1 February 2015 - soft-isticated

The LORD wants to speak to us. The trouble is that we often harden our hearts when we hear him speaking.

Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God,
nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.

We are of two minds about hearing him speak. Part of us wants to hear the affirmation and love that he speaks. But part of us is terrified of his absolute holiness. Our inadequacy and weakness are exposed in his every word. Even his love reveals our lack of love. Even his affirmation reveals are cold-heartedness. It can drive us from him if we let it. We come to worry that one so great and so perfect won't want to put up with us.

What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?

We don't think it all the way through, though. We think thoughts like, 'How could one so loving put up with my lack of love?' We begin to worry that he will destroy us for not loving like he loves. Does this make sense? Not really. But his holiness is so perfect that it is natural to be scared.

For Moses and the people of Israel he is willing to give them another prophet. He will give them someone who can get close to them and speak the word of God to them in a way that doesn't terrify them. He is willing to meet them where they are so that they don't harden their hearts.

The psalmist knows a secret. He comes into God's presence with joyful song and praise. This sets the tone for the encounter. It proclaims the faith that God is good and will not destroy us. It proclaims that he is the rock of our salvation, the one in whom alone we find true safety and not destruction.

For us, God gives Jesus. He comes to us on our own human terms with his divine word. Rather than toning down the message it comes with a new authority. And that might make it even more frightening except that it is precisely this authority that frees us from fear. It is precisely the power of this message to cast from our hearts the doubts we harbor about the goodness of God.

"Quiet! Come out of him!"
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
"What is this?
A new teaching with authority.

To be frank, we all have demons within us that think they know who Jesus is-"the Holy One of God" but still believe he wants to destroy us. This morning Jesus wants to cast out these demons. Light finally begins to dawn for hearts overshadowed by death.

We are now able to adhere to the LORD without distraction, free from anxiety whether we are married or single. If single, we trust in him and dedicate ourselves to him. If married, we trust in him, and dedicate even our relationships to him. We can trust him with every good with which he entrusts us. We no longer need to hold anything back.