Daily Good News – Where is God to be found?

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May 19, 2015 1799

“Could he be the Christ? ‘But we know where this man is from; and when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from’” (John 7:27).

The people were troubled about what to make of Jesus. Here he was, preaching in the precincts of the Temple – Solomon’s Temple. This was the place where Rabbis discussed weighty matters of theology. The crowd knew how hostile the Rabbis were towards Jesus, and it amazed them to see his courage in standing up there to preach. Perhaps, after all, they said among themselves, he might actually be the Messiah? Perhaps the authorities knew it but weren’t telling the common people.

But then they dismissed the thought. They knew Jesus; he was from Nazareth. They knew his family, and none of them were remarkable. Popular belief was that the Messiah would suddenly burst on the world. They even had a saying: “Three things come wholly unexpectedly, the Messiah, a godsend, and a scorpion.” Jesus would be like a bolt of lightning from the heavens, not a man who was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. They conveniently forgot the prophecy that foretold the birth of the Chosen One in Bethlehem. Micah wrote, “Out of you, Bethlehem, will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel?” (5:2)

Many people still believe that God can only be found in the unusual, the unexpected and the abnormal. And they also believe that they need to be good before God can dwell in them. Christianity’s good news teaches the exact opposite. God’s love is everywhere, and he comes to us just as we are, if we invite him.