Luke 4:16-22 16He
went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went
into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet
Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18"The
Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to
the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of
sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the
Lord's favor." 20Then
he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes
of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to
them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." 22All spoke well of him and
were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this
Joseph's son?" they asked.
Shopping for surprises
is fun, but it is also risky, so some of us shop for certainty. One man honed this type of shopping
down to perfection. Each Christmas his wife went to a department store and
chose the things she wanted up to X amount of dollars. Then she left the items
with a store clerk. Thirty minutes later the husband would come in, purchase
the items, have them wrapped, and then place them under the tree, guaranteed to
please. Shopping for certainty may take some of the glee out of Christmas, but
it gets the job done. Wonder is like shopping for surprises. It is risky
business. The risk is not simply that we will be disappointed. The risk is that we will be surprised
at how uncertain all our certainties turn out to be. Wonder comes when we cease
to resist with all our certainties and dare to risk the exposure of our life to
His life. We never know when wonder will happen or what will happen after that,
whether there will be dancing in the street or deeds of love and mercy, or
both, and more.
The stage was set for
an event that would change the world, not for a season, but for good. In a
world where life was cheap and executions were common, where the lame and blind
were resigned to their fate, where tax collectors sold their souls to collect
their salary, and where a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the
world should be taxed and taxed and taxed some more, a baby is born. In this
baby was one who would offer life in a new dimension that He called the Kingdom.
The Kingdom was the opportunity to taste eternity in the midst of time, and to
be touched by the crazy extravagance of God’s love. Those who met Him wondered
at all that He said and did. Eyes
that had been dulled by the traffic of the years were opened to see God in Him
and a vision of life lost. They wondered as all of their forgone conclusions of
both belief and doubt melted away under the warmth of His grace. They wondered
as hope was renewed, faith revitalized, and a spirit of love moved strangely to
the center of their lives.
To wonder is to have
many certainties melt away. It is to feel the very supports of our life give
way and to land in the hand of God’s love. To wonder is to have our eyes opened
to new truth and new possibilities that we never dreamed of in our wildest
imaginations when they are closed by cold certainty. Is there a spark of wonder
smoldering in our soul? Dare we risk exposure to Him who was born in Bethlehem?
From a sermon preached
by Henry Dobbs Pope
© Rhonda Hinkle
Mitchell Broyles
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