Scripture/Sermon of the Day. December 11, 2022

Matthew 11:2-11

2-3 John, meanwhile, had been locked up in prison. When he got wind of what Jesus was doing, he sent his own disciples to ask, “Are you the One we’ve been expecting, or are we still waiting?”

4-6 Jesus told them, “Go back and tell John what’s going on:

The blind see, The lame walk, Lepers are cleansed, The deaf hear, The dead are raised, The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side. “Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves most blessed!”

7-10 When John’s disciples left to report, Jesus started talking to the crowd about John. “What did you expect when you went out to see him in the wild? A weekend camper? Hardly. What then? A sheik in silk pajamas? Not in the wilderness, not by a long shot. What then? A prophet? That’s right, a prophet! Probably the best prophet you’ll ever hear. He is the prophet that Malachi announced when he wrote, ‘I’m sending my prophet ahead of you, to make the road smooth for you.’

11 “Let me tell you what’s going on here: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer; but in the kingdom he prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him.

Reflection/Sermon:

I. In high school I read King Lear, one of the great tragedies of literature — and I wish I could remember more of it. What I remember is that King Lear had three daughters and he was getting old so he decided to divide up his kingdom among them, giving the largest part to the daughter who loved him the most. The eldest daughter, Goneril, spoke first and expressed her love so magnificently that the king gave her the largest part of the kingdom. He gave the second daughter, Regan, her share after she also flattered the king, and then the youngest and favorite daughter, Cordelia, spoke. She was the only honest one and told the king, her father, that she loved him but she also reserved a half of her love for her future husband. The king was enraged because he wanted more — even if she had to lie, he wanted her to flatter him. Cordelia wouldn’t lie so Lear disinherited her and gave her share of the land to her sisters.

II. Of course, this being a great tragedy, they all die by the end of the play. But what is so excruciating as the story unfolds is that though the two older sisters are as treacherous as Cordelia is good — the king didn’t see it! He was blind to the truth.

III. In this way, King Lear is like the Bible. The catastrophe that happens through the scriptures is that people 1) can’t tell the difference between good and evil and 2) they have a fatal attraction to evil. This is especially shown in the gospels where God became human and the people rejected and killed him.

IV. One of the great puzzles in the Bible is presented to us right in the beginning — Genesis 1:27:
God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them.

The Bible says we are created in the image of God — BUT IT DOESN’T SAY, CLEARLY, WHAT THAT IMAGE IS! Who is the God of the Bible? What is the image of God in which we are created? In parts of the Old Testament, God is a monster who kills everybody, even children! But God is also compassionate and forgiving. So who is the real God in whose image we are made?

V. We have to wait for the New Testament when Jesus says: “I and the father are one.” (John 10:30). So Jesus is the image of God. The tragedy is that most people rejected that image of God that Jesus revealed. WE ARE TOLD: “The true light that gives light to everyone was in the world, but the world did not recognize him.”
Even holy people like John the Baptist were confused by Jesus. John worried that he made a mistake and had prepared the way for the wrong messiah! So before his death, while in prison, he sent his disciples to Jesus asking: “Are you the one? We’re not sure.”

VI. If someone as close to God as John was uncertain about Jesus — what about regular mortals like us? Can we also make mistakes about Jesus? OH YES! There are tens of thousands of Christian denominations — each with their own ideas of God and Jesus. Like John, we’re not sure who Jesus is — or what it means that we are the image of God. There are violent Christians, assault-weapon-toting Christians, white supremacist Christian Nationalists, modern Nazi and fascist Christians, Christians who want to rule the world, dictator Christians, patriarchal—Taliban-like Christians who demand authority over women and their bodies, Christians who tell you if you’re saved or not, or if you’re going to hell, especially if you’re gay or don’t interpret the faith like they do. Eight billion images of God walking the earth, each a different reflection of God’s image. How can we tell the real image of God?

VII. Jesus said it’s the one who gives sight to the blind, helps the lame to walk, heals the sick, gives hearing to the deaf, and brings dead people back to life. And especially, Christ brings good news of God’s love for all people. This is the God in whose image we are created and who gives us the power to become like Jesus, the living presence within us.