Meeting God Today

The Season of Epiphany–“There’s God Now!”–continues to tell the story of God’s attempts to meet with us, the Creator’s creations. Stories to be heard on this upcoming weekend are not only nice remembrances, but remind today’s persons that we too are important.

The people of Israel returned from the Babylonian Exile and rebuilt the Temple around 520 BC. NEHEMIAH 8:1-10 tells about the occasion of re-finding the Law (probably the Book of Deuteronomy) and making susre all the people heard it and would adopt it. (It was this Law that Jesus came to exceed, although he was careful to respect it.) The core of this passage is the word “all”: the Deuteronomic virtues were’nt just for individual observation, they came to the PEOPLE, to re-establish their countercultural stance. From now on (?) this People will shine “as a light to the nations”.

The passage of I CORINTHIANS 12:12-31 is famous for building the Church as a human body. Paul’s analogy of each part having its own special function is to reassure each one of their worth and importance to the wholeness of the community. No matter how insignificant we feel, the health of the body is contingent upon us! That Body is healthy/whole not from what it did yesterday, but because of what it’s doing TODAY.

LUKE 4:14-21–the neighbors of Nazareth thought Jesus to be a Nice Boy, a Regular Guy, and they welcomed him into their synagogue. They had heard of his marvelous doings even in the beginning of his ministry; and, who knows? He may even do something for them! So he read from the scroll Isaiah’s words to the returned Exiles: “The Spirit has anointed me to bring Good News, to release the captives, to restore sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free…” Yes, yes, very nice. But then he said, “TODAY this scripture has been fulfilled.” What!! God’s here today?? Didn’t we tuck God away somewhere with the Christmas lights? Don’t we think of God as happening in our distant past??

What is Real? What is True? Where is your God today? And what are you doing, for Heaven’s sake??

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Come every Tuesday to get a preview of what God will say on the upcoming weekend: at horacebrownking.com