Dec. 28: We Have Found the Messiah

111th Street Jesus, Kent Twitchell c. 1984. Tiger Liquor Store Mural, Los Angeles, California.

“Satisfied (Hallelujah! I Have Found Him!)" Performed by Wilds Summer Staff Choir. Composed by Clara Williams.

Poetry:

“To Find God"
by Robert Herrick

Weigh me the fire; or canst thou find
A way to measure out the wind?
Distinguish all those floods that are
Mixed in that wat’ry theater,
And taste thou them as saltless there,
As in their channel first they were.
Tell me the people that do keep
Within the kingdoms of the deep;
Or fetch me back that cloud again,
Beshivered into seeds of rain.
Tell me the motes, dust, sands, and spears
Of corn, when summer shakes his ears;
Show me that world of stars, and whence
They noiseless spill their influence.
This if thou canst; then show me Him
That rides the glorious cherubim.

COME AND SEE

The words of Jesus are the most influential ever uttered. It’s striking how many of them fall into two categories: questions and invitations.

In today’s passage from John’s Gospel, we find life-altering examples of each. Two of John the Baptist’s disciples begin listening to the teachings of a new Rabbi, Jesus. (One of them, we learn later, is Andrew. The other is often thought to be John, who is recording this event.)

Jesus’ first recorded words to these two men—indeed, His first recorded words in this Gospel—are a question:“What do you seek?”What a great question! What do you want? What are you looking for? What could be a more important place to start, for examining what’s important in life and for considering Jesus?

Their answer to this incredible question is disappointingly mundane: “Where are you staying?”

We might expect Jesus to give a hefty rebuke for such trivial concerns. “Where am Istaying? Are you kidding? Do you have any idea who Iam?” Instead, Jesus meets them where they are, not with condemnation but a welcoming invitation:“Come and see.”Check Me out: see Who I am, begin an initial relationship with Me. Who knows where it may lead?

They accept Jesus’ invitation and hang out with Him the rest of the day. And we know—from the rest of the story—they end up doing so for the rest of their lives.

What do you seek?

What do you want, really? What is your deepest hunger? In “Satisfied,” composer Clara Williams passionately identifies hers:

All my life I had a longing
For a drink from some clear spring
That I hoped would quench the burning
Of the thirst I felt within.

Hallelujah! I have found Him
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my deepest longings,
Through His blood I now am saved.

Isn’t this true of all of us, if we only take the time to probe the question? As St. Augustine observed, “You have made us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”

Come to me.

But is it possible for such a desire to be satisfied? Poet Robert Herrick is surely right: we can’t “weigh the fire” or “measure out the wind.” How could we ever know God, the One who created and controls them?

Only if God were to come to us and reveal Himself to us could we know Him. The good news is that He has done exactly that, in Jesus. He came to our neighborhood, into the gritty reality of our world (John 1:14). Herrick is right; no one can see God. But, according to John 1:18, God the Son—Whom we nowcansee—has revealed (literally, “exegeted”) God to us.

Even more astounding, Jesusinvitesus, where we are and as we are, to come and see Him, to check Him out, to begin a relationship with Him. Indeed, He opens His arms in welcome, as in Kent Twitchell’s mural painted on the wall of a death-alley Los Angeles liquor store.

What do you really seek? Come and see Jesus.

Prayer:
Oh, Lord Jesus, reveal to me my true longings. Show me in new ways today how they are most truly and ultimately longings for You alone. Kindle a renewed hunger in my heart for You. Thank You for entering my world and inviting me to share in Your life.
Amen

Dr. David Horner
Professor of Theology and Philosophy
Division of Biblical and Theological Studies
Talbot School of Theology

For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, please visit our website by going to https://ccca.biola.edu/advent/2024.