Today's Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 3 verses 1 and 2:
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son Zechariah in the wilderness.
Luke's recording of the beginning of Jesus' ministry opens with a reference to all the governmental figures in the region and empire. The reference helps us locate the events to follow in their and context and would have helped the first century reader to understand what kind of characters were sitting in the seats of power at the time. These are the major political players --governors, tetrarchs and emperor. These are the ones who make all the decisions and wield all the authority. These are the ones who sit in the halls of power.
But then Luke says this, "[T]he word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness."
He has just given us an account of all the household names of the time, locating them at center stage of the drama. But then, just at the edge or margins, onto the stage steps this man John who will bring with him another man named Jesus. It is at the edge, in the wilderness, in the most isolated and unexpected of places that the word of God comes. It is there that what Clarence Jordan called "the God Movement" begins, off stage, in the desert, amongst the nobodies.
We're in an election year and everyone knows all the household political names. But the Lesson comes today to take our eyes off of center stage for a time, to get us to look around, to watch the edge, where on stage and off stage meet, and to see if perhaps that isn't where the word of God is coming -- right into our little town, our little church, our little people.
He who has eyes to see let him see.
No comments:
Post a Comment