Excerpt from John 6:41-51

Jesus said, "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from God comes to me."

Reflection by William C. Green

Jesus is not God, but God is like Jesus. Life is full of mystery and much we cannot explain. But in Jesus we see that, at the heart of it all, God's love pulses and often surprises us, turning many a grim situation upside down.

While the church has debated the doctrine of Jesus' divinity, the New Testament is not doctrine. And the Bible is not theology: it's an anthology of stories about God often culminating in twist endings that bring O'Henry to mind. In these narratives we see God imperfectly, "as in a mirror dimly." But we still see.

Consider Moses, who knew nothing of doctrine or theology. A common bush burns with something of God, turning his life upside down. In stories like those of the prodigal son and the good Samaritan, Jesus shows us something contrary to what we'd expect: a wild son honored despite a dissolute life; an outsider showing compassion when insiders to the faith leave the victim behind.

Will we, like Moses, pay closer attention to something as ordinary as a bush, like the incidental compliment of a neighbor or, say, another church council meeting? And how have we been like the prodigal son, or his father, or that elder brother who resented the attention lavished on his wayward brother? Can our own hearts beat with stories like those? What do they say about the mystery and the love of God?

Prayer

God, may I find your love in the common bushes of my life and in other strange places. Amen.