Devotional 1-6-08

Jesus, who are you?

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’

The scripture above and the title were used in a sermon last spring by the Rev. Jim Morrison of St. Andrew By-the-Sea UMC in Hilton Head, SC.

But, upon reading the passage again and thinking about the sermon title, “Jesus, who are you?”; I was trying to imagine how many people, not only in Jesus’ own time, but down through the centuries, have asked that very question. And, I wonder how many have gotten an answer as concise and meaningful as the one I received as a youth.

My recollection goes like this: many years ago I was sitting in the choir loft one Sunday morning (and, you know, I was in a seat about where I sit now) listening to Dr. Rolla S. Kenaston preach on this identical question, “Jesus, who are you?” His answer has etched itself in my mind, and I have remembered it all these years. He said, “Jesus was just as much of God as could be crammed into one human form.”

As a young man, I looked up to Dr. Kenaston as I have very few others in my life. I thought then, and still do – if that description of Jesus is good enough for Dr. Kenaston, it’s good enough for me.

Prayer

Oh, Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son to us –
To be our redeemer,
To be our savior,
To be our example for living, and
To being us the promise of eternal life.

It is with deepest reverence that we offer these thanks in the name of that self-same Jesus whom you sent to save the world. Amen.

Additional Scripture reading:
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12

Charlie Lewis