Already
There’s a moment in 1 John 2 where the writer erupts into song. “I write to you, children! I write to you, fathers! I write to you, young ones! Because your sins are forgiven! Because you know the Father! Because you are strong! Because the word of God abides in you! Because you have overcome the evil one!” (1 John 2:12-14) John sings the song twice because that’s how we humans best remember things, by putting it in rhythm and…
Lean In
There’s an interesting back and forth in the Gospel of John. One minute we’re told that the words and miracles of Jesus cause those who see and hear to believe. The next minute, John is telling us that no matter what Jesus does, people just won’t believe. Or maybe they believe, but they feel that Jesus is just too controversial, too radioactive to admit how much they really do believe in him. As the storyteller wrestles with this in John…
Jesus Himself
We’ve got a couple of greatest hits from Jesus in John 14, some of his most recognizable words. “In my Father’s house are many rooms and I go there to prepare a place for you,” and “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” The latter has unfortunately been often used as a convenient assurance that we are in fact better than all those other religions, even though that’s…
Buried
‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Now…
Do You Believe This?
We most readily associate the raising of Lazarus in John 11 with, of course, Lazarus. His name is universally synonymous with resurrection. But someone who doesn’t get nearly enough credit for what a superstar she is in John 11 is Lazarus’ sister, Martha. Almost every memorable thing Jesus says throughout the story he says because Martha has drawn it out of him. It’s because Martha has struck up a conversation that Jesus has this to say: “I am the resurrection…
In Praise of Sheep
Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The…
Sprout
The four Gospels agree that it is man named Joseph from Arimathea who buries Jesus after his crucifixion. Each account sprinkles into the story some unique details, and the details are everything. When John tells the story (John 19:38-42), we find out that this Joseph is a disciple of Jesus, but a secret disciple. He’s a well-respected man among Jerusalem’s religious elite, and openly following Jesus would have been a quick way to lose that status and whatever privileges and…
Rearranged
In John 9, a man who’s been healed by Jesus is interrogated by the Pharisees (since the healing happened on a sabbath). When the formerly blind man refuses to throw Jesus under the bus, he’s expelled from the synagogue community, which would mean the loss of many relationships and connections in his community. Jesus continually invites us to step into sacrifice, into oblivion with the faith that, when we do, we haven’t actually lost what we thought we would lose, and…
Mud on Our Eyes
Everyone is blind. Those who can’t see, can see. And those who can see, can’t see. Everyone is blind. At least that’s what Jesus has to say at the end of John 9 after healing a man of his blindness – with saliva and mud! It is genuinely one of the most entertaining stories in the Gospels (which is saying something, considering Jesus is absent for most of it). The healing happens on a sabbath, which means the Pharisees feel…
Hear All of These
Starting in John 7, we follow Jesus to Jerusalem and into the temple, and we’re there with him for a good while. We should be prepared – Jesus is heading into the lions’ den, to the Pharisees’ and priests’ home turf. Anyone who has spent any time at all in the Gospels knows what kinds of confrontations await Jesus any time he enters the space of religious procedure. Feathers get ruffled. Toes get stepped on. Tempers flare. Here we go.…
Thirsty Soul
In Exodus 16-17, we read of the Israelites meeting their first challenges of life in the wilderness after Egypt. They grumble that there’s nothing to eat or drink, but God provides. Daily manna, the bread from heaven as Jesus calls it in John 6, and water from the rock. It’s not a glamorous existence, but it is enough. It is neither too much nor too little. This wilderness chapter of Israel’s story would last for 40 years before finally settling…
Close Enough to Eat Him
What are we supposed to actually do with Jesus? Yes, we sing, we pray, we read our Bibles, we try to follow his example, we profess our belief in him. But if we simply follow his example, is he anything more than just a good teacher? If we sing and pray to him, is he anything more than a magic genie that will hopefully grant us some wishes? And if we claim to believe in him, we’re still left asking…