Dear People of St. John’s,        

     A college history professor, whose special area of interest was the Revolutionary War, told a story about his visit to a fine old ancestral home up near Front Royal, Virginia.  The present owner, an elderly lady, was the last of a distinguished colonial family, and she was proudly showing him through the house.  Over the fireplace the professor noticed an ancient flint-lock rifle, one that would have been manufactured around the time of the struggle for independence.  He asked the lady if he could take down the gun and examine it more closely.

     “Oh, no,” she said, “I’m afraid that wouldn’t be safe.  You see, it is loaded and primed to fire.  My great-great grandfather kept it there in constant readiness in case the time came when he might need to strike a blow for the freedom of the colonies.”

     The professor said, “Then he died before the revolution came?”

     “No,” she said, “he lived to a ripe old age and died in 1802, but he never had any confidence in George Washington.  You see, he knew him as a boy and didn’t believe he could ever lead an army.”

     Sometimes it is difficult to accept the idea that those we knew as children are now in positions of authority and doing quite well, mind you.  Our grasp of the truth usually gets shaded by our prejudices or by some previous notion of the way things should be.  We sometimes shake our heads when great contributions to the advancement of society are made by those from such humble, ordinary backgrounds.

     The story in Luke 4:14-21, tells about a hometown boy, from humble beginnings, who came home, went to the synagogue as was his custom, was asked to read one of the lessons, and was given the scroll from the prophet Isaiah.  He stood up, unrolled the scroll, read the words “The Spirit of the Lord in upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  He carefully rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down.  The congregation looked at him.  A few whispers of “beautifully done,” “he’ll go far as a rabbi,” “Mary must be proud,” could be heard, but basically the folks were very quiet.  They expected him to expound on what Isaiah meant.  “What the prophet was saying to the people is that the Suffering Servant will be one to comfort God’s people.”  “Isaiah is really pointing out the challenge of being the people of the covenant.”  He didn’t say any such thing.  In a silence that was deafening, the Lord of this life and the life that is to come, said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

     Well, that kind of talk can get you in trouble.  The religiously righteous were offended.  “Is this not Joseph’s son?”  They knew him as a boy, had seen him working in the carpentry shop, and knew his mother and brothers and sisters.  Their grasp of the truth would not allow room for the possibility that God might do a new thing.

     I believe faith in something greater than we are is natural.  Everybody believes in God as some time in their lives.  Children take to faith in God like birds to the air.  Doubts begin in adolescence and if they are not handled with care, encouraged, taken seriously, and answered truthfully, they run the risk of turning into full-blown agnosticism that is hard to shake.  Equally difficult to deal with are those who are convinced their version of the truth is the only valid one and those who disagree are heathen, pagan, and if pushed to the ultimate extreme, infidels who deserve little more than death.

     Jesus would have us be more than that.  We need to be believers in the “God of the much more.”  Jesus said one time to his followers, “I have yet many things to reveal to you.”  Those things continue to be revealed in our own day and the ultimate truth will never be established on this side of eternity.  The bigger truth in this world will be a collection of smaller truths that each of us has been given.  That’s why conversation, discussion, the exchange of ideas is so vital.  Of course, the very best place to start is with the person of Jesus who said, “I am the truth, the way, and the life.”  His hometown folks couldn’t believe that.  The challenge is always, can we?

                                                                      Peace, 

                                                                                  Tom