A Noticer: Feasts on Awe and Wonder

A Christmas Series

We're talking about things that "get in the way" of Christmas, and by far one of the crummiest of all and the one that gets in the way the most, in my opinion, is being sick.

Have you ever experienced a Christmas where you were caught off guard with a tummy bug? Maybe Covid stole a special holiday gathering from you. With the winter season, strep, mono, pneumonia, bronchitis, a bad sinus infection, and a plethora of other illnesses can knock ya on your back and make the best holiday plans fall flat from body aches, chills and fever. Appetite gone. Energy zapped.

And with this, you don't get to be a part of the holiday get-together. Germ-y loved ones, we think you're pretty neat, but we'll keep our distance.

A co-worker of mine once shared of a Thanksgiving their family remembers well. Not because of the fancy plates or favorite dishes, but because one by one, they started to feel "funny." Turns out, the turkey had been accidentally undercooked and everyone who indulged spent the afternoon, well we'll just say, recovering.

Sickness has a way of taking even the most devoted out.

Like the one from the unforgettable Thanksgiving, some sickness comes to us, not because we haven't been fed but because we're feasting on the wrong thing.

Jesus tells us He came for the sick. We see this is true. Time and again, He heals those with physical ailments and disabilities, but He was talking about a spiritual sickness here. He came for those who knew they needed help, who knew they needed rescued. One group of people who were severely ill and completely unaware, spiritually speaking, were the religious leaders.

Collectively, the religious leaders made up the Sanhedrin, which was the ancient Jewish court system in Israel. This council was comprised of rabbis and judges who upheld the law of the Torah (the first 5 books of the Old Testament) and the oral traditions. Today, we could think of this similar to our Supreme Court. Like our political parties now, not everyone agreed completely. There were Pharisees and Sadducees.

Pharisees believed in strict adherence to the written law of the Torah and oral traditions, and they believed in the resurrection and afterlife as well as the existence of angels and demons. Pharisees often had the support of the common people. Sadducees, on the other hand, accepted the written Torah and rejected the existence of angels and demons as well as the concept of afterlife and resurrection. (They were sad-you-see, or at least that's how I keep it straight.) They were often supported by the priestly class and aristocracy and focused politically on peace with the Roman Empire. The Sanhedrin's power was limited by Roman authority, which we see through the trial of Jesus.

Repeatedly through the gospels, we see the religious leaders witness the signs, wonders and teaching of Jesus, and because it didn't line up with what they expected, they saw it as blasphemous to their written law and oral traditions. For example, the Sabbath was a day of rest - no working, period. When Jesus healed on the Sabbath, they saw Him not as a miracle-worker, but a rebel. Again and again we see them in an uproar as Jesus challenged their authority, called out their hypocrisy, associated with sinners, and mostly as He claimed divinity.

As Tim Keller explains, "Either you'll have to kill Jesus or you'll have to crown him but the one thing you can't do is just say, 'What an interesting guy.'"

The religious leaders saw their authority threatened and feared an uprising. This Jesus was creating chaos to their carefully laid traditions. They saw Him as a rebel to the law. But Jesus tells us,

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." - Matthew 5:17-18

Again, we can't just leave it with what an interesting guy, can we?

When the religious leaders wanted Jesus killed, Rome obliged. Pilate, not wanting the blood on his hands, left it up to the people to choose between Jesus, son of God, or Barabbas, a convicted criminal whose name means "son of the father."

The parallel too striking to be incidental.

As Jesus is being crucified, centurions, or Roman soldiers, are overseeing his murder and ensuring his death on the cross. This was all in a day's work for them. Centurions were accustomed to overseeing the death of many criminals. However, we get a glimpse into the heart and mind of one of these Roman soldiers, and we see this death is altogether different than any he had witnessed before. Darkness has come over the land.

When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" - Matthew 27:54

The earthquake so great rocks were splitting and tombs opening, so when it says "filled with awe," it means completely and utterly terrified. This fear we see in him is the fear of the Lord.

If you remember from last week, we talked about humility. Diving deeper into scripture, Proverbs reminds us what humility is:

"Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life".  - Proverbs 22:4

Fear of the Lord, we know from Proverbs 1, this is the beginning of wisdom. Connecting the dots, we understand humility is fear of the Lord, so humility is the beginning of wisdom.

Again, we see people miss the miracle before them. This time, it's the people we most expect to be anticipating the miracle and most knowledgable to be prepared to witness it. But, many of the religious leaders missed it. The religious leaders had so much more knowledge of the Jewish law and their faith. They feasted on the law. In doing so, they were blinded and hardened to the truth because they lacked humility.

The Roman soldier did not observe the Torah law, did not spend his time reading it or memorizing it. We don't know his particular beliefs but the Roman mythology he likely adopted all of a sudden doesn't hold up. Jupiter, the equivalent of Zeus, is no match for what he has now witnessed. We see him feast on awe and wonder in the moment. This humbles and softens him to be filled with wisdom, to recognize the true identity of Christ. Seeing creation respond to this man's death, he is filled with terror and proclaims this is no ordinary man. This is no criminal. The religious leaders and their supporters got it wrong. He is the Son of God!

Friend, it greatly matters on what we choose to feast. We can feast on knowledge, but without humility and wisdom, it will only leave us puffed up and sick. Or, we can feast on awe and wonder.

With the coming of Jesus, the law was not abolished but fulfilled and their traditions became stale. Feasting on "stale" spiritual nourishment, left them sick. Similar to our holiday plans, ill, we too are unable to come to the table, this table being the one Christ has prepared for us. In other words, we will miss God in our midst. We must cultivate a fear of the Lord. We must live in the awe and wonder of God which comes as we humble ourselves and proclaim, "He is the Son of God!" I am not. God is on His throne and His power is matchless. When we feast on who He is, rather than feasting on how good we are at following Him, then we're starting down the path of humility.

Here, we'll acquire wisdom. This wisdom will take root in our minds and help our hearts to beat stronger than ever before and empower our hands and our feet to move In alignment - all because of Hope.

I've heard it said before, those with the most hope live with the most diligence. Our Hope is not dead on a criminal's cross, but alive! May this Hope change us this Christmas as we choose to feast on the abundance of love and mercy poured out from the Father's heart to us in bringing us His Son.

Friend, again I ask, what are you feasting on today?

May we find strength as we lean not on ourselves but seek strength from above. May we be surprised with joy in the middle of the inconveniences and all these things that seem to get in the way of Christmas as we begin to practice surrendering these and trusting God, and may we experience peace as we humble ourselves and notice God's presence here with us. May we find our hearts rest easy when we abide and stay closely connected with Him in a posture of awe and wonder.

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.