Old Sandals

John 2:5
His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Mary does not seem to be the least put off by Jesus somewhat terse reaction to her request, but instructs the servants to be ready.

We are to come humbly yet boldly, making our requests known to God, not allowing His bigness or our smallness to get in the way.

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

You don’t get to make up a God of your own. You have to embrace the mystery. You have to trust that the Judge of all the earth will do right.

Luke 24:41-43
But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?”  So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence.

The gospel is a thing too good to be true, except that it is.

Luke 23:45-46
Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ”  Having said this, He breathed His last.

Are these the dying words of one who had just endured a hell’s worth of punishment on the cross?

Jesus bore our sins in his own body on the tree; he became a curse for us, but does it really follow that he was punished on the cross and assuaged the Father’s wrath?

Luke 22:19
And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

“What Christ declared is true, and this truth is fulfilled every time the eucharist is celebrated.  The Church confesses Christ’s real, living and active presence in the eucharist.”  This passage was taken from a well-known World Council of Churches document, Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, a document signed in 1982 by representatives of virtually every major Protestant denomination (as well as by Catholic and Orthodox theologians).

There is no question that the Church (in the best ecumenical sense of the word), historically and down to the present day, has earnestly sought to take these words of our Lord very seriously.

The bread is His body, the cup is His blood.  When we celebrate the eucharist, let us give thanks for the Incarnation, i.e., the Word becoming flesh.  Let us give thanks for our salvation, i.e., for the Body broken and the Blood shed.  And let us remember that Christ is our Life, i.e., our food indeed and our drink indeed.

Luke 21:13
But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.

This verse, along with one more familiar—“All things work together for good to those who love God”—lay out for us the Christian’s approach to life.

This approach allows us to come to terms with the past, whatever it was, for whatever it was is now forgiven. 

It gives us great hope for the future,  because the future, whatever it will be, cannot but lead us to the good that is promised us.

And finally, and most importantly, it gives us purpose for the present, for today. For today, whatever it is, whether trials or triumphs, whether bad news or good news, is ultimately a divinely-appointed occasion for testimony to our faith in a good God who cannot fail us.

This is why, in the words of the hymn writer, we are to be “singing if our way is clear, praying if the path be drear, and if in danger for Him call, trusting Jesus”.

Luke 20:35-36
But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;  nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

How can I hope to be counted worthy on that great day?  I am no better than the prodigal son who, falling down before his Father exclaimed, “I am not worthy to be called your son!”.  “Oh, my son!  My son!”, cried the Father as he threw his arms around him and called for a big party to celebrate.  Apparently the Father thought his son was worthy.  But in what way?

Certainly the son’s actions were not worthy; he had wasted his Father’s wealth on a profligate lifestyle.  But his humility, his contrition made him worthy to be called his Father’s son.

Luke 19:6
So [Zacchaeus] made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

Isn’t it a wonderful thing! A sinful man need only receive Christ the Lord by faith, and He will come to him—into his heart and life.

Luke 18:6-8
Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.  Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

God will avenge.  What does that mean?  To avenge is to inflict harm in retaliation for harm done to oneself.  It is an eye for an eye.  If God is love—self-sacrificing love—as the Apostle John tells us,  how should we understand His vengeance?

The word vengeance has a violent connotation.  God is not violent, yet He is fearsome.  In the book of the Revelation (also written by the Apostle John), the wicked cry out to be spared from the wrath of the Lamb!

Luke 17:5-6
And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

It is not the quantity of one’s faith that matters, but its quality.  Which is why Jesus answers by saying that even a very small quantity of faith, the size of a tiny mustard seed, can have great (even miraculous!) results.