We Three Words

 

Hey, Cobblestone,

     As he walked into church this past Sunday morning, Gary Cook asked, “Are you ready for Christmas, John?”

    “No, I’m not, Gary – it has snuck up on me, just like every year.”

    I lied. This Christmas has done a way better job of sneaking up on me than past Christmases have. Sorry, Gary. Now you have the truth.

     I have piles of notes for the “Three R’s” series, and have been particularly eager to give the third and fourth installments in the “Redeeming Church” miniseries. But hey, it’s Christmas – or so I hear. And besides, there are three words that have been a constant part of my consciousness for the past week or more – even while my mind and hands have been occupied with work, my heart has been saying them over and over. Sometimes when that happens, it’s a nudge from the Lord that I’m supposed to pass them on to you, Church. Not wanting to miss a nudge, here they are:

 Jesus Is Real.

     So you knew that already. Congratulations. Read those words again. Say them out loud. Say them again. One more time. Thanks.

     We could track Scripture and highlight the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, how he ate and drank, how he walked and talked. We could pop into Acts and be reminded of how his actual body was lifted up from the Mount of Olives in the Ascension, and how the messengers from heaven said he would return in like manner. Those would be good and worthy exercises, but in this moment I’m hoping you’ll pause long enough to see whether there’s a heart-level response to those three words that you may have been missing for a while. I’m not asking you to turn off your intellect – you know me well enough to know I would never ask you to do that – only let the heart lead, and let your intellect observe.

     For whatever reasons, it seems awfully easy to think of Jesus as a long-ago person or a far-off fulfillment – our idea of love and mercy and lordship personified, but not possessing anything so solid as flesh and bone. It’s easy to think of him as not real like you and I are real. But he is made no less real by the fact that he is physically present elsewhere, seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). He is – seated, that is, on something… his own throne, perhaps, or perhaps the right-hand side of God’s own throne – but he is. Jesus is real. I hope he is pleased with what I’m writing to you just now.     

     In addition to hearing those three words at the heart level, I highly recommend Andrew’s sermon from this past Sunday on the Incarnation,  http://www.cobblestonechurch.com/media/717051-2975990-14407386/incarnation as a reminder of our church’s commitment to the realness of Jesus.

     The tornado recovery team got back into town late Wednesday night. As the sun came up Thursday morning, it was almost disorienting to not be surrounded by twisted trees and torn-up houses, or hear the clatter and roar of heavy equipment. Maybe that’s why this Christmas has so thoroughly snuck up on me – I thought it was a backup alarm. I’m glad to have had, underneath it all, a heart-level assurance of the real-est of realities. If we will let it, I believe the sheer realness of Jesus has the power to make this Christmas – however sneaky it may have been for you – more meaningful and fruitful than any we’ve known for a long time.

     Jesus is real. Jesus is King. Jesus is coming. Amen.

 

 Grace and Peace (and real Jesus),

 John