Shane Claiborne Sermon from Covenant Communications on Vimeo.
Your thoughts?
From the monthly archives:
June 2010
Continuing through our reflections on the Gospel of John
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards declared.
47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted.48 “Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law–there is a curse on them.”
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked,51 “Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?”
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”
Here we see a glimpse of some ‘insider’ conversation as those in power debated the implications of Jesus.
Whenever we come across something foreign, or something that threatens our status quo, it’s easy to quickly make judgments before seeking to understand first.
We can also see how Nicodemus begins tuning into who Jesus might be as he makes an attempt to listen more to what Christ has to say first.
Are there people in your life (who all bear the image of Christ) you haven’t given enough of a chance to yet?
Continuing our online exploration of the gospel of John
25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?
27 But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”
28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him,29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.31 Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me.34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
41 Others said, “He is the Christ.”
Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee?42 Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?”43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
This passage is loaded with tension.
There are questions of who Christ is.
There are men who want to seize by force, yet it seems something divine disables them.
There is faith and doubt.
There is a continuous play on words, re-framing of how people view things.
What do you do with a Christ like this? One loaded with questions, metaphors, and mysteries? It’s easy to sign a statement of beliefs, but what about believing in a living, breathing moving target like Jesus?
What does it mean to believe in Christ? What does it mean for him to be our Christ?
On June 20th Mosaic will not be gathering in the morning.
Instead our gathering will be held at Rosewood Baptist Church @ 2601 McNicoll Ave
We will be celebrating baptism together, and there will be a shared meal afterwards (If you haven’t registered yet, you can pay $10 at the door).
We’ll begin at 5:30pm
Continuing our journey through the gospel of John
14 Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.
15 The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?”
16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.17 If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.18 He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”
20 “You are demon?possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”
21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished.22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath.23 Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath?24 Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”
We often break one law for another. It’s easy to criticize others. It’s easy to stand back and make judgments on how others live life, do ministry, seek god, express themselves, etc.
We often judge people by their actions, yet long for them to judge us by our intentions – rather than the other way around.
It takes much more time to understand another person’s story. It’s much more difficult to love them regardless of how much you disagree.
But if we could sum up the scriptures to a word, would ‘love’ not be one of them? Are there ways we as a community could practice unconditionally loving one another and celebrate our differences?
