Monday, December 3, 2018
629 - The First Sermon I'd Preach
Spirituality Column #629
December 4, 2018
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
The First Sermon I’d
Preach
By Bob Walters
“The waaai-ting is the
hardest part …” – Tom Petty song lyric, “The Waiting,” 1985
If the tune
of this rock music standard doesn’t come immediately to mind, I apologize for
the cultural stretch and the mixed theological metaphor but I’ll get to the
point soon enough. Though the lyric mentions
heaven it is not a song about God; it’s about a guy waiting for this life to
unfold. Indeed, there is a lot of
waiting in life.
A few weeks back in our Thursday
morning “Mustard Seed” seniors Bible study at East 91st Street
Christian Church – the study was originally led by Russ Blowers and years ago
met at the “Mustard Seed” restaurant near Keystone at the Crossing in north
Indianapolis – current study leader John Samples invited current E91 senior
pastor Rick Grover to teach a lesson, which just happened to be Mark 10:46-53
where blind beggar Bartimaeus receives his sight after shouting at Jesus as he
was leaving Jericho, “Son of David, have
mercy on me!” Despite objections
from onlookers – presumably even His own disciples – Jesus answered Bartimaeus
and asked what he wanted – “Rabbi, I want
to see.” To which Jesus famously replied, “Go, your faith has healed you.”
Immediately, Bartimaeus could see
and “followed Jesus along the road.”
Rick, a highly-regarded Bible
scholar in his own right, thoughtfully and skillfully “unpacked” the facts and
nuances of this familiar biblical encounter.
What Rick noted that caught my attention and started my mind wandering
was when he pointed out that Jesus was “right there” and Bartimaeus did not
have to wait; his faith had healed him.
And it dawned on me; Jesus is
always right there. Think back through
the Old Testament and then consider the different message of the New Testament;
the great, great lesson of the new covenant in Jesus Christ is the difference
in whether you are waiting for Him not. Jesus
is close, not far; Bartimaeus simply called out to Him.
Our gift in Christ is not that we
can tell God what to do, where to do it, and when to do it; our gift is the
profound lesson of this Christmas season – Jesus is Emanuel, “God with us.” He is with us always, and it is our faith
that reaches him – immediately.
In the Old Testament God often
showed up, but as the Jews became His Chosen People He sent down hundreds of
laws and instructions for how they – the Jews – were to express their faith, build
temples, and observe festivals – prescribing rituals, places, and times – where
God would be exalted and/or present.
There is none of that in the New
Testament – not in the Gospels, the Epistles, nowhere. Emanuel – God with
us – is with us all the time (Hebrews 13:5): not to do our bidding but in grace
to accept our faith, trust, and love, and to give us the character to enjoy
life’s ups and the strength to endure life’s downs. Jesus is with us … always.
This is a revelation that defeats
all legalism: Faith finds Jesus … right now.
The Bible, front to back, is a book
about Jesus. We see who God is, who we
are, what doesn’t work (the Law), and what does work (faith). Especially in the
Psalms there is a whole lot of “waiting
on the Lord,” but try this trick: since Jesus Christ is Lord and always has
been Lord (John 1:1-5, 10), everywhere you see the word “Lord” referring to God
in the Psalms and Old Testament prophets, in your mind and heart insert the
word “Jesus.” Then let the Spirit show
you that God is with you – right now
– in Jesus Christ.
The waiting really isn’t the
hardest part; seeing in faith is. I’d
preach that.
Walters
(rlwcom@aol.com) has a fairly short bucket list, but this
is on it.
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