Sunday, January 10, 2010
Luke 3:15-17,
21-22
Last
week in the sermon we talked about the story of the wise men following the star
to the place where Jesus was. I asked
the question: Who saw the star? Answer:
Conceivably everyone in that part of the world. How many came? Not
many. Lots see the star, not many
saw the significance.
This
week we have a similar dynamic in the story we just read from Luke. The scene is at the river Jordan and John the
Baptist has been preaching and baptizing, and Jesus comes down to the river to
also get baptized. The story says he
gets baptized and then was praying and while he was praying the Holy
Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son the Beloved, with
you I am well pleased.” (v. 21
–22)
Now
the question comes to my mind:
Who
saw the dove? Who heard the voice?
Was
it Jesus and John the Baptist?
Did
others in the crowd see anything or hear anything?
If
they saw the dove, did they recognize it as a sign of the coming of the Holy
Spirit?
You
know you can be someplace and something big happens and you can miss it
altogether, or even if you see, you can miss the significance of what is going
on. In fact, I think this often happens
when we read these ancient scriptures.
We read the words, but we can miss the significance.
Biblical
scholars
are a great help with this problem.
They can often help us make connections that we would miss on our
own. For example, did you
recognize, as I read the text today, that the two signs Luke uses to tell us
about the relationship between God and Jesus here come from the Hebrew
Scripture?
The dove coming down upon Jesus is an allusion from Genesis. Remember in the very first verses of Genesis that we are told that God hovered over or swept over the waters at the beginning of creation. The Rabbinic literature records that the rabbis before this often described that scene as God hovering like a dove over the waters. (IOVCB, p. 678) The dove gives us a symbol pointing to the fact that God is at work here.
Further
the voice coming from heaven says something very similar to what is recorded in
the Psalms. Psalm 2 is entitled,
“God’s Promises to His Anointed” and in verse 7 says, I will tell of the
decree of the LORD: You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”
Now
I wouldn’t have made that connection or this one. If we look at Isaiah 42 we find these words: Here is my
servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; or in some
versions, in whom I am well pleased.
So when we look closely and have help to see, we find further insight
into the theological message Luke is proclaiming.
Jesus is not just being baptized, but with the dove and the voice we realize that God is at work and God is saying this Jesus, he is my servant, my son, the anointed one who is going to do my will.
Now
I don’t know who saw the dove or who heard the voice, but Luke in his telling
of the story is saying loud and clear:
God is at work here. Yet, to see
it, to understand it, we must be watching, we must tune it, we must be paying
attention. Are you tuning in to God in
2010? Are you watching for God to be
working in your world? If not, it
will be easy to miss.
Last
year on Friday, September 11th I awoke from a dream. It was about 5 a.m. In the dream I was helping some businessmen
learn about making micro-loans to entrepreneurs in Third World countries. There is a movement in which small loans
from a just a few dollars to up to two or three thousand are being made by
individuals, like you and me, to people in poor countries trying to make a
living. It might be a woman who gathers
firewood to sell in town but needs a wheelbarrow so that she can carry more
wood at one time. It might be a guy
with a fruit stand who needs a little capital to expand. It might be a group of women who do weaving
who need some money to secure a building out of which they can work more
effectively.
Anyway, in the dream, I am helping a couple of businessmen learn more about how to do this. But the reason I am helping them is that I have given away $100,00.00, some through these micro-loans. Now the rest of the dream was fuzzy as I awoke. I tried to go back to sleep. But I could not because this notion of giving away $100,000.00 captured my attention so much that it kept me awake. After about twenty or thirty minutes of tossing and turning, I got up and began to think and pray.
I
began to ask God was this a message, a prompting for me to give away
$100,000.00? Was this just a dream
or was this a message from God? As
I prayed about it, I came to believe that indeed it was a message from
God. I felt compelled to give away
$100,000.00 in 2010. I am working to make
that happen, and I will tell you more about that in the future. But, for our purposes this morning I am
sharing this with you to illustrate the vital importance of watching for God
to be working in your world.
Several
things could have happened in those early morning hours. Often I awake with the lingering images from
a dream and I go back to sleep.
Sometimes I awake and remember the dream and think about it in passing, but
by later in the morning I have forgotten all about it. I could have remembered it and thought, “How
amusing, I tithe and then give more after that, but $100,000.00 -- that is
ridiculous.”
But
if you believe that God can do what appears impossible.
If
you believe that God is alive and working in the world.
If
you believe that God is calling you to be his servant… then you might just find
something outrageous that God is prompting you to do.
Luke
is saying in this passage to all who will pay attention: God is at work right here in Jesus of
Nazareth. I think Luke is saying to all
who read this: God is at work right
now, even today, right here with us.
It
happens in all kinds of ways, not just through dreams or doves descending. It happens when we see a problem and think,
I could help solve that. It happens
when we see a need and think, I can respond to that. It happens when we buy gifts for the Angel Tree or bring
groceries for the poor hungry in our community. It happens when we hear about a tornado or a famine and think,
those are children of God and I can help relieve their suffering by giving a
few dollars or going to serve in that area.
It
happens, like the introductory video pointed out today, when we see the face of
Christ in all kinds of other people, old and young, rich and poor, friends and
strangers.
Where
is it for you in 2010?
Where
is God inviting you to serve in 2010?
Do you know the name Leigh Anne Touhy? Her story is being told in the movie entitled The Blind Side. It stars Sandra Bullock. It is the true story of a rich southern white woman who encounters a black homeless teenager. This young man is really struggling. His mom is a drug user and has disappeared. His dad is nowhere in the picture. The crushing circumstances of his life so far have caused him to shut down. He is not doing well in school; although he is attending high school, his reading ability is sparse. He barely speaks even when spoken to; he is very unresponsive no matter who is trying to connect with him.
Then one night, after a school event, Mrs. Touhy and her family are driving out of the parking lot. It is cold and rainy and this young man is standing waiting to cross the street. No hat, no coat, no umbrella… just walking along in the rain, all by himself. At that moment something stirs within Leigh Anne Touhy.
She asks her son, “Do you know that boy?”
He does.
“Does he go to our school?”
Yes he does.
She tells her husband to stop the car.
She gets out and asks the boy where is he going?
He says to the gym.
“Why are you going to the gym?”
He says quietly, “Because it is warm there?”
“Do you have any place to sleep tonight?”
“No, ma’am.”
She says, “Get in the car.” He looks at her like she has lost her mind. She takes him by the arm – now you need to
know that she is a petite woman and he is well over 6’ and weighs in about 250
pounds – so this little white woman takes him by the arm and leads him to her
car. She opens the back door and tells
her kids to scoot over and puts him in the car and takes him home with
them. She makes him a bed on the couch
for the night.
The
rest of the movie portrays their growing relationship. It is a great movie to see. But what I want us to notice is that Mrs. Touhy was ready.
She was a Christian woman and she was involved in serving others, but
nothing this personal, nothing this dramatic.
So that night, at that moment, she was watching. She felt the stirring of God in her
spirit and she was ready to respond, she was ready to serve, she was ready to
go.
John
the Baptist responded to the call of God and served in the wilderness. Jesus responded to the call of God and went
from town to town to serve.
Leigh
Anne Touhy responded to the call of God and helped one young man.
Are
you watching?
Are
you praying?
Are
you ready?
If
not, it will be easy to miss.
Amen
and thanks be to God.
Lots
see the star, not many _____ the significance.
Who
saw the ______? Who heard the
voice?
Biblical
scholars…
…make
connections that we would miss on our _____.
The
dove coming down…allusion from ___________.
Psalm
___
Isaiah
___
…insight
into the theological message Luke is
proclaiming.
Are
you watching for _____ to be working in your world?
Was
this just a dream or was this a message from God?
…watching
for God to be working in ______ world.
Where
is God inviting _____ to serve in 2010?
Do
you know the name Leigh Anne ________?
At that moment something ________ within…
So
that night, at that moment she was ____________.
Kid’s
Question: Who is Leigh Anne Touhy?