TEACHING
DECEMBER 20, 2020, 10 AM - ONLINE ONLY
honest advent 4, attention + room
Matthew 2:2, Luke 2:6-7
For the final honest advent Sunday, we look at one of the several texts in the Bible that speak to the Holy Spirit working and drawing people from all over, all religious pursuits of truth to Jesus. Jesus who makes the scandalous claim to be the embodiment of Truth. #zoroastrianismandJesus
This Advent, we have journeyed through Scott Erickson's book, Honest Advent, which he tells us, "...is an exploration of finding the God-with-us coming into our midst now....the Birthday Boy hiding out in the mechanics of this life—the one you're presently living."
honest advent 4, attention + room
Matthew 2:2, Luke 2:6-7
For the final honest advent Sunday, we look at one of the several texts in the Bible that speak to the Holy Spirit working and drawing people from all over, all religious pursuits of truth to Jesus. Jesus who makes the scandalous claim to be the embodiment of Truth. #zoroastrianismandJesus
This Advent, we have journeyed through Scott Erickson's book, Honest Advent, which he tells us, "...is an exploration of finding the God-with-us coming into our midst now....the Birthday Boy hiding out in the mechanics of this life—the one you're presently living."
|
|
Matthew 2:1-12
Opening the Scene
The Magi are representatives of the Gentile world that recognize who Jesus is and properly worship him (BW3, 57). What is perhaps most interesting about this story is that the magi could only get so far based on the signs in the heavens, or general revelation. Thereafter they had to ask for directions, and guidance is given based on special revelation, a prophecy from the Hebrew Bible. -B. Witherington III, Matthew, 63 Big Ideas:
...They [The Magi] were paying attention. To what was around them, yes - the world, the sky, the stars. But they were also paying attention to how those exterior patterns were pointing to the interior patterns inside their hearts and souls. It may not be necessary to figure out the origins of the Magi, because the truth of their journey is what is truly transformational for us - that God places patterns inside us that will be revealed in the patterns of the exterior world. -S.Erickson, Honest Advent Each of the characters in this account also reveal something about responding to Jesus and the Spirit’s draw in the creation.
Matthew 2:1-2 Matthew 2:3 Matthew 2:4-8 One is tempted to note that line between taking Jesus for granted and wanting him out of the way may remain very thin today as well. And we must not forget that the sin of taking Jesus for granted is the sin not of pagans who know little about him, but of religious folk and Bible teachers. -Craig Keener, Matthew, 67 Matthew 2:9-11 "Herod's role in the narrative should not be overlooked, for without Herod the wise men might not have found the one they sought. The enemies of the Kingdom [of God in Christ] often serve the movement begun in Jesus" (Hauerwas, Matthew, 40). The wise men confirm the church's conviction articulated at Vatican I that we should believe God's existence is in principle open to rational demonstration. In 1 Cor. 14.22 Paul says that even those who speak in tongues may be a sign for unbelievers, that is, to those who do not know the prophecies made to Israel. That wise men from the East will find their way to Jesus by the sing of a star should, therefore, not be surprising. But it is also the case that this "natural knowledge" requires narration through the stories that have been given us in scripture. -Hauerwas, Matthew, 39 Matthew 2:12 Next Steps/Last word |
