A Message to the Darkness

Family Feud

Many of you have either watched or know about the popular game show Family Feud. It is a contest between two families who compete to name the most popular answers to questions to 100 people from the audience. The popular Hogan’s Heroes star Richard Dawkins was the first host but Steve Harvey has taken the show to new levels. Harvey can produce some of the funniest facial expression of any game show host especially to really dumb answers by the contestants.

Had there been such a show when Jesus was living any good Jew would have been able to guess at least a majority of the signs for advent of Messiah. Their answers would have come from three passages in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 29:18–19 NIV84

18 In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. 19 Once more the humble will rejoice in the Lord; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

isa 29:18-19

Isaiah 35:5–6 NIV84

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

Isaiah 61:1 NIV84

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

Isa

Jesus adds the healing of lepers and the raising of the dead to Isaiah’s list in his response to John’s disciples. But John’s disciples did not visit Jesus to prepare for a game show. They had been asked by their mentor John the Baptist to determine if Jesus was the Messiah.

I believe that John had a crises of faith. When Jesus came to him to be baptised John’s reluctance to baptize Jesus indicates his recognition of the role and mission of Jesus. This was not just his cousin. This was his cousin for whom John had come to prepare the way. John also knew about the passages from Isaiah. His father was a priest but all of that was over years ago and now he was currently rotting in prison.

John’s message presented the theme of doom. The axe was already chopping at the root of the tree. The winnowing fork was already throwing the wheat and the chaff into the air for the wind to separate the two. The divine fire of cleansing judgment was about to ignight. But John was expecting this sooner than later and the heat of the desert and the stench of prison undoubtedly erased some of John’s memory and rubbed away some of John’s faith.

Jesus adds the healing of lepers, the raising of the dead and the preaching of good news to the poor to Isaiah’s list. We could easily glance over the importance of this passage. We seldom see blind women healed without the aid of glasses or and operation and even then restoring sight is the exception. The lame seldom discard their crutches and wheel chairs except through intensive therapy. People with skin diseases use medications and creams not faith healers to remove acne, psoriasis, eczema, herpes zoster, hives, dermatitus plurosie,

This reveals the first important lesson of this passage-v# 1 Don’t change in darkest what God showed you the light.

LESSONS FROM MATTHEW

#1 Don’t change in the darkness what God has shown you in the light.

# 1 Don’t change in darkest what God showed you the light. Every great and minor work of God goes through a period of inactivity. Not only does nothing seem to be happening, but the people with whom you are trying to influence do not buy into your ideas. Think of the farmer who sows his seed. Each plant has a period for incubation. The farmer who becomes anxious or despondent a few days after planting because he does not see any seedlings, may do something rash. He may ruin her entire crop by acting too quickly.

John had a rather miraculous birth. Zechariah and Elizabeth were well past the age of bearing children. An angel appeared to Zechariah while he was serving in the Temple to announce Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Zechariah lost his voice for his lack of faith. All these events would have been told to John as a child. They were indelibly etched into his memory. He knew that he was to prepare the way for Messiah.

Every great and minor work of God goes through a period of inactivity. Not only does nothing seem to be happening, but the people with whom you are trying to influence do not buy into your ideas. Think of the farmer who sows his seed. Each plant has a period for incubation. The farmer who becomes anxious or despondent a few days after planting because he does not see any seedlings, may do something rash. He may ruin her entire crop by acting too quickly.

Perhaps you recall the scene from the movie "Patton." General Patton was pacing back and forth on the balcony of an English mansion. General Eisenhower had him set up as commander of an entirely fictitious army, complete with fake air traffic. The Germans are fooled and do not rush to the defense of the beaches of Normandy, thinking that the real invasion will be at Calais, headed by Patton. Of course Patton is extremely upset. He can't believe that he is being kept out of the most glorious war of the century. He says to a subordinate that he feels God has some great calling for him, some great army to move, but General Bradley, of all people, is in charge of the only army then going anywhere.

Patton follows orders and is eventually rewarded by assuming the role of commander of the Third Army. His decisive leadership led to successfully relieving the Allied forces that were surrounded during the Battle of the Bulge.

In any endeavor there is a time to act and a time to wait. Distinguishing between the two requires wisdom and faith.

Those of you who know me, know that I can be a rather sarcastic cynic. I do not like movies in which the syrup gets too thick. There is an edginess to life. “ And they lived happily ever after” seldom happens in life. However, if Frodo and Sam would have died on Mt Doom before destroying the ring or if Lord Voldemort had killed Harry Potter or Katniss Everdeen would have been killed by the wolf mutation instead of Cato I would not have given any of the movies a 5-star rating. And if you have no clue what I am talking about just think about your favorite protagonist or hero, dying at the hand of some despicable antagonist or villain. I do not want to go to those types of movies anymore. I still have haunting memories of Apocalypse Now and Easy Rider.

The second lesson I glean from this passage is that in this world of sin and suffering, pleasure and pain, riches and poverty---There is still hope!

LESSONS FROM MATTHEW

#1 - Don’t change in darkness what God has shown you in the light.

#2 - There is hope

Jesus does not give us a fairy tale, pie in the sky sugar coated hope. He gives us a gritty down to earth hope that is laced with success and failure; miracles and non-miracles. Jesus tells John’s disciples all of the spectacular things he is doing. But the one miracle they wanted the most—freeing John from prison. John stays in his cell until he is finally beheaded.

Jesus summarizes his ministry to give us hope.

THE MINISTRY OF JESUS

The blind receive sight,

the lame walk,

those who have leprosy are cured,

the deaf hear,

the dead are raised,

and the good news is preached to the poor.

In an age of political dysfunction, changing climates, changing allegiances, financial uncertainty, spiral educational costs, animosity and hate we are in need of a realistic message of hope. Not a message that says, do not worry, things are not as bad as they seem. We need a message that is able to change parts of the narrative even if only for a brief period of time. We need a message that says when God brings this world to an end, God will create a new heaven and a new earth. We know this because we see God at work each and every day. Not that all of our problems are solved but a message to assure us that one day they will be.

Lame wallk

The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), .

We could easily glance over the importance of this passage. We seldom see blind women healed without the aid of glasses or and operation and even then restoring sight is the exception. The lame seldom discard their crutches and wheel chairs except through intensive therapy. People with skin diseases use medications and creams not faith healers to remove acne, psoriasis, eczema, herpes zoster, hives, dermatitus plurosie,

Jesus message to John’s disciples was that message of hope. The kingdom of God is coming but for now John you will stay in prison.

The third lesson that I glean from Matthew is to accept Jesus as he reveals himself.

LESSONS FROM MATTHEW

#1 - Don’t change in darkness what God has shown you in the light.

#2 - There is hope

#3 - Accept Jesus as he reveals himself

We are notorious at creating Jesus in our own image. The citizens of the Third world would like to see a liberator. A Messiah who redistributes the wealth of the nations. Some would like to see a messiah who rubs backs and not only says but makes everything OK. Jocks for Jesus want a strong athletic man. Radical feminists want to change the entire discussion on the sexual identity of God. Bankers, CEOs, entrepreneurs want a docile man who preserves the status quo. Movie stars and TV personalities want a Messiah who tells them how beautiful and talented they are. John wanted a military leader that would destroy prison walls, punish adulteress despots, Herod wanted a Messiah who would expel the Romans but preserve his authority to rule, Pilate wanted a Messiah who would calm the riotous crowds, the Pharisees wanted a Messiah who would obey the law of Moses. Even the disciples who spent three years with him just struggled to accept the Jesus that actually came to them.

We are notorious at creating Jesus in our own image. The citizens of the Third world would like to see a liberator. A Messiah who redistributes the wealth of the nations. Some would like to see a messiah who rubs backs and not only says but makes everything OK. Jocks for Jesus wants a strong athletic man. Radical feminists want to change the entire discussion on the sexual identity of God. Bankers, CEOs, entrepreneurs want a docile man who preserves the status quo. John wanted a military leader that would destroy prison walls, punish adulteress despots, Pilate wanted a Messiah who would calm the riotous crowds, the Pharisees wanted a Messiah who would obey the law of Moses. They just could not accept the Jesus would came to them.

Most people like the Jesus of Bethlehem. Who can not like a cuddly cute baby? Who can not like parents who were so poor they had to accept a room that housed all the animals? Who could not like a baby who does cry or mess his diapers? Or did he?

The problem is the baby grows into a man. He has his own expectations. He has his own goals and mission. He has his own style of doing things and he is not afraid to denounce hypocrisy and false religion. He is rather disgusted with the religious leaders who attack him for not conforming to their expectations. He is not afraid of Roman soldiers and their spears and swords.

LESSONS FROM MATTHEW

#1 - Don’t change in darkness what God has shown you in the light.

#2 - There is hope

#3 - Accept the Jesus who reveals himself

Many people decline to follow Jesus because they have created an image of who he is suppose to be. Liberation theologians want him to dissolve the capitalistic economy and replace it with an egalitarian utopia. Right wing conservatives want to wrap their patriotic flag around Jesus and bomb the hell out of anyone who threatens America. White nationalist want a Jesus who will separate the races from one another and preserve and restore the historical majority. Black nationalist want a Jesus who denies his Jewish heritage and elevates people of color.

But what about you? Are you only willing to accept the Son of God even if he does not fit in with your plans and expectations?

LESSONS FROM MATTHEW

#1 - Don’t change in darkness what God has shown you in the light.

#2 - There is hope

#3 - Accept the Jesus who reveals himself