URC Daily Devotion 1st January 2025
St Luke 7: 18 – 35
The disciples of John reported all these things to Jesus. So John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ When the men had come to him, they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”’ Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. And he answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’ When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who put on fine clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.”
I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.’ (And all the people who heard this, including the tax-collectors, acknowledged the justice of God, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism. But by refusing to be baptized by him, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves.) ‘To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the market-place and calling to one another,
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not weep.”
For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.’
Reflection
A very happy and revolutionary New Year!
I struggle to think of a better encounter with Jesus to inspire us as we take a breath to ponder the past, present, and future.
John the Baptist has sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus ‘are you the one who is to come or are we to wait for another?’. We have just spent the glorious period of Advent pondering the same question; perhaps wondering what we wait for in our own lives, the life of the Church and the wider world – so I hope we don’t have more waiting to do!
There is just the slightest sense of exasperation in Luke’s words. Jesus has been doing all these amazing things, so go, and tell John everything you’ve seen!
Go and tell. Perhaps Luke is echoing Isaiah 52 and those beautiful feet bringing good news on the mountain. My feet may not be beautiful, but I hope the good news they carry is!
The answer to the question ‘are you the one’, as we get ourselves prepared for 2025, is ‘go and tell what you have seen’. In other words, as we look to the future of such a struggling world, there is something important in opening our senses to the ever-present glimpses of God’s love and peace, then following the call to go and tell!
This verse struck me: ‘Blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me’. I wonder if there is something in this about being willing to listen, willing to change, willing to tell. Is there a blessing to be found in being open to the potential offence and challenge in Jesus’ words and actions?
I think there is, so may this New Year be filled with the blessing of noticing the surprising and rebellious love of God. May we be blessed by the potential to change and grow and then get out there and share that blessing with others!
Prayer
Gracious God,
we give thanks for the past and pay attention to its lessons.
We notice the present and dwell in its richness.
We look to the future with its hope and potential.
Bless us, we pray, with open hearts and vital senses;
alert to the truth that Jesus has come
and is leading us to a new kin-dom.
So be it. Amen