Grow. Pray. Study. Daily Guide from the United Methodist Church
of the Resurrection - Monday, 6 January 2014 – "What we have seen and
heard"
Daily Scripture: 1 John The Word of Life
1: We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have
heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with
our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 this life was revealed, and we have
seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with
the Father and was revealed to us— 3 we declare to you what we have seen and
heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is
with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so
that our[a] joy may be complete.
God Is Light
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to
you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.
Footnotes:
a. 1 John 1:4 Other ancient authorities read your
Reflection Questions:
Sometimes we think the New Testament is just a set of inspiring
devotional works, detached from history or "reality." In fact, these
27 books are first-century documents from people who knew Jesus of Nazareth
personally or had talked to the apostles and others who knew him. Real people
knew Jesus, bore witness to him, and worshipped him—all within a few decades
(at most) of his death. As the writer of 1 John insisted, they were sharing
what they had seen, heard and touched.
Scholar N. T. Wright described John's claim: "The very idea
of God's new life becoming a person…is so enormous, so breathtaking….That which
was from the beginning—pause and think about that for a moment—which we have
heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have gazed at—pause again:
your own eyes? You didn't just glimpse it, you gazed at it? Yes, says John, and
what's more our hands have handled —you touched it, this Life? You touched him?
You handled him? Yes, repeats John: we heard, saw and touched this
from-the-beginning Life. We knew him. We were his friends." Who's more
credible: someone who knew things about Nelson Mandela, or someone who knew
Mandela personally? When a first-century writer says, "We knew
Jesus," how serious are the implications of that claim?
Today's Prayer:
God, sometimes I think of Jesus as a kind of unreal, idealized
figure. Guide me as I study and reflect on the witness of people who said they
actually knew Jesus as a real man. Amen.
Monday, 6 January 2013 - Insight from Jeanna Repass
Jeanna Repass serves as the Kansas City Missions Program
Director at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
I have always been a follower of Jesus. I was baptized as an
infant, raised in Sunday schools and confirmed in a rigorous 3 years of
confirmation. So I felt fairly confident about my faith as I entered my
freshman year at a Lutheran University. So when I met an agnostic professor
teaching bible history there … I was surprised and challenged. I was also truly
surprised by the number of students who had no knowledge of the faith stories
that I knew by heart and had heard since my earliest memories.
We read the book “The Quest for the Historical Jesus” and we had
debates in class about the “outlandish” miracles that this very human man was
supposed to have performed. My professor and many of my classmates asked me
questions like: “How could most of the Bible be proven?” and “How could I
believe such fairy tales?”
A few years after I graduated from college, I was told about Lee
Strobel’s book, “The Case for Christ”. Lee is an investigator and journalist
who was an atheist and spent his whole life denying the existence of Jesus.
While trying to refute Christ, Mr. Strobel actually used his investigative
gifts to prove Jesus existed and ended up attesting to Jesus’ divinity. I
thought that when I bought the book I would use it to throw in the face of any
future nay-say-ers that I might meet. But instead, I found myself at a
crossroads.
I think Mr. Strobel did a great job being an investigator and
reporting the results of his investigation. His book is well written and it’s
an easy read. But, I came to realize that I (personally) don’t want anyone to
prove Jesus to me. I am happy that there is proof – especially if that proof is
helpful to others in finding their faith – like Lee. But for me, I need that
part of my intellect where proof is not enough – where that black hole for
facts exists – because there in that hole is where my faith blossoms.
Jesus and I have a relationship that has grown from the seeds
that my parents planted. It has taken root through Church and Bible Studies. My
faith ultimately lives through my willingness to just let Jesus – miracles and
all – be Jesus. The more Jesus and I hang out in Acts and the Gospels and
Paul’s Letters and John where the witnesses of Jesus tell me that: “We are
writing these things so that your joy is complete” I John 1:4; the more that I
find that I do enjoy Jesus. I dig him and he gets me. That’s my case for Christ
and I am thankful for a savior that allows us to doubt or believe – he’s big
enough for all of that! Amen. *Happy and Blessed Epiphany!*
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United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224 United States
(913)897-0120
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