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Right in Front of Us
by Linda Rex
August 6, 2023, Proper 13 | After Pentecost—In C.S. Lewis’ book “The Last Battle”, there is a scene which profoundly pictures how we can have everything we’ve ever wanted right in front of us and still not see it. In this part of the story, the black dwarves are comfortably sitting in a lovely meadow in the new Narnia, and Aslan the lion has given them a great feast of tasty foods to enjoy.
Unfortunately, the black dwarves are blind to these heavenly realities. What is a lovely meadow in reality, to them is the filthy dirt floor of a smelly stable. The tasty treats they are enjoying to them are wisps of straw and grain, covered with animal waste. Even though there was enough food for them all to enjoy, the dwarves believed there wasn’t enough, and soon were having a fight over who got what.
This picture of our inability to see what is right in front of us is the author’s way of helping us to understand how we can be in the midst of God’s kingdom even now, and yet be living as though we are still enslaved citizens of this earthly realm. Blind to the spiritual realities, we may live as though we are unloved, God-forsaken orphans who have to struggle to have the smallest blessing in this bleak, dark world, when in reality, through Christ, we have been included in God’s inner life and love, and by the Spirit have all of heaven’s blessings available to us.
In the New Testament reading for this Sunday, Romans 9:1-5, the apostle Paul spoke of some of his fellow Israelites as being in this place of blindness. Paul said he had “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” in his heart because he longed for them to see and understand all that Jesus Christ had done for them, but they refused to receive it. His concern was deep enough that he was even willing, if God had allowed him, to sacrifice his own inclusion in Christ’s life so that they would recognize theirs. It broke Paul’s heart that his people, the human lineage of Jesus, could not and would not embrace the truth which was so evident in Christ’s life, death, resurrection and ascension.
The gospel story for today in Matthew 14:13–21 tells how Jesus was actively ministering to a crowd of over five thousand people, even though he had hoped for some time alone to deal with the loss of his relative John the Baptizer. His compassion moved him to offer healing to those in need, and the task was so large that as the day drew to a close, his work was not done. The disciples encouraged him to send the people away so they could get food for themselves. But Jesus told his disciples, “You feed them.”
This was an interesting statement, because it was obvious to the disciples that this task was impossible. The disciples did happen to have five loaves and two fish, but to feed over five thousand people? The men were still in a space of blindness with regards to the spiritual realities. Even after all of their time with Jesus, and even after he had spent all day performing miracles, they couldn’t imagine being able to feed the people with five loaves and two fish. The day was getting darker, the situation more serious, and Jesus was telling them it was up to them to solve this problem!
Going for a moment back to the passage in Romans 9:5, notice who Paul says Jesus is. He didn’t say Jesus was a nice guy who helped people, healed the sick, and told good stories. What he said was, Jesus Christ was and is both fully human and fully God. The problem in dealing with feeding the large group of people was that the disciples still did not realize who Jesus was. This is the central spiritual reality we all need to embrace, for it makes a profound difference in how we deal with the everyday situations in our lives which seem to be beyond our ability to handle.
Notice the profound difference which occurred when the disciples placed their five loaves and two fish in Jesus’ hands and then acted as though he could and would do what was needed in the situation. Jesus told them to organize the people—so they did. Jesus blessed the bread and broke it, and told them to share the food with others—so they did. When all was said and done, everyone had all they needed and there was even enough left over to fill twelve large baskets. Jesus told them not to neglect to gather the leftovers—so they did. Nothing was wasted, and all were fed.
The irony was that even after he did all this, the disciples still seemed to be blind as to who Jesus was. They needed their eyes opened and their hearts awakened. The spiritual realities are not something we touch, taste, feel, like our physical senses, so it seems at times that they are not real. But Jesus Christ is our living Lord, and he reveals himself to us by his Spirit. He loves to take what little we have and put it to work doing great things for his kingdom in this world. And he loves to include us in what he is doing even though at times it may not make sense to us.
In spite of how things may appear at the moment, God is present and at work in this world and in our lives through Jesus by his Spirit. Ask him to help you see the truth of what’s really going on. Ask him to awaken you to the spiritual realities—and get ready for a challenging journey of discovery!
Father, please awaken us by your Spirit to the spiritual realities we are included in. Enable us to see and know Jesus for who he really is, and to respond to him in faith, trusting him with all that we have in every situation. Grant us the grace to follow wherever he leads, and to do all that he asks of us, believing he will do more for us and in and through us by your Spirit than we could ever ask or imagine, for your glory. Amen.
“I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” Romans 9:1–5 NIV
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Light in the Lord
by Linda Rex
March 19, 2023, 4th Sunday in Preparation for Easter or Lent—Last Friday, like many others here in middle Tennessee, I found nighttime approaching and was unable to turn any lights on. With the power out for several hours, I had given up on trying to use the laptop and phone, wanting to save my limited battery power for emergencies. I began to bring out my old candles, and after lighting several of them, their warm glow filled the rooms in my home. It was good to be able to see, to chase away the darkness with a small bit of light.
The apostle John has a lot to say about light and darkness in his gospel and epistle. In the gospel story for this Sunday, John 9:1-41, a man who was born blind encountered Jesus. Jesus told this man, who had spent much of his life as a beggar and dependent upon others, to go to the pool of Siloam and to wash off the clay Jesus had spit on and placed upon his eyes. And he did.
On his way back from the pool, the man who had been blind encountered people who were shocked by the realization that the blind beggar they had seen every day in the temple was now able to see. This was an impossibility!
The people brought him to the Pharisees, who focused on Jesus’ “sin”, that he was a sinner in their eyes, rather than on the miracle of how Jesus had brought light into the blind man’s darkness, changing his life forever. To them, what was more shocking than the blind man’s healing was that Jesus had done something considered sinful—made clay with spit and dirt—on the Sabbath day, and even so, this man was healed.
Thankfully, the man who was born blind was not blinded by the same prejudice or pride which dominated these leaders. He was able to see what the religious leaders were unwilling to see—that Jesus was the Son of Man, the Son of God, the One who was his Lord and Savior. He believed, and his life was never the same again. The light which entered his eyes was eclipsed by the divine Light which entered his being and brought him to his knees in worship of Jesus.
The apostle Paul, in Ephesians 5:8-14, tells us we are “Light in the Lord” and because that is true, we are to “walk as children of Light.” There is a difference between a life walked in Light and a life walked in darkness—the difference has to do with who we fellowship with and what we participate in. We may fellowship with the evil one or fellowship with Jesus Christ. We can participate in the things which are “deeds of darkness”, like the people in John’s story, who chose unbelief, dishonesty, arrogance and pride. Or we can participate in what Jesus is doing, through humility, repentance and faith, thereby bringing healing, reconciliation, and renewal to a broken and sinful world by allowing the Light to live in us and through us by the Holy Spirit.
It all begins with a person—the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who is the Light of the world. In Jesus and by the Spirit, we have been given fellowship with the Maker and Sustainer of the cosmos and all that is in it. We can participate in what Father, Son, and Spirit are doing in this cosmos, or we can participate in what the darkness—the evil one—is doing. Who we fellowship with and what we participate in is evidenced in how we live our lives day by day, and whether the result is life-giving or ends in death.
Today, this day, where are your steps taking you? Are you tired of wandering about in the darkness? Do you realize that no matter where you are or what you are doing, the Light of God shines on you, in you, and through you because of Jesus and the Holy Spirit? Do you hear Jesus’ call to be washed anew in his rivers of living water, to be bathed in his wonderful light, and to turn again back into face-to-face relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit?
Lord, you are the Light of the world. I don’t want to walk in darkness, but in your marvelous light, now and forever. Wash me anew in your living streams, that I may ever reflect your glory and goodness, in your name, Jesus. Amen.
“… for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, ‘Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ ” Ephesians 5:8–14 NASB
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Come, and You Will See
by Linda Rex
January 15, 2023, 2nd Sunday in Epiphany—This morning as I write this blog for Epiphany, I find myself still in the season of Christmas. One of the songs running through my head is a hymn called O Come, All Ye Faithful. Part of the hymn goes like this:
“Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
(John Francis Wade; trans. Frederick Oakeley)
Jesus to Thee be all glory giv’n
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!
Oh come, let us adore him
Oh come, let us adore him
Oh come, let us adore him
Christ, the Lord!”
As you can see, the emphasis of this hymn is on the incarnation, on the coming of the Word of God, the Son of the Father, as God in human flesh.
What struck me this morning as the song rolled through my head is that this hymn calls us once again to come to the side of the manger, to gaze anew upon the wonder of the Christ child–God’s gift to humankind—and calls us to worship. Once again, we kneel in adoration as we look upon this precious and wondrous gift to all of us.
Our Old Testament reading for today is full of prophetic pointers to the coming of this child: “The Lord called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me”; “…the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to him…”; “…I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isa. 49:1b, 5a, 6b NASB). When we take the time to prayerfully and reverently observe this holy child, to contemplate what God has done in coming to us in this way, we are moved to worship in gratitude for God’s faithfulness and goodness.
Who is this marvelous child which sparks such celebration and wonder? Who is Jesus? Epiphany, then, is an expression of this wonderful sense of “Eureka” we get when we discover the amazing treasure of God in human flesh. God comes to us in a real and personal way, to join us in our mess, to raise us up into a new existence with him in the Spirit and one day in glory. What a good and compassionate and gracious God we have!
The apostle Paul calls us to a deep appreciation of God’s gift to us in the New Testament reading for this Sunday. He reminds us of “the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor.1:4b-8 NASB). Jesus, in his incarnation, came to live a truly human life, to forge within our human flesh our capacity to live in right relationship with God (and others). When Jesus is fully revealed in glory, we will be found blameless, because of what he has done. We lack nothing—because of him.
In our gospel reading, John 1:29–42, John the Baptizer saw Jesus approaching and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The first word is “Behold.” To behold something is to gaze upon it with intense attention. Here, in the Greek, it is used to point to what is being said next—that this man is the Lamb of God, the one who takes away the sin of the world. We need to pay attention to this reality about who Jesus is. Jesus is this one—the one who takes away the sin of the world. Not just the sin of a few special people. Not just the sin of the people who get their acts together. But the sin of the world.
This is a eureka moment—a moment when we pay attention to a revelation about who Jesus is—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is the one unique Son of God, the One who left the benefits of divinity for a time to join us in our humanity, in order to do what only he could do—free us from sin, from all that stands in the way of being rightly related to God.
There were a couple of John the Baptizer’s disciples who were profoundly affected by the prophet’s words regarding Jesus. They heard that this man, Jesus, was the one who baptizes in the Spirit. And they heard John say that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. So they did what each of us needs to do—they followed Jesus. As they did, Jesus asked them what they were seeking. They asked where Jesus was staying, perhaps in hopes of having a deeper conversation with him. So Jesus said to them, “Come and you will see.”
If we never take the time to come and see, to stop long enough to listen and learn more about who Jesus is and why he came, we will continue upon our life’s path, never any wiser regarding what really matters. But if we slow down and come to Jesus and sit at his feet awhile, gazing upon him and pondering all he has done, is doing, and will do, we will begin to see the truth about who he is and why he came. As we take time in his presence to converse with him, to dialogue with Christ through prayer, study of his Word, meditation, and the other spiritual disciplines, the Spirit will enable us to see more clearly who Jesus is. And the Spirit will even enable us to begin to see more clearly who we are, and how much we need Christ to transform, heal, and renew us. We will begin to see we are beloved of the Father, and are included in Jesus’ own relationship with his Father in the Spirit. And we will have even more reason to celebrate and worship the Lord.
Thank you, Father, for sending your Son to us, to bring everyone of us salvation. May we turn away again from all the things in this life which distract us and draw us away from focused attention on our Lord Jesus. Throughout this new year, may your Spirit enable us to have many eureka moments when we see anew and embrace again the wonder of your most perfect and precious gift—Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, “After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.” I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.’ John testified saying, ‘I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, “He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.’ Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, ‘What do you seek?’ They said to Him, ‘Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.’ So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).” John 1:29–42 NASB
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Unless I See
By Linda Rex
April 24, 2022, 2nd Sunday in EASTER—Do you ever do that thing where when you’re expecting a visitor, you start tidying up everything in the house? Pretty soon you’re checking the bathrooms and the bedrooms to be sure there’s no clutter or dust. You’re fluffing the pillows on the couch, straightening the dining room chairs, and wiping off the kitchen counter one more time. And then the doorbell rings.
What I find interesting about social media and our online presence today is that we often do the same thing, only in a different way. I’ve been trying to go through things at home, so I can begin downsizing and packing, and I have empty boxes laying around and stuff scattered here and there. But when I was joining a Zoom meeting today, all of a sudden, I decided that the boxes had to be moved around so that my online line presence didn’t look like a stockroom.
It is rather distressing to me to realize how managed and manipulated what we see and hear online really is nowadays. It’s getting harder and harder to hear the quiet, sincere voices of the loving truth-tellers. We can’t really discern the hearts and minds of those we are listening to, or whether what they are showing us or telling us hasn’t been doctored or altered in some way. Perhaps they spent hours preparing for the “white glove” test rather than simply being real and honest with us.
There is a hunger I am beginning to sense in people for genuine, healthy community and relationship. I’m not certain that many of us know or remember what that even looks like. What does it mean to love and be loved in the way God created us to exist as image-bearers of the divine? Whatever it means, it must include the ability to see what is unseen—the heart and mind of the living God at work in us and with each of us by his heavenly Spirit. And that happens in the context of face-to-face relationship.
I think this was the cry of Thomas’ heart when the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” Jesus’ death was a real event—a truly graphic and horrendous human experience. What outcome could there be from a crucifixion other than a painful, arduous death? And the body that was taken off the cross was lifeless and cold—and the tomb Jesus was laid in was sealed shut. There was an end to all that the disciples had experienced together with the Messiah.
Thomas could not wrap his mind around the possibility that there could be a different outcome from what he experienced. The disciples’ words, that they had seen Jesus alive, must have seemed like a doctored-up story created out of their vain imaginations. “I must see his hands and his side myself,” he told them, needing to have something tangible he could touch and see, so he could know for certain that Jesus was indeed alive.
We can take comfort in the way that Jesus handled Thomas’ reluctance to believe what the disciples were saying about their experience. Jesus knew Thomas well, and understood his heart, as he was the one who bravely volunteered to go with Jesus to Jerusalem to die with him, when Jesus was going there to raise Lazarus from the dead. And Thomas was the one who, when Jesus told the disciples they knew the way he was going, asked where that way was, since he didn’t think they did know where Jesus was going. Jesus’ memorable reply was, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” He understood this disciple’s inquisitive mind, which wanted to be certain about the details and to really comprehend what was going on.
We find the second Sunday after the resurrection the disciples were once again behind locked doors in the upper room of the place they were staying. All of a sudden, once again, there was Jesus in their midst. But apparently, he was there for a specific reason. He went directly to Thomas and addressed his doubts, showing him his hand and his side, and inviting him to touch the wounds he had received. Thomas, being overcome in that moment with the reality of who Jesus was, could only say, “My Lord and my God!”
Let me ask you this: Have you ever had a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you know what it is like to know for certain that he is a risen Lord—that he is real, and alive, and interested in a personal relationship with you? Do you know what it means to live your life knowing that he is present and real by the Holy Spirit, and that he is aware of everything you think, feel, say, or do—and loves you completely and entirely in the midst of it all?
I can tell you about my own experiences with the Lord Jesus Christ, but how do you know whether or not they are genuine? Perhaps it is good to have the outlook of Thomas—the willingness to ask for yourself whether or not the resurrection really did happen. “Unless I see”—I myself. I must come to terms with the reality that God has come, as God in human flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ, has lived a genuinely human life, died at the hands of the people he came to save, and rose again from the grave. I need to ask the difficult question: Do I believe? What do I believe about Jesus Christ?
The good news is that Jesus is ready and willing to enable us to know the truth. He wants us to see and to believe. Now, I don’t believe he is going to show up like he did back then with Thomas, but by the Spirit, Jesus has ways of showing up that we cannot dismiss without real effort. He’s not waiting for us to prepare ourselves or our lives for the “white glove” test. He’s already cleaned house for us. He’s inviting us to open ourselves and our lives up to his presence—to tell him the truth—Lord, I need to see. Lord, I want to see. Lord, open my eyes, my mind, my heart—so I may see and believe.
Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows exactly what it will take for us to see and to believe. And he is at work right now, doing his best to meet us at that place. And he is ready to, by his Spirit, awaken us to faith, a faith that is his gift to us, as he draws us into a face-to-face relationship with God which is ours now and on into eternity.
Heavenly Father, how blessed we are in the sacred gift of your Son and your Spirit—life in relationship with you now and forever! Bless us anew with the grace to see the spiritual realities, to daily see and experience the presence of our risen Lord by your heavenly Spirit. Amen.
“So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.’ But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.’ Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:19–31 NASB
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Our Light and Life
By Linda Rex
During my time pursuing my master’s degree with Grace Communion Seminary I was deeply impacted in my understanding of God and humanity and life itself through the instruction and counsel of my professors. I found theology to be quite fascinating, especially when it intersects with science. This is why reading T.F. Torrance’s books, though quite a challenging process, is something I enjoy doing.
One of my professors, Dr. John McKenna, gave an interesting workshop that brought together the science of light with the biblical revelation of light. I had known that the word light is often used in the Bible and many times in reference to God. But as we went through and talked about light and God and humanity and the creation in which we live, I began to “see” light in a new way.
One of my favorite traditional hymns talks about God and light. It is thought-provoking poetry that points to the glory of the God who is Light:
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish, like leaves on the tree,
Then wither and perish; but nought changeth thee.Great Father of Glory, pure Father of Light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All praise we would render; O help us to see
‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee!(Walter C. Smith, 1824-1908)
Light and life are inseparable. When my daughter and I visited Mammoth Cave earlier this year, we learned that there are creatures who live there in complete darkness. But they are unable to live in the light. And a person or animal that can see and live in the light will not be able to see at all when in that deep darkness. They may even lose their ability to see if they remain there for an extended length of time without some form of light to penetrate their eyes.
Without the light of the sun, we would not be able to exist or do much of what we consider necessary to life. Light is essential to our life. Just as we need the physical light of the sun to sustain our life, we also need the inner light of God to sustain us and give us both physical and spiritual life. Our life, our existence and being, are dependent upon the Father of Light and the Light of the world, his Son Jesus Christ. Light and life are inseparable.
Light itself is invisible. What we commonly see or experience is the refraction/reflection of light. Jesus described the Holy Spirit as the wind we cannot see but we experience the effects of all around us. In the same way, when we “look” at God, he is invisible. But he is Light. We experience the reality of God in everyday life in every part of our existence.
In Christ we have been freed from the chains of darkness and brought into his ‘marvelous light.’ What this means is that we have been brought out of the cave of darkness, evil and depravity and into the light of God’s love. It’s going to take a while to adjust. We have to learn new ways of thinking and doing life. We will find it much easier and more comfortable to run back into the darkness. It will seem a lot less painful and frustrating. It will seem to be the way of freedom. But true freedom is finding our life in the Light and allowing that Light to slowly and surely transform and heal us.
Holy Father of Light and Jesus, Light of the World, we praise you. Thank you for your gift of life and light. Grant us the grace to embrace your gift and to never cease to turn to you for the strength to hold tight to all you have given us. Thank you that it’s not all up to us. You hold us in your hands and shine your marvelous light upon us in unceasing love. We trust in you, Jesus, and in your healing love. Fill us the marvelous Light of your Holy Spirit. In your name we pray. Amen.
“All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and darkness did not overcome it.” John 1:3–5 NIV
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