Not what you’d expect

As Jesus taught in the Temple, he said in a loud voice, ‘Do you really know me and know where I am from? I have not come on my own authority. He who sent me, however, is truthful. You do not know him, but I know him, because I come from him and he sent me.’ Then they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. But many in the crowd believed in him and said, ‘When the Messiah comes, will he perform more miracles than this man has?’ (verses 28-31)

Read John 7:14-36

There was an old rabbinic saying: ‘Three things come wholly unexpectedly; the Messiah, a godsend, and a scorpion’. The Jews firmly believed that the Messiah would appear suddenly, virtually out of nowhere. Yet here was Mary and Joseph’s boy from Galilee claiming to be the Messiah. Jesus was not at all what they had expected.

Where do we find God working today? Certainly not where you’d expect. In the tiny fist of your new-born child. In the warm embrace of a forgiven friend. In the first sleepy rays of a brand-new day. In a beggar’s outstretched palm. In some drops of water on a baby’s head. In a piece of bread and sip of wine. Here is where we find God today – not at all where you’d expect.

If God seems to be hiding himself from you, perhaps you are looking for him in all the wrong places. He’s not, after all, where you’d expect.

Heavenly Father, you are so much nearer to me than I can imagine. Let me see you, through your Spirit’s eyes, in places where I’d never expect you to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

by Linda Macqueen, in ‘New Strength for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1998)

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