Liminality

In Luke 4:14-21, Jesus works his way to the platform and pulls out a scroll from the Ark in Nazareth's synagogue. He doesn’t grab the Law – he grabs a prophecy. He grabs Isaiah 61 and Isaiah 58. This is the first time you hear Jesus speak to people in the Gospel of Luke. And what a way to start! “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me! I’m anointed and I’ve come to bring with me the ministry of release.” Release is the mission of Luke’s Jesus. It’s the life pattern Jesus is setting for all who chose to follow. The final line Jesus reads from Isaiah says, “In the year of the Lord’s favor.” This is not a throwaway line. Jesus is speaking about Isaiah 58:6 which is talking about Leviticus 25. In ancient Israelite culture, there is a year known as the Year of Jubilee. Jubilee actually means, “Release.” The year of Jubilee occurs every fifty years. Accordingly, property would be returned to the original owners, debts would be canceled, and those who had managed their deb...

The role of the deacon is one that should be held in high praise. Every denomination seems to have their own understanding of what a deacon’s role is, but consistently each denomination sees deaconesses and deacons as key people and figures for the life of their community. The word “deacon” comes from the Greek word “diokania” which actually has many meanings. One meaning is, “service rendered in an intermediary capacity.” In other words, deacons stand as mediators between two things. The church and God! Deacons are seen as people who work for the Church of Jesus Christ and therefore mediate similarly to that of the pastor – they listen for God’s direction and convey love to the congregation. “Diokania” can also mean, “performance of a service.” A deacon serves. They work for the church. They “do” on behalf of the church. They provide love, vision, support, care, and a warm body in the pews for the church. Deacons don’t just listen to God, the serve on behalf of God. ...

John’s prologue is quite intricate. It’s written in an ancient word scramble. If you take thought for thought starting at the beginning and the end and you work your way to the middle then you will see that the prologue carries an impressive consistency. When you do, you arrive at the hinge in which the gospel turns. The central message of the prologue and all of John is found in verse 12b: But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. (John 1:12b NRSV) This is the most important message for you to receive and to give others. “That for those who believe in Jesus’ name, power is given to them to become children of God.” We are God’s children. But as fun as this is to say, the hard truth of the matter is that we don’t accept our identity as a child of God. To be a child of God would be to mimic the life of Jesus – right? When I look out at Christians, especially in the Baptist world, we don’t love and don’t serve as well a...

To walk across the Jordanian desert would take weeks. The three Kings caravanned after viewing a star in the sky. Think about this, what kind of epiphany would it take in your gut to convince your family, your country, your temple guards that you needed to make a pilgrimage West to see a baby being born, give him the most expensive gift you have to give, travel alone and all you are basing this gut feeling on is the formation of the stars. And if that isn’t wild enough, you meet at least two other kings with the exact same story on your journey. From a logical standpoint, the odds of this really happening are slim to none. But this story brings with it something much deeper than logic. This story carries the majesty of an appointed epiphany. Webster defines Epiphany as a “Sudden Realization.” The Magi suddenly realize the interplay of God in the world. The presence of the Magi validates Jesus’ divinity. And these are Gentile Kings. Matthew is invariably saying, “Jesu...