Seeing the Big Picture
Life is busy. Yes? Anyone disagree with me?
It’s December 18th and I’m sweating over how much I have to do in the next week to make Christmas happen in my family, my home, and the two churches that I pastor! How in the world am I going to get it all done.
Of course, when December 26th comes it’s not like my life totally opens up or anything. It’s not like I won’t have anything to do. There will still be tons to do, and tons to worry about, and tons to run around like a chicken with my head cut off for.
And of course, this is all when Zoë is only a year and a half! What happens when I have to add soccer practice, basketball games, and girl scouts to the weekly routine. . . and what if we decide to have another child or two?!
I could hyperventilate just thinking about it!!
Life is busy, and it’s so very, very easy to get caught up in our own little world, that we forget that the rest of the world is out there. It’s easy to forget that other people have other issues, and schedules, and problems to worry about. It’s easy to forget that there are people out there who have issues and problems far greater, and far more life-or-death threatening.
It’s easy to forget the big picture. And it’s easy to forget how big the big picture really is.
In our Old Testament lesson this morning from the second chapter of Samuel David gets a message from God: Great things are going to happen. His throne will have his descendants on them forever and ever and ever. A kingdom will be established, and it will be God’s kingdom for David’s ancestors to reign over for all time.
That was the good news. Unfortunately for David it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
But the promise – the hope – the Plan echoed through the centuries.
In our Psalm this morning, written probably centuries after King David’s reign, we find: For your servant David's sake, do not turn away the face of your Anointed. The LORD has sworn an oath to David; in truth, he will not break it: "A son, the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne. If your children keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their children will sit upon your throne for evermore."
Almost 700 years after King David, the prophet Isaiah spoke of the Plan again. In chapter 7 of the book of Isaiah, he told about a virgin who would give birth to a child, whose name would be Emmanuel, meaning God with us. He would sit on the throne of David.
That was the good news. It’s just wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Then, almost 300 years later, another messenger of God came to a little girl, probably only 12 or 13 years old, and told her that she would bear a son, and this son would – drumroll please – sit on the throne of David!
But, she’d have to wait 9 months.
And then another 30 years until Jesus started his ministry.
And then another 3 until his triumphant death on the cross. And then another 3 days until the Resurrection. And then another 50 days until he ascended into heaven.
And then, the Kingdom would be established for ever and ever as soon as he got back.
2,000 years later here we are. It’s good news, it just isn’t happening anytime soon.
You see, it’s happening on God’s time. God’s Plan is happening just as it should, everything at just the right time, it’s just that for us it seems a little long.
The Plan that was first put into words 3,000 years ago is still very much the Plan. The story lives on – and the story isn’t finished yet!
This is the Big picture. It’s a little bigger than my Christmas to-do list. A little bigger than my honey-do list. Ever bigger than my future soccer-basketball-girl scouts-dance class schedule.
Looking at the world from God’s point of view, my problems, issues, and scheduling woes are of little significance.
And, such things pale in comparison with the fact that God’s Story is going on all around us, in us, through us, and beyond us. The story that began thousands of years ago is still playing out and we’ve been invited to be a part of it. We’ve been invited to join in.
And the way that we’ve been invited to join in, is very similar to how that little girl 2,000 years ago was invited to join in.
Mary is known in the Greek Christian Church as “Theotokos,” which means “God-Bearer.” She was asked by God to bear the Christ-child into the world, and even though it would cost her greatly, she said ‘yes.’
We too are asked to bear God into the world. We’re asked, as part of the great Plan, to allow Christ to live in us (as Christ lived in Mary’s womb), and we’re asked to share Christ with the whole world. We’re to let the whole world know that God established a throne for David, and that Jesus (David ancestor) will rule from that throne and rule over God’s kingdom for ever and ever. We asked to live in the kingdom, and follow the King, love the King even as the King loves us.
That’s the big picture.
Kinda makes the afternoon trip to Walmart seem a little insignificant, huh?
But, this big picture means that we’re very significant in God’s Plan, God’s Story, and God’s Good News.
It’s December 18th and I’m sweating over how much I have to do in the next week to make Christmas happen in my family, my home, and the two churches that I pastor! How in the world am I going to get it all done.
Of course, when December 26th comes it’s not like my life totally opens up or anything. It’s not like I won’t have anything to do. There will still be tons to do, and tons to worry about, and tons to run around like a chicken with my head cut off for.
And of course, this is all when Zoë is only a year and a half! What happens when I have to add soccer practice, basketball games, and girl scouts to the weekly routine. . . and what if we decide to have another child or two?!
I could hyperventilate just thinking about it!!
Life is busy, and it’s so very, very easy to get caught up in our own little world, that we forget that the rest of the world is out there. It’s easy to forget that other people have other issues, and schedules, and problems to worry about. It’s easy to forget that there are people out there who have issues and problems far greater, and far more life-or-death threatening.
It’s easy to forget the big picture. And it’s easy to forget how big the big picture really is.
In our Old Testament lesson this morning from the second chapter of Samuel David gets a message from God: Great things are going to happen. His throne will have his descendants on them forever and ever and ever. A kingdom will be established, and it will be God’s kingdom for David’s ancestors to reign over for all time.
That was the good news. Unfortunately for David it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
But the promise – the hope – the Plan echoed through the centuries.
In our Psalm this morning, written probably centuries after King David’s reign, we find: For your servant David's sake, do not turn away the face of your Anointed. The LORD has sworn an oath to David; in truth, he will not break it: "A son, the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne. If your children keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their children will sit upon your throne for evermore."
Almost 700 years after King David, the prophet Isaiah spoke of the Plan again. In chapter 7 of the book of Isaiah, he told about a virgin who would give birth to a child, whose name would be Emmanuel, meaning God with us. He would sit on the throne of David.
That was the good news. It’s just wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Then, almost 300 years later, another messenger of God came to a little girl, probably only 12 or 13 years old, and told her that she would bear a son, and this son would – drumroll please – sit on the throne of David!
But, she’d have to wait 9 months.
And then another 30 years until Jesus started his ministry.
And then another 3 until his triumphant death on the cross. And then another 3 days until the Resurrection. And then another 50 days until he ascended into heaven.
And then, the Kingdom would be established for ever and ever as soon as he got back.
2,000 years later here we are. It’s good news, it just isn’t happening anytime soon.
You see, it’s happening on God’s time. God’s Plan is happening just as it should, everything at just the right time, it’s just that for us it seems a little long.
The Plan that was first put into words 3,000 years ago is still very much the Plan. The story lives on – and the story isn’t finished yet!
This is the Big picture. It’s a little bigger than my Christmas to-do list. A little bigger than my honey-do list. Ever bigger than my future soccer-basketball-girl scouts-dance class schedule.
Looking at the world from God’s point of view, my problems, issues, and scheduling woes are of little significance.
And, such things pale in comparison with the fact that God’s Story is going on all around us, in us, through us, and beyond us. The story that began thousands of years ago is still playing out and we’ve been invited to be a part of it. We’ve been invited to join in.
And the way that we’ve been invited to join in, is very similar to how that little girl 2,000 years ago was invited to join in.
Mary is known in the Greek Christian Church as “Theotokos,” which means “God-Bearer.” She was asked by God to bear the Christ-child into the world, and even though it would cost her greatly, she said ‘yes.’
We too are asked to bear God into the world. We’re asked, as part of the great Plan, to allow Christ to live in us (as Christ lived in Mary’s womb), and we’re asked to share Christ with the whole world. We’re to let the whole world know that God established a throne for David, and that Jesus (David ancestor) will rule from that throne and rule over God’s kingdom for ever and ever. We asked to live in the kingdom, and follow the King, love the King even as the King loves us.
That’s the big picture.
Kinda makes the afternoon trip to Walmart seem a little insignificant, huh?
But, this big picture means that we’re very significant in God’s Plan, God’s Story, and God’s Good News.
posted by Fr. Rick Morley at 3:18 PM
1 Comments:
thanks for helping me gain some perspective in the midst of the chaos I call life [at least at the moment]"...things pale in comparison with the fact that God’s Story is going on all around us, in us, through us, and beyond us."...have a Happy Holiday
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