Thought for the Week

20 January 2008 – Third Sunday of Epiphany

Collect:	Almighty God, your Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence: renew your people with your heavenly grace and in all our weakness, sustain us by your mighty power; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever. Amen.
Readings	Isaiah 49, 1 - 7
	Psalm 40, 1 - 12
	1 Corinthians 1, 1 - 9
	John 1, 29 - 42

Being a Signpost for Jesus.

It is interesting to see the different names used by the characters in the reading from John’s Gospel. Some called Jesus Rabbi, Teacher. Andrew called Him the Messiah, the Christ. John the Baptist particularly uses the name ‘the Lamb of God’. Each one referred to Jesus in a different way relative to their knowledge and experience of Jesus.

If Jesus entered this place now, what name would you call Him? What name would you use to express how you felt about Jesus and reflected your relationship with Him? Think about it. (pause). You might call him the Son of God or Jesus. You might wish to use a more personal expression of your relationship and say my Lord, my Jesus, or my Saviour. You might even call Him your brother or friend. It will depend on your knowledge and experience of Him. It will depend on how much of our lives are given to God and whether you have a personal relationship with the Lamb of God.

Let’s remind ourselves of some of the verses that we have just read from John’s gospel. In verse 29 we read, “….John saw Jesus coming towards him and said ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’”. In verses 35 and 36 we read, “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look the Lamb of God’”.

1 Why did John the Baptist use such an unusual term as the Lamb of God? Why did he not refer to Jesus as the King or Messiah? And what does John the Baptist mean when he refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God? It maybe that when he saw Jesus approaching he pictured in his mind those lambs that were being sacrificed in the temple in Jerusalem as a means of making a connection with God. He may also have pictured the Passover Lamb. The lamb that every household in Israel slaughtered each year and whose blood was painted on the door posts of the Children of Israel’s homes in remembrance of the first Passover, when the angel of the Lord passed over as they suffered in slavery in Egypt waiting to go to the land promised by God.

Although he may have had these images in his mind, John is saying more about Jesus than the images of the Passover Lamb and those lambs sacrificed in the temple. He is saying that Jesus is the Lamb provided by God Himself and that He will take away the sins of the world, forever. John felt humbled in the presence of Jesus because Jesus was to be the final and ultimate sacrifice that would permanently restore man’s connection with God. The Son of God was going to endure humiliation, pain and eventually death for the sake of all. This shows that John had great insight into the mission that Jesus was on. By describing Jesus as the Lamb of God, John understood that Jesus was to give his life and create a new kingdom. Those around Him thought that Jesus was coming to be King in a more conventional way.

2 John was a signpost for Jesus. People looked at John and he pointed them to Jesus, the Lamb of God. John even pointed his own disciples to Jesus. John emptied himself and became a channel for God’s purposes. People looked at his life and were drawn to Jesus. John was not full of his own self - importance. His purpose and his fulfilment in life was to glorify God and point people to the Lamb of God.

Story

One bright, sunny day, two pieces of paper were sunbathing in the midday warmth, enjoying the pleasures of the summertime. One piece of paper was called Snow – White. She was pure white, and so very proud of her pristine purity. ‘Look at me’ she said to her companion. ‘Did you ever see such a beautifully white piece of paper? Her companion was called Pure-as the-Dawn. She too was amazingly white and wonderfully free from the slightest stain.

In the distance, a figure appeared on the horizon. He caught their attention. As they watched, he approached ever closer.

‘Who can it be?’ asked Snow-White.

‘What is he carrying in his arms?’ wondered Pure-as-the-Dawn.

The figure came closer and closer, until he was only a few yards away from the two paper friends.

In his arms he carried a palette and paintbrushes. In his eyes, there was a curious, dream-like light. A love-light, but gentle. And in his heart, he carried a dream.

‘What do you think he wants?’ Snow-White asked Pure-as-the-Dawn. ‘You don’t think he is going to paint on us, do you?’

Pure-as-the-Dawn flinched, as the words sank in. ‘I think that is exactly what he wants to do,’ she murmured.

‘There’s no way that I will allow him to paint on me,’ railed Snow-White. ‘No painter is going to spoil my purity.’

‘But what if he is a master-painter?’ Pure-as-the-Dawn reflected.

‘He might create a masterpiece on our pure white emptiness. He might make us into masterpieces.’

‘But then again,’ said Snow-White, ‘he might make a complete mess of us. No. I’m not taking any risks like that. I’m going to stay pure until the day I die.’

And so it came to be that the artist approached both pieces of paper and asked their permission to paint his dream upon their pure whiteness.

Snow-White said, ‘no way!’ And she remained pure white, and empty, until the day that the wind and the weather finally turned her back into pulp.

Pure-as-the-Dawn said, ’Do as you will with me. I will trust you. I will entrust myself to the work of your hands.’ And the artist turned her into a masterpiece – a unique and beautiful representation of the dream that he was carrying in his heart, so that in all the years to come many, many people would look at the artist’s picture, and in the depths and beauty, they would rediscover their own lost dreams.

Have you allowed God to come and paint a unique and beautiful expression of his dream for you on the canvass of your life?

John the Baptist knew that everything came from God alone. Everything lives by his power and everything is for His glory. It’s all for Him.

The glory of God is best expressed in Jesus Christ. After all, He is the light of the world and the one who reveals God’s nature. BUT

You can glorify God by fulfilling the purpose for which God created you.

You can bring glory to Him by worshipping Him especially when that worship is motivated by love, thanksgiving and delight. Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God’s presence, loving Him and giving yourselves for his purpose.

You can bring glory to Him when you become more like Jesus in the way that you think, act and feel. The more you become like Jesus the more you will bring glory to God.

You can bring glory to God when you use your gifts and talents for others. God did not give you abilities for selfish purposes. They were given to benefit others.

God wants to express Himself through you. That is his chosen way. It is the way that you will find fulfilment and purpose in your life.

He needs you to be a signpost today. He wants people to look at you and be pointed to Jesus, the Lamb of God.

The most effective form of evangelism and outreach is to live the life that God has given to you. To think, talk and behave in such a way that people are drawn to God.

In our Bible reading from 1 Corinthians Paul speaks about the people being enriched in every way through Christ Jesus – in all their speaking and all their knowledge. In Psalm 40 verse 8 we read ‘To do your will, O my God, is my desire’. May this be our experience also. Amen.

Adrien and Judy Wilson: Anglican Chaplaincy of Midi-Pyrénées & Aude

To return to main Thought for the Week page, click X at top right to close this window.