| Jesus the Who |
|
|
|
| Written by Dorinda Violante, M.Div | |
| Nov 22, 2009 at 06:00 AM | |
|
Text: John 18:33-37 “Are you a king?” Pilate asks Jesus this while he is on trial…. “Are you a king?!?” Do you? Jesus the….. Who? That is the question that is before us today. Who is Jesus to you? Would you say…yes he is king. Would you use a different word? Would you use the word friend? When I think of the word friend I think of someone I can depend on, someone I can turn to no matter what, someone who knows me at my best and my worst and loves me anyway. I think of someone I share my life with. Jesus has been known to be friends to all…no matter what. He reached his hand out to those in need, he heard their voices, he sat down and listened when needed, he shared meals with many he called friend. Have you ever seen Jesus as your friend? Would you use the word servant leader? Is that who he is to you? A servant leader is someone who shows you how to be with one another. You gain the feeling that no one is beneath this person. A servant leader puts the needs of others before theirs without expectation of anything in return. Serving others is how Jesus outlines the way we are to live with one another. Do you think of this servant way when you are with others? Did Jesus show you that? Would you use the word miracle worker? A miracle worker heals diseases and expels demons of mind and body. People yearn for his touch and call out his name. The news spreads of this amazing individual. People go through great length to see him and hear him. They then go tell the good news of what the miracle worker has done. Do your stories of Christ spread hope and love throughout the land? Has Jesus touched you in this way? Would you use the word tradesmen? A tradesman…someone who is familiar with the tools in his hands, working God’s creation into what it was meant to be. Jesus once crafted wood, but then he started to craft people by sharing the way God was calling us to be his people. Does Jesus shape you and mold you? Does he take you in his hands and make you who you are today? Would you use the word teacher? A teacher is wise and caring. A teacher imparts knowledge, but also makes the learning relevant to life’s circumstances and teaches us life tools. Does Jesus call you to follow him and to listen to him as he tells you of God’s world and his plan for us all? Would you use the word shepherd? A shepherd is the one who takes care of those in his flock, doing what ever it takes, even laying down his life, and is the one whose voice the sheep know. Does Jesus take care of you? Jesus is so much to so many in so many ways. Out list of names could go on all day. And what does Pilate ask? If Jesus was a king, this was not about what Jesus is for own lives. This question was about who Jesus was in Pilate’s life. It was about power. Who are you and how do you threaten the status quo?!? Who are you and how are you going to change my life, because I like it just the way it is. Don’t make me make a decision. Don’t push me to decide how to live. Are you a king? Are you going to give me the answer that will put you into a place where your death is imminent and I can go back to life as usual? You are making me uncomfortable. Who are you anyway!!!! This is a pivotal time in the life of Jesus for sure. It is the time in which his very life is on the line. Yes….. But…. we stand at a pivotal time in our lives too. We stand here preparing to enter into the season of Advent. We are getting ready to welcome Jesus into our lives. We rejoice that he is the light of the world….. Emmanuel… God with us. But before we enter this time, we must face the question, Jesus the Who? Jesus the Who for each of us…individually. We must think about who he is for us before we face the holiday and fill it with singing and rejoicing. Let us not go into the holidays blind to who Jesus is in our lives. I personally have been working through this question lately. To me Jesus is the one I turn to show me how God wants me to live. He is the one that said…”Follow me…let me show you the way.” He is one who teaches me to have a servant heart (I try….) He is the one who gives me the assurance that I belong to God and that God wonderfully made me and has a plan for my life. In my study process over these last few years, but specifically in my chaplaincy training of late, I have met Jesus in others in way that I have not seen him before….honestly quite unexpectedly. I met him as the one who suffers alongside someone. I met him as one who saves and offers everlasting life…right here and now. I met him as the one that someone can trust their lives to. It made me think about who Jesus is to each and everyone of us….and just as I am a mother, a daughter, a wife, or a friend….but all the same time being Dorinda. Jesus is ….fill in the blank……a teacher, a friend, a servant leader, a savior…. How else do you know him? No matter who Jesus is to you ….he is also a king….king of a world beyond this one…king of an understanding that we are still trying to grasp…..take the time to look at him….truly take a look at the truth…..take it in….and be changed forever. We are entering into Advent. We are anticipating God with us. We are rejoicing, singing, and celebrating. Who are you celebrating? Who are willing to meet unexpected in someone else? Jesus the Who…….Jesus the Christ….that’s who. We are headed into Advent….be open to experience him in someone else in a way that maybe you have not seen before. Go and meet him….Amen. |
|
| Last Updated ( Nov 23, 2009 at 01:20 PM ) |
