Advent Reflection for December 5, 2012

WEDNESDAY Jeremiah 23:1-6

• Focus on the actions and qualities the prophet described in verses 5-6. In what ways do you believe Jesus fulfilled these words in the course of his earthly life? Are there parts of this passage that you see as awaiting fulfillment in the future, when God’s reign is fully established over the earth?

• Verses 1-2 remind us that God cares deeply how we use our influence (whether over one person or thousands). What do you do, in whatever sphere you have influence, to be a “shepherd” who builds people up, rather than destroying and scattering them? How do you want God to help you grow so you can be the kind of shepherd God blesses?

Today’s Reflection by Joy Page

Jeremiah 23:5-6 presents prophesy about the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.  Jeremiah describes him as a king that is a descendant from David.  He further states, during his reign, Judah and Israel would be saved and dwell in safety.  The Message says he’ll make sure of justice and keep people united.   In Matthew 1:1-16 the genealogy of Jesus Christ is listed and from the very beginning we see that David was included in that lineage.  So Jeremiah’s prediction that the Messiah, the one who would save people from their sins, would be of David’s family line —- it was fulfilled in the person of Christ!  What about the other prophesies listed?:

·         Jesus will be a king and rule over the land

·         Judah will be saved

·         Israel will be safe

·         Justice will prevail

·         people will be united

When Jesus was on trial before Pilate, Pilate asked him: “Are you the King of the Jews?”…….

Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world…’ ‘You are a king, then!’ said Pilate. Jesus answered, ‘You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth…’ John 18:36-37a NIV

So Jesus himself states that he is a king.  But the key words here are “My kingdom is not of this world…”.  Did Jesus rule over the land while here on Earth?  No.  His kingdom  is not of this world.  Mark 10:45 says [Jesus] did not come to be served. Instead, he came to serve others. He came to give his life as the price for setting many people free.”  He was not a king, he was a servant.

Were people united during Jesus’ physical presence on Earth? No.  Not only was there hostility among nations and socio-economic groups, there was more division about God during Jesus’ life than at any time prior to his birth.  Following God’s law had among it a whole set of rituals and traditions.  Folks were divided in their understanding of these laws and how best to carry them out.  When Jesus came, there was still this confusion as to how best to fulfill the law.  Jesus further confounded the leaders of the day by turning their understanding of the law COMPLETELY upside down.  Jesus challenged the leaders of the day to look at the law not as an end to their journey of pleasing God, but rather as a pathway to understanding God.  Law was meant to be a tool to point to God…a way for folks to be right with God, a starting point of a relationship with Him.  Instead, the leaders perverted it to serve the needs and lusts of themselves.  It was used to propel their status, ranking, and power, not as a tool to point to God, or  to help folks understand God or be in a relationship with Him. The law became links in a chain bonding people to their own sin.  And here was Jesus saying in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”  To the leaders of the day, this was a direct challenge to the power that they had wrapped up in the traditions and rituals of their interpretations of the law.  For this, the leaders conspired against Jesus and falsely accused him, hoping to have him killed.  Jesus himself even said about the End Times in Luke 21:10 “Nation will fight against nation. Kingdom will fight against kingdom…” .  We need to expect more divisions before the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Is Judah saved?  Is Israel safe?  Has justice prevailed since Christ’s coming?   Turn on the 5 o’clock news or one of the many court shows and see for yourself.

So what does that mean for us?  First, these unfulfilled prophecies will be fulfilled in the FUTURE, when God’s reign is fully established over the Earth….that’s why we wait.  Second, verse 1 and 2 reminds us that God cares deeply about how we use our influence, whether that is over 1 or 1,000.  Jesus came to fulfill the law and to be a servant.  So while we are waiting for Christ’s second return to Earth, how do we fit into that plan?  If Christ has completed and fulfilled the requirements of the law on our behalf, and the law was meant to be a tool to point to God…if we remain in Christ, we too then become the tools that point to God.  Knowing that following the law by itself will set us up for disappointment…..for in our own strength and in our own understanding and perseverance there is bound to be failure.  But in Christ there is complete fulfillment.  If we follow Christ, and he was a servant on Earth, what will His path lead us to?  Servanthood.  In studying this verse I’m led to ask myself:

·         What traditions and rituals have I made up to follow God?

·         How do I use my influence to propel my status, ranking and power?

·         Recognizing that I am a tool, made perfect through Christ, that God uses to point others to Him – how do I help folks understand God through

o    my actions?

o    my words?

·         How do I use my actions, words, resources and time to help folks be in a relationship with Him?

·         Do my actions and words become, like the law, a link in a chain bonding people to their sin as well as my own?

 

I truly want to be a “shepherd” of those God puts in my care, in my area of influence.  I want to build up my children, my husband, my friends, every child and volunteer in FaithPoint’s Children’s Ministry…I want to build up and not scatter the flock.  If I’m honest, though, after answering the questions above, I realize that too many times I GET IN THE WAY.  Life too easily becomes about me….and I feel so completely inadequate and unworthy to be called a follower of Christ.  When I lose focus of Christ, when I stop following Him and start doing things in my own strength, power, and understanding I become a prisoner of sin…my actions lead my children down the wrong path, my words don’t build up but scatter….and I bind myself to the sin in myself and to the sin in others.

The very last verse of the Bible reading today gives me hope, regardless of the mess I make things.  Here are a number of different versions of the same verse:

And the Branch will be called

The Lord Who Makes Us Right With Himself.

This is the name they’ll give him:

‘God-Who-Puts-Everything-Right.’

And his name will be The Lord Is Our Righteousness.

‘The Lord Who makes us right and good.’

It is my hope that during this Advent season, God will stir new growth in me and in people all around me.  Specifically that He will

·         put words in my mouth that build up people

·         put thoughts in my mind that glorify Him

·         help me to think of small ways to build others up

·         help me to communicate with others whom I have difficulty with.  Help me to talk directly with those I need to and not go to other people with complaints about others.

 

Walking with you,

Joy