To whom does Jesus belong?

It’s easy nowadays to forget some things about those early followers of Jesus.

Many of them believed him to be the long-awaited Messiah for the people of Israel.

The answer to that belief from followers today generally is “yes.” And “no.”

The passage from Acts 11, starting at verse 1, is a brief glimpse at how uncircumcised, non-Jews were eventually accepted into the family of Jesus the Christ. They belonged. Period.

Someone may be tempted to rush in with, “But that was a long time ago.There aren’t exclusions anymore.”

I proffer that many people today feel just like those first-century Gentiles: Not welcome. Not belonging.

It seems there’s always a category of person or persons who we believe have to work on a few things before they’re ready for our pews

But guess what? Jesus is ready for them, day or night, seven days a week. Amen.

Wisdom of Solomon 7:7-14

I wonder if King Solomon of old known for being very wise had issues arising from his family of origin.

I would not be surprised. Consider:
Father: King David.
Mother: Bathsheba

Married at the time of Solomon’s birth, their second child.

But David, a favorite of God’s, fell from grace after his lust for Bathsheba got the better of him. He arranged for the murder of her then-husband Uriah, leaving the lovers free to marry.

It was scandalous behavior, and some believe the death of the pair’s firstborn was God’s punishment.

But their second-born child, Solomon, was a gift to all humanity, then, and down to this very day.

Perhaps his passion for “wisdom” stemmed from disastrous decisions his parents made. In any event, Solomon sought out wisdom, prayed for it, respected its truth, followed its teaching.

For all of the wondrous decisions Solomon made, perhaps his greatest wisdom is shown in his seeking God’s help, guidance, in ascertaining the right thing to do. And then doing that.

Matthew 18:1-6: Agnes, Martyr at Rome 304

Despite her noble Roman lineage, Agnes made a vow of chastity before Christ, a vow that led to her death.

She was but a mere child, twelve or thirteen, but an old soul. when she died for her Lord

Agnes chose Jesus over the son of a high-ranking Roman prefect. Her being a Christian prompted the death penalty.

In Saint Matthew’s Gospel for today, his disciples want to know who will be the greatest in the afterlife. 

An annoyed Jesus calls over a nearby child and told his disciples that whoever becomes humble as a child is humble, that person will be the greatest in heaven.

It calls to mind these Bob Dylan lyrics:

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’

The young, the innocent. Spirit-filled integrity propels them toward justice and truth.

It is they to whom we look for hope.

Isaiah 40:25-31

The Book of the Prophet Isaiah offers hope and comfort to the people of Israel living in captivity in Babylon.

Here’s a part of today’s text: Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted, but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;   they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary;   they shall walk and not faint.

The Temple in Jerusalem was the center of worship and community. Its destruction was a blow difficult to fully comprehend given what we see in current worshiping patterns in U.S. America. The first and largest group was exiled in 597BCE. That is estimated to be 10,000, joined by others in 592 and 586 BCE. The total expelled is estimated at 25,000, leaving behind a remnant of about 5,000, primarily the poor and unskilled laborers.

It’s always grace

A new question arises for me while reading the Gospel of Saint John, the first few verses of Chapter 2.

There we encounter the Cana Wedding, where Jesus turns water into wine. 

A lot is going on in these eleven verses, each worthy of being the sole focus.

But what catches my ear this time is this: 

“…and his disciples believed in him….”

Remember, these are somewhat new relationships. Chapter 1 concludes with Jesus calling the twelve men who will form his core ministry team. There was an instant, almost magnetic, connection between him and the men. Why else would they drop nets and walk away from all they have known?

Now, only eleven verses into Chapter 2—after the distribution of the water-turned-into-wine that rescues the reception from being a very bad party—what has me wondering are these words:

His disciples believed in him.

Did they not before? Based on what did they earlier go all-in with Jesus?

The answer is better than good news, it’s the greatest news ever: In whatever way we first meet Jesus, it’s only the beginning.

Who knows why they were first intrigued by Jesus? But relationship is not an all-at-once experience, there is more if we just stick with it.

Similar to our own highest-quality human relationships, it deepens, expands, and reveals.

That’s how I explain what happens. That, sometime after they joined Jesus’ team, the disciples realized they believed in him. There is ongoing revelation. And how does it happen, how are we made aware?

Someone in seminary told me that if I ever got stumped by a question, just attribute everything to God’s grace.

It was supposed to be an insider joke. A throwaway line.

But it turns out to be the only right answer so often.

Grace: God’s unwarranted, unearned, freely given affection and support.

Consider Amazing Grace, one of the most popular of Christian hymns. It was written in 1772 by John Newton, an erstwhile slave trader turned Anglican priest. Here are the words of Verse 2:

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.

Grace upon grace.

Amen.