For the last quarter in our
intergenerational class back there in the corner we have discussed encounters
that Jesus had with a number of people in the gospel narratives.
On this, the third Sunday of Advent, and
during this season, encounters with Jesus take on a renewed focus. We shudder
to think of what would have happened had He not chosen to enter the world as a
baby that night in Bethlehem. There the encounters began, Mary, Joseph, shepherds,
wise men. Perhaps nameless others. Today the encounters continue. And the songs that we sing and the emotions
that are stirred signify His encounter with us and ours with Him. From "Silent Night" to "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" to "There’s a New Kid in Town" lying in a manger down the road. We are touched.
In moments of conversation with Him,
amazing things happened. Most of those encounters came in moments of
desperation, though not all. While Phillip, Nathaniel, and Nicodemus did not
sound desperate, they do speak to the longings that we feel when questions are
unasked or even unanswered. Perhaps we also find what we’ve been looking for
but did not know or understand. The scenario in Matthew 19 when children were
brought to Him and the disciples rebuked them speaks to us as Jesus protected
them, spoke words of grace over them, and touched them. Maybe we see ourselves
in the disciples or in the children.
Perhaps Mary was more desperate at the
wedding and so she directed the servants to do what her son said to do. The man
who was paralyzed in Mark 2 who both could walk and have his sins forgiven, and
that amazed the crowd.
The demon-possessed man in Mark 5 wanted
to follow Jesus, but instead he stayed home and told others about what had
happened to him, much to the amazement of others.The sick woman in Mark 5 was healed when
she touched the hem of His garment and she heard Jesus say, “Go in peace and be
freed from your suffering.”
The Samaritan woman in John 4, a social
outcast with multiple partners, heard words of affirmation from the Messiah and
many came to believe because of her.
We could mention Zacchaeus, the
Syrophoenician woman and her daughter, the royal official and his son, the
woman caught in the act of adultery, Mary and Martha as they grieved the death
of their brother, Peter’s reconciliation with Jesus, and those on the road to
Emmaus whose eyes were opened.
The stories are many.
The text invites us into those stories and
in doing so, we see Him for who He is and we see ourselves for who and what we
are. Their encounters encourage our encounters with Him. Jesus chose them. We
are chosen by Him. Maybe we have dramatic stories of being chosen. Maybe we
have quieter stories of being chosen.
We are chosen. Jesus chooses us. God
chooses us.
We gather around this table as Jesus’
chosen ones. As we have been chosen, so we accept the invitation.
Thankfully, we do not choose who comes to
the table. God does that. We may be surprised at who comes to the table, who
accepts His invitation. Or, some may be surprised at our presence. You know, it
works both ways. In such a large sanctuary, we do not know everyone. Everyone
does not know us.
Such it is with the Kingdom. We are all chosen. Everyone
belongs.
In the inviting there is grace offered, in
accepting a place at the table, there is grace received, as we sit alongside
members of the family. Grace offered. Grace received. And we share in the
supper of the Lord.
When we hear the words of this text: Luke
22: 14-22, we see that the supper was held during the larger setting of a
chosen people, the Passover Feast. For us, we hear of how Jesus chose His
apostles and in so doing chooses us. As He directs them, so He directs us to
eat and drink with all of the meaning behind the bread and wine.
“Father, as we eat this bread which is His
body which was given for us, we accept His invitation to come and eat. And we
say thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
“Father, as we drink this cup which is the
cup of the new covenant in His blood we accept His invitation to come and
drink. And we say thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
December 16, 2018
Park Avenue Church of Christ
Denison, Texas
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