passage of the week or Dwelling in the Word for the week. Invite someone to talk with you once a week either in person or over the phone and share together how the readings have encouraged, challenged, convicted, given you hope, of have helped you feel God’s love. Set aside time every week to do this together. You can find a handout and calendar for Lent here.

John 2:13-3:15 - Jesus the Temple and Spirit Baptism

John has just revealed to the reader Jesus’ first recorded miracle, the turning of water into wine (2:1-12). He then moves straight into a major event that is out of place in the timeline of Jesus’ ministry. Rearranging the order of events to make a bigger point is a common writing style of the time. It is almost like when a movie shows the major turning point at the end of the movie and then goes back a few years to tell the story of how they got to that point. You then see the whole movie through that short clip you saw at the beginning. John just told us that Jesus had performed the first of his signs (2:11), which invites the reader to then look for more signs. 

John 2:13-22 – Why does John then put the cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry rather than at the end like the other gospel accounts? There is a less likely chance that he cleansed the temple twice. The accounts of the cleansing in John’s gospel and the other gospels are quite similar and the authorities would have responded quite differently a second time. At least one would think so. John places this story at the beginning of his narrative so that everything you read from this point forward should be read through the lens of Jesus claiming that he is in fact the temple where heaven and earth come together with the presence of God. 

When we read this story, we often focus our attention on Jesus cleansing the temple and his righteous indignation for what was going on in the temple. In the last year, I’ve seen people reference these stories as justification for their own righteous indignation while failing to realize that Jesus then went to the cross a week later (in the other gospel accounts) and died for those same people. Be careful not to only model the parts of Jesus’ ministry that match your own desires. You cannot pick up the whip without also picking up the cross.

During our time of Dwelling in the Word Monday morning, I was moved that each person in the group reflecting on scripture together heard the same message in their lives: “What is it in your heart, mind, and life that Jesus needs to drive out so that God can take up residence in your life?” The focus of each person was drawn to different words and phrases within the text, but all felt the same message in their time of meditation. When reading passages like this one, it is important to become introspective for how the Holy Spirit needs to cleanse your life rather than assuming the passage could only be talking about “those people over there that need cleansing.” 

We are all in need of cleansing. Reading scripture in a way that only confirms your justification while condemning others is not a reading that invites the Holy Spirit into your life for transformation. This brings us to the next section we will focus on this Sunday, John 3:1-21. Jesus says to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (3:5). What does it mean to be born of water and the Spirit? 

I’ll end with this. In last week’s sermon I focused in on Jesus’ question to the disciples of John in 1:38, “What are you seeking?” Jesus calls us to follow him, to be shaped into his image by imitating the kind of life he lives. When he asks us what we’re seeking, we realize that often in life all we really want is assurance that we’re never going to go to hell. His call to follow him calls us to come through John’s baptism of repentance (water) into Jesus’ baptism of transformation (Holy Spirit). If I am not inviting the Holy Spirit into my life to bring transformation to who I am, have I merely settled for John’s baptism? Jesus has called us to greater things than this!

John 1:35-51 - Walking with Jesus Together

March 8, 1995 was a Wednesday night and they let the Youth Minister do the preaching that night. I was 10 years old. I don’t remember anything about the lesson because I was really focused on my cue. He was supposed to say, “blah blah blah. Come now while we stand and sing.” He didn’t! The youth minister botched his most important line! Mom and Dad looked at me during the closing song and asked if I had changed my mind. We found one of the ministers or elders and let them know that I wanted to be baptized and they did everything they could to gather people around for this wonderful event. My dad baptized me. It is a very clear memory I cherish. I remember the hugs and so many people telling me they were proud of me and referring to me as Brother. 

I had made the decision the night before and talked to my parents about it. The math made sense in my head. I knew I was a sinner, I was going to hell, and I needed Jesus in my life so that wouldn’t happen. I’m not sure what I thought my big sins were at the age of 10 but it was clear to me that I needed Jesus. Looking back, there wasn’t a time in my life that Jesus wasn’t part of it. It seemed like all of the Youth Rallies had speakers who talked about their major turning point in life where they left drugs or woke up in a ditch somewhere and found Jesus, or Jesus found them, I can’t quite remember. I just remember thinking that I wish I had a bigger “conversion story.”

Over the next decade I moved from the “I need Jesus, so I don’t go to hell” phase to the “I want to please God and make him happy” phase and in the years following college I moved into desiring a relationship with God. Looking back, I see defining moments and key people who helped me move forward in my walk with Christ. My friend Luke and I decided in college that we’d experiment with fasting together since the Bible talked so much about it. We would end our day sharing our experiences with God throughout the day and end in prayer together. My other good friend Kent has become a lifelong companion in my walk with God. We’ve challenged one another in our thinking, to go deeper with spiritual practices, and have held each other accountable to a higher calling in how we live out the Christian walk. He has become closer than a brother, what the Celtic Christians call anamchara, or “soul friend.” There are also a whole list of people who are older who modeled Christ to me, pushed me to go deeper, and walked with me where I was to model what faithful discipleship looks like. 

While I don’t have a “conversion moment” that I can look back and see a drastic change, I do have moments and people I can look back on and see where while I was looking for Jesus, I found out that Jesus was looking for me. The mutual pursuit of relationship is one of the beautiful pictures that John is painting in the opening scenes of his gospel account. Too often we think of God as far off but what we see in the gospels is that God left his high place to come and be with us, pursuing us, chasing after us. He desires relationship, not just faithful obedience to an arbitrary list of rules (I say arbitrary because the list of rules often gets added to and taken from by us more so than God). 

Closing out the first chapter of John, Jesus calls his first disciples to follow him (walk the way he walks and do life the way he does it). The natural reaction to following Jesus for Andrew and Philip was to invite someone else to follow Jesus with them. Andrew invited Peter and Philip invited Nathanael (John 1:35-51). 

The walk with Christ, the walk of discipleship, was never intended to be a personal, individualistic, endeavor. It was always intended to be shared with someone else, done in community, where iron sharpens iron. Who is someone that you companion with in your walk with Christ? Someone other than your spouse who is the same gender as you? How do you go about starting a “soul friendship” that is eternally meaningful? My friend Kent, who I mentioned earlier, and I developed a tool for cultivating mutually beneficial soul friendships. You can find this tool here. This is not a program that we are “doing” as a church but a tool we are providing for anyone who wants to develop relationships on a deeper spiritual level. This tool can be adapted to what is best for you. I pray that our church will be a place where spiritual relationships are cultivated and our walk with Christ is deepened and strengthened. 

Gospel of John - He Must Become Greater

John invites you to know Jesus in deeper ways each time you read these stories. John is an excellent writer! As we read the Gospel of John together, I want you to pay attention to how Jesus interacts with people, how he responds to situations, how he remains in control all the way till he gives up his spirit on the cross (no one takes it from him). To see Jesus in these ways, I encourage you to read the stories over and over again as you read through this Gospel this year. Each time you do, spend some time sitting in the position of different characters who interact or observe Jesus. What is God revealing to you about Jesus from their perspective? What do you learn about yourself by how they respond to Jesus? 

Read the first chapter of John and pay attention to John the Baptist in contrast to how John the author of this Gospel presents Jesus. John the Baptist has worked himself into a good political position in Israel. It might now seem like it, but he has gained a position where he could actually mount a claim for the throne of David. He had the followers and the religious elites had taken notice of his message of redemption, calling all of Israel back to following God. When faced with that kind of worldly power, it is tempting to take hold of it. He could even rationalize that it was for God’s glory and therefore must be right! Many of us in his position would fall into this temptation if we were presented with the temptation. 

The reality is there are people in power who regularly make claims for our allegiance, offering us power within the culture in exchange. We justify giving our allegiance because we convince ourselves that this power will have the greatest impact on the world we are in. John’s response to this growing power around him is one we need to embrace in our lives. He says a lot in chapter 1 that I will get to momentarily but the essence of his entire attitude for his purpose in life is summer up in seven words, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (3:30). 

This attitude of Jesus increasing in your life in such a way that you decrease is the focus of the Christian spiritual journey. Our walk with Christ is a continual journey of relinquishment of all that we are so that Christ will make us all that we need to be. When you look at the life and ministry of John the Baptist, what do you learn about the life you are called to live in relation to Jesus Christ? 

John came as a voice, a signpost pointing to Jesus. His life was live as a witness to point to the one that must become greater. What areas of your life point to Jesus? What areas of your life point to someone or something other than Jesus? Do these arrows come into conflict? 

There are times in my life where I thought I could be Jesus for someone. I felt hopeless when I couldn’t fix them. In ministry, we call this the Messiah Complex. Ministers often take on this unhealthy mindset that they are called to fix everyone they meet. The reality is all any of us can do is be a witness to the presence of Jesus with us. In your life with others, seek to create space for the light to enter in and bring change. You cannot force this light on anyone and expect change. What you can do is be a voice calling out in the desert and invite them into this space where reconciliation and redemption takes place. 

Jesus is the light that transforms darkness. We reflect that light into the world and draw people to the light by how well we reflect the light of Jesus. You cannot expect the reflect the light of Jesus if you are not intentionally spending time in his light to illuminate the darkness in your own life. What will you do this year to spend time with Jesus in a way that brings more light into the world where you are? 

Gospel of John - Transformed with Christ

The Gospel of John is quite different from the other three Gospels (called the Synoptic Gospels). As you read through John’s account of the life of Jesus, pay attention to the details he gives, leaves out, the stories he shares, and the stories he omits. When you read these Gospel accounts, you aren’t just reading about the events that took place in the life and ministry of Jesus. You are also reading what the author of the Gospel was trying to communicate to the community to which he was writing. 

At the end of John’s Gospel, he gives his reason for writing (20:30-31): “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” I’ve heard this text preached a few different ways. Some believe that John was written as an evangelistic letter to convince people of the faith. Others believe that it was written to an established community of Christ followers to deepen their faith in Jesus. The Greek can actually be read “…so that you continue in your belief” rather than “so that you may believe.” Anytime I come to these kinds of debates, I take the opportunity to read and re read the gospel through each perspective so that new insights might be revealed.

For the sake of our study this year, I want to approach John’s gospel as though he were writing to deepen our faith in Jesus. He is moving us from our initial understanding of the Gospel message and inviting us to walk with Jesus, God in the flesh, and get to know him on a deeper level. The “knowing” that John offers us is one of transformative relationship. He writes that we might truly believe in Jesus, implying that there are areas of your life that you do not yet truly believe in Jesus. Another way to say this, what areas of your life do not have Jesus sitting on the throne? Your security and safety? The future? Your family? Finances? Etc.

As you read John’s gospel, you’ll notice some major events not recorded. John takes a different approach to how the story of Jesus is told. In the ancient world biographies took on different forms and orders to make major points the author feels need to be made. John does not have a birth narrative, the baptism of Jesus, the Mount of Transfiguration, and the institution of the Lord’s Supper. He also puts the “Cleansing of the Temple” at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry rather than at the end. Why does he do this?

John invites you to follow Jesus and discover all of these things in a new way through the ministry and teachings of Jesus. When you follow Jesus, you’ll see him on the Mount of Transfiguration, glorified and lifted up. These are terms John often uses to talk about Jesus on the cross. For John, the Mount of Transfiguration is the Hill of Calvary. 

John moves the “Cleansing of the Temple” to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry so that the reader sees everything Jesus does through that event and Jesus saying, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it in three days.” The one who made his dwelling place among us (1:14) is the one where we go to meet God. He then calls us to take up residence in/with him (“Abide in me…” chapter 15) so that we can be sent out as his presence in the world (17:18). 

The Gospel of John is going to take us on a journey with Jesus showing us how to love those who are deemed unlovable, love one another in a way that puts God on display for the world to see, and how to address corrupt political powers in this world. The most beautiful part of this journey is that Jesus is always in control. He is never frantic. He is never anxious or worried about the power structures around him. Even on the cross he takes care of his mother. No one takes his life from him. He willingly gives it up because he knows that his Father is in control. 

There is no way to fully follow Jesus that doesn’t take you to the cross, out the other side, and into the resurrection. The question is, will you follow him?

Called to Transformation - Leaders Set the Example

We often take for granted the things in our lives that are well established. I like to think back to the early days in our country when it was mostly a dream and didn’t extend past the Mississippi River. There was unbridled ambition and unhindered dreams of what could be. They would have no idea what greatness would come of this place. Sitting where we are today, it is easy to take for granted the hard decisions that were made in the evolving landscape of America in her infancy. 

On an even larger and more important scale, we gather with the church that has changed and evolved over the past two thousand years and take for granted everything that has happened to bring us to where we are today. The church in Jerusalem looked different from the church that formed in Corinth. The church took on different forms as it took the Gospel into the world. We see these shifts in the book of Acts as the Messiah movement grew from Pentecost in Acts 2. By Acts 6, there were issues of widows being overlooked because of their heritage and culture. 

“The Hellenistic Jews complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food” (Acts 6:1). This issue was so big that the Apostles appointed servant leaders to make sure the ministry of the church was being taken care of in a way that was fair to everyone. They appointed these would-be Deacons because they needed to focus on the “ministry of the word of God” (6:2). Basically, there was an ongoing need in the church and the church changed to meet that need. This became the first notion of “Servant Leaders” in the church we know as Deacons. These are people who step into areas of the church that did not best reflect the image of Christ and brought the needed change so that the church would more clearly fulfil God’s mission. 

The choosing of the first Deacons had one basic criteria, they were “known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom” (6:3). If you were to choose people to address issues in the church to make sure the church best reflected God into the world, what criteria would you have for them? 

As the church continued to evolve and move into new terrains, the mission of the church to be God’s presence of reconciliation in the world took on new forms. If God’s mission for the church is to be about the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5), what kind of leaders need to be put in place? What characteristics do these leaders need to have? When you look at how the leadership of any organization conducts themselves in their lives, their actions reflect the values of the group. Each and every one of us are called to live into the image of Christ for the world to see but this is especially important for those who take on positions of leadership within the church. 

As the church grew, the needs also grew. Decades after Pentecost, Paul saw the need to give guidance for the kinds of characteristics one needs to possess if they are going to lead in God’s church. These characteristics reflect the image of Christ in how they conduct themselves in different situations in life. Read the characteristics and qualities of a leader in 1 Timothy 3:1-13. Why are these characteristics so important for those who lead? Why are they so important for those who take on positions of service, such as Deacon? As I look at lists like this, I think about the different areas of my life and wonder how well those areas of my life reflect the image of Christ for the world to see. What’s important in the church is that whether you are in a position of spiritual leadership, such as an Elder or Minister, or in a servant leadership position, such as a Deacon, you have a greater responsibility to set an example for all believers to be transformed into the image of Christ to reflect his glory into the world. We are all called to this transformation but those who aspire to be leaders must first lead in their example of Christ.

If you were to create other metrics for the characteristics of Christ, what would they be? To ask this a different way, how would you measure your own “Christ-likeness” in each area of your life? How do you conduct yourself in business? If you are a landlord, how well do you treat your tenants? If you are an employee, would your boss know you are a follower of Christ by how you conduct yourself in your place of work? We are called to be transformed into the image of Christ in all areas of our lives. The Christian leader should excel in this as an example for the church to follow. 

Dwelling in the Word for this Sunday will be in 1 John 2:3-11.

Transformed for Mission - Navigating New Terrain

We’re entering into a new year and it is a transition that is welcomed by so many. I was encouraged greatly by so many who shared where they saw God working this last year amongst the chaos and uncertainty of the times. We need to continue to be an encouragement to one another to slow down and recognize where God is working so we can give thanks, be encouraged, and meet God in the work being done. I’m looking forward to a new year together and what God is continuing to do in our church.

The major focus of this year is going to be on getting to know Jesus better through the Gospel of John. I want to challenge us (myself especially included): how well do you know Jesus? Not, how much do you know about Jesus? How well DO YOU KNOW Jesus? We are going to spend this year in and out of the Gospel of John so that we get to know Jesus better as a Brother, Friend, Companion, Savior, and especially our Lord. When you know someone well, you tend to pick up some of their mannerisms, turns of phrase, and even the way they act. The Gospels invite us into a relationship with Jesus to where we are transformed into his likeness for the redemption and reconciliation of the world. He becomes the mirror we look into to recognize areas of our lives where we need to invite the Spirit in to bring transformation. We do this in community together to encourage one another in this journey of transformation. With Paul we say, “Become like me in the ways that I am like Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). 

This language of transformation into Christ’s likeness is sprinkled throughout the New Testament.

Romans 8:29 – For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

1 Corinthians 3:18 – And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

1 John 3:2-3 – Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Philippians 2:5 – In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

In our journey to become like Christ, we are called to also be like Christ in his mission. In Jesus’ prayer for his disciples (followers), he said, “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world” (John 17:18), and then commissions them in 20:21, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

As you look forward to this new year, what area of your life needs to look more like Christ? What habits (disciplines) do you need to develop to grow spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are unsure how to answer these questions or need help determining what kinds of practices to develop to grow in your walk with Christ, please reach out to me. I would love to help you develop a plan for this year to make simple changes in your life to create space for God to bring transformation.

This Sunday, we are going to focus on the mission God has called us to in the world and the changing terrain ahead of us. When we look at the early church, we see a group of Christ followers who adapted and changed as they took the Gospel into “all the world.” What made sense in their culture, time, and place didn’t make sense in other cultures, times, and places. The mission to take Christ into all the world never changed though the landscape to which they took the Gospel changed. Our focus passage for Sunday’s lesson will be in Acts 11:1-18 and Dwelling in the Word will be on 1 Corinthians 9:19-27.

As you prepare for our time together on Zoom this Sunday, consider these questions: 

How has the terrain of our culture changed in the last few generations? What is the core truth of the Gospel that continues to hold true from generation to generation? What are traditional practices of the church that might need to change, that are not central to the Gospel, that potentially get in the way of sharing the Gospel with others?

What are ministries, habits, practices, traditions, etc. we need to develop to better reach the NoDa and Johnston YMCA community? What does the church look like post-quarantine? Do we go back to “normal” or do we adapt for the new terrain ahead of us? 

What lessons do we learn from the quarantined church so that we can better prepare for being the post-quarantined church?

These are questions I continually wrestle with and I want to invite you into the struggle. We won’t necessarily address the questions above this week but they need to continually be on our minds as we consider how to take Christ into the world as his witnesses.

Advent - Waiting Births Love

I want to invite you into an imaginative exercise with me. Pretend you are Mary. Guys I know this is a little harder for us to do but play along. You are Mary. You have just been given the task of carrying God within you. You have to nurture God as he grows inside you. You are mindful of what you do each day because you have such a precious gift growing within you. You are disciplined in tending to this gift that one day will arrive to be shared with the world. What kinds of things do you do to prepare? 

God in the flesh, the one we call Jesus Christ, the gift of love born into the world, was received by Mary as a gift. Take a moment to read through Luke 1:26-56. How did Mary respond to this gift she was given? She responded with the beauty of submission in the realization of greatness, “I am the Lord’s servant.” 

How would carrying God within you change how you see yourself?

How would carrying God within you change how you live your life?

How would carrying God within you change how you see the world?

I read Mary’s story differently here recently. She was given the gift of carrying God’s presence into the world to bring the redemption the world needed. I have often marveled at what that would have been like but then have failed to marvel at God’s presence being carried within me in the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17) or God’s presence being amongst us in the church as the community of believers (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). In our baptism, God placed his Spirit within each of us so that we would carry his presence into the world (Acts 2:38). 

How would you see yourself differently if you truly believed God’s presence was within you?

How would your life be lived differently if you truly believed you were carrying the presence of God?

How would you view the congregation of believers differently, and our worship gatherings together, if you believed God was even more present with us during those times? 

In so many ways, Mary’s story is the story of the church and of each believer. God has given us the gift of his real presence in our lives. How will you respond? Read back through Mary’s story in Luke 1:26-56 and see what Mary teaches you about carrying God for the blessing of the world.

Dwelling in the Word for this week is in 1 John 4:7-16.

Advent - Waiting with Peace

When we think of “peace” we often think of the “absence of war.” Throughout the Bible, there are times where peace means that but often when “peace” is encountered it means that things have been made complete. This world is not at peace because it is not complete. It is broken by sin. It is not as God intended it to be. So, Christ came proclaiming peace, shalom, to those who are near and to those who are far off (Ephesians 2:17). He promises peace and gives it freely so that our hearts will not be troubled (John 14:27). The Hebrew writer calls us to “make every effort to live in peace with everyone…” (12:14). James glorifies the peacemakers as those “who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness” (3:18). This is just a quick sampling of the peace called for in the New Testament. 

The peace that Jesus promises and gives brings people together in “completeness.” Those who strive to bring people together in this “completeness” are called peacemakers. Too quickly, and too often, it is tempting to draw lines in the sand between “us” and “them.” We see Jesus step across those lines in search of bringing peace. The woman caught in adultery comes to mind. A line was drawn in the sand that she was to be stoned. She’s still draped in the bedsheets of her sin when Jesus showed mercy on her and met her where she was on the other side of the line. He also called her to action, to leave her life of sin, and to take on a new life. He called those with the stones to do the same, but they mostly just walked away. Peace builds bridges and invites people into wholeness. It invites them into the presence of God’s shalom. It invites them to completeness. 

There is one passage that seems to run in contrast to everything I’ve said up to this point. In Matthew 10:34, Jesus says, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” It would be a mistake to take this verse out of context and use it to say that Christians are called to take up arms against those who oppose Christ. Christ calls the peacemakers “blessed” (Matt. 5:9) and says, “they will be called children of God.” He calls each of us to “pick up our cross and follow him” (Matt. 16:24-26). This is why Dietrich Bonhoeffer reflects on this passage in Matt 10 saying, “The cross is God’s sword on this earth. It creates division. The son against the father, the daughter against the mother, the household against its head, and all that for the sake of God’s Kingdom and its peace – that is the work of Christ on the earth!”

When Jesus was born, there were lots of people who encountered him and marveled about what would take place. Throughout the two birth narratives in Matthew and Luke, Simeon seems to be one of the few who grasps what is Christ’s coming will mean for Israel and the world. In Luke 2:29-35, Simeon speaks of Jesus as the “light for revelation to the Gentiles” and that he will cause the “rise and fall of many in Israel.” He brings the fall to many in Israel because while they are all calling for the sword against Rome, he picked up the cross. Rome brought “peace” everywhere they went by using the sword. They flexed big enough that no one wanted to go to war with them and therefore received “peace.” Their “peace” brought further brokenness. It did not bring shalom. 

The only way the world could receive true peace is if God came down and picked up the cross. God picking up the cross brought division because people want “peace” by the ways of the world, the ways of Rome. True peace that brings completeness comes by picking up the cross. The cross is the sword of God which brings division between those of the world and those who choose “the most excellent way” …Love (1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13). Simeon says that even Mary will be cut to the soul by this sword. 

Simeon sees the completeness that Jesus will bring to the world (and the Gentiles) and is at peace because completeness has come. Embracing the Christ child brings him to a peace that he is now able to let go of his life fully (Luke 2:29). What does it look like to live a life that fully embraces Christ? It is a life of peace. It is not anxious about the things of this world. It does not seek power but serves freely. It does not withhold love but gives love freely to all whether the world thinks they deserve love or not. As you contemplate Simeon embracing the Christ child at the end of his life, think about which areas of your life have yet to embrace Christ, bringing peace. Do you more often reach for the sword or the cross in your thoughts towards others? 

As we prepare to break bread together this Sunday, be meditating on Mark 8:31-38 for our time of Dwelling in the Word. Please share with me what God is convicting you with in this passage.