What Do You Say About Jesus?

          You’ve just heard Luke’s story about Jesus coming back to his hometown…not healing anyone, not doing any of the things he did in Capernaum, and not making his old neighbors very happy.

          Let’s do a ‘what if.’ What if Jesus had grown up in Walnut? What if Joseph, his Dad, married Mary, his Mom, when she was 6 months pregnant? What if his Dad was “just” a carpenter? What if he’d grown up in this church? What if he’d been in your Sunday school class? What if he’d been invited today to be the guest preacher?

          What would we be saying about him? How would he be received? And what if he told us what he told the folks in Nazareth? What if he said, “I’m not able to do here what I did in Capernaum because your hearts aren’t right?” What if?

          What words would we use to describe Jesus? What do you say about Jesus?

Voice B: Joseph’s son

Voice A: One of our own

Voice B: Hometown boy

Voice A: Nice to see him back

Voice B: Preacher man

Voice A: Confident

Voice B: Eloquent

Voice A: Confrontational

Voice B: Controversial

Voice A: Learned

Voice B: Dramatic

Voice A: Daring

Voice B: It can’t be?

Voice A: What did he say?

Voice B: Surely not?

Voice A: Where did he get that idea?

Voice B: Amazing

Voice A: Arrogant

Voice B: Full of himself

Voice A: Joseph’s Son?

Voice B: In our hearing?

Voice A: Fulfilled?

Voice B: Isaiah’s words?

Voice A: In Jesus?

Voice B: Mary’s boy?

Voice A: I remember him when he was 12

Voice B: I remember him when he was 2

Voice A: He had less to say then

Voice B: Heal yourself?

Voice A: Heal your own self!

Voice B: Spiritual physician

Voice A: Theological doctor

Voice B: Sailing close to the wind

Voice A: Walking close to the wire

Voice B: These words?

Voice A: About him?

Voice B: Shocking

Voice A: Terrible

Voice B: Outrage

Voice A: Disturbing

Voice B: Antagonizing

Voice A: Alarming

Voice B: Astounding

Voice A: Unnerving

Voice B: And what do you say of Jesus?

Spill the Beans Issue 6

          What do we say about Jesus today? What do we expect from Jesus today? How do we know what Jesus expects from us?

          What do we say about our church leadership team? What do we say about our pastor? What do we expect from them? What does the community expect from this worshiping community?        

          What have we heard read from God’s word for us today? What are we going to do with it?

          God has known each of us since before we were born and he’s known all along what he’d like us to be doing. The rest is up to us to use the gifts of His Spirit, faith, hope, and…love.

          Thanks be to God for his patient, loving grace. Amen.