Out of hiding

Dear Friends in Christ -

Slowly over the course of the past couple of weeks, leaves on the tree outside my living room window have budded and unfurled, resulting in a brilliant fluff of light green foliage. This foliage obscures my view of the street. And I have to confess that I like it that way. I like hiding behind things sometimes.

In the today's Daily Office reading (Luke 4:38-44), though, Jesus is clearly all about getting people to face up to things. He's particularly interested in getting the people who are following him around to own up to the real reason they're chasing after him. Jesus has a mission: to proclaim the Good News of God's love and saving power. The physical healings that Jesus did were not an accident - they were a natural outgrowth of his tremendous love and care. But the healings paled by comparison to what Jesus really came to share.

Since we're firmly attached to these mortal bodies, it's hard for us to imagine anything more powerful than physical healing. But what Jesus came to share was even more amazing and transformative than the healing of our bodies. When push came to shove (literally), he opted to quit healing and focus on teaching, to save us, to save our souls.

Only when we're willing to come out of hiding, to see Jesus and to let him see all of our need (not just the physical hurts, but the holes in our relationships and souls, too) will we hear His full message and know the full measure of His power to save us.

Faithfully,
Janet+