Man Makes Plans and God Smiles

Yes I know it’s the end of January and Christmas is a distant memory, but I can’t help thinking of the famous Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life when I read Matthew’s gospel, (Matthew 5:13-16). In this scripture Jesus is not talking to the “movers and the shakers,” the so-called leaders…the people with power and money, education and good looks. Jesus is talking to the common man, telling them that they possess the ability to transform the world according to God’s plan.

The main character in the movie, George Bailey, played by Jimmie Stewart, is a struggling businessman whose life’s dreams and aspirations have been shattered as he is sidetracked by unintended consequences and uncontrollable circumstances. I wonder how many of us can relate to unplanned events in our lives that have taken us far afield from our original life’s plans. As we look back don’t we often wonder how different life would have been if fate had not intervened? The movie reminds us that everything that happens has intended and unintended consequences and that somehow, someway, everyone in the story relates to one another. 

There are two scenes in particular that reminds us that George Bailey is a “force for transformation.” One involves a discussion that George has with his father, during which he professes his desire to “make a difference” and rejects any notion of following in his father’s footsteps in the family’s “broken down savings and loan” business, and becoming a banker. His father tells him, you know, George, I feel that in a small way we are doing something important by satisfying a fundamental urge. It’s deep in the race for a man to want his own roof and walls and fireplace, and we’re helping him get those things in our shabby little office.

The other scene comes as George, a victim of unintended consequences and on the brink of despair, wonders if his life was all worth it. To which his “guardian angel,” Clarence responds Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?

We have all known people in our lives whom we believe make us better persons by just being in our lives. They’re the ones who make our day better, simply by talking to us. These are the Godly people about whom Jesus is speaking: You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. 

Truly Godly people are the ones who make a difference everywhere they go, although unintended consequences may prevent them from even knowing that they have done anything or made any difference at all. Somehow, they always seem to be in the right place at the right time and doing the very thing that is most needed at any given time. And the difference between such Godly folks and everyone else, is that they try to live life as Jesus did by loving God the only way we really can…by loving one another. We are not alone; we are not insignificant; we are loved, cared for and intended for wonderful purposes. Yes, it truly is a wonderful life.

Here is the Lamb of God

John loudly proclaims Jesus' arrival in our assigned readings(John 1:29-34): “Here is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” He then proceeds to validate his preaching as he distinguishes Jesus’ preeminent role: "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him…this is the Son of God." John is going out of his way to shift the focus from himself to Jesus as if to say this isn’t about me. It’s about this guy. Yeah. There he goes. He’s the one. Him. Lamb of God. John’s work for the time being is was done; now, it’s up to Jesus… and us.  

And so Jesus' ministry begins not with a command to silence a demon, as in Mark; nor with a sermon to the crowds who have gathered on a mountain, as in Matthew, and not with a quotation from Isaiah to proclaim his anointing for the year of God's favor, as in Luke. No, it begins with a question: "What are you looking for?" Needless to say this is a question with which we have and continue to wrestle--as individuals, as congregations, as communities. Our answers will have a great deal to do with what we find as well as with the journey we take to get there. What are we seeking? What motivates us? What is it that we really need, not just on the surface, but down deep into the core of our being? As we continue on in the season of the Epiphany, this question is an important one for us to ponder. In a way, we have an advantage over the disciples; we know what’s coming and we know how it all will end. Yet, we continue to ask, what am I looking for?  

As if this mind-bending, soul-searching question was not enough, immediately following their “introductions,” the disciples ask another question: "where are you staying?" We know that John is not one to mince words. From our brief encounter with his readings so far, we’ve learned that he, selects his words for what they say and not necessarily what they mean on the surface. So, asking Jesus where he was “staying” has little to do with making inquiry about his local lodging or accommodations. Instead it requires that we probe for what the phrase might say to us. What word might you select as a synonym for “stay?” Continue, dwell, lodge, sojourn, rest, settle, last, endure, persevere, be steadfast, abide, be in close and settled union and indwell? The list is endless and any of the preceding words might work at any given time.  

Marcus Borg writes in the Heart of Christianity, “that the Christian life is not about believing or a set of beliefs, but it’s about a deepening relationship with the one in whom we live and move and have our being. Paying attention to this relationship transforms us.” So, if we choose to interpret John’s question to mean our asking about an intimate, enduring relationship with God, the word “abide” has particular meaning that fits. We surrender our ego to God as the Word becomes flesh and abides in us, and sows the seed of transformation, and we are born into a new life.

 John1:29-42