Meditations on a Bay Leaf - Rev. David Pileggi

The scriptures appointed for this week, and a close encounter with mortality prompted this sermon's reflection on death. The fear of death is the work of the devil and its denial and trivialization are symptoms of our inability to come to terms with our mortality. The pairing of Psalm 130 with the raising of Lazarus in John's gospel reveals the patch to liberation from such fears and distortions.

The rich symbolism and connection to the Hebrew Bible in the story of Jesus' encounter with a blind man (John 9) gives us deeper insight into God's grace and our calling to be a light in the world.

Jesus went where the Holy Spirit led and did the will of God - evenwhen it was difficult. But what of His disciples? Did they go out into every town and preach the Kingdom of God or did they only do so when they felt they had been specifically told to do so?

When enemies surround, do we look at them or do we look to the one who made them?

Summery: The faithfulness and obedience of Jesus, as the second Adam, is in striking contrast to the action of the first Adam. Jesus based his life here fully on the God’s words, thus securing victory for all of us. He made us righteous but also gave us tools how to overcome temptations and carry on that victorious lives with prayer and fasting.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, God declared, "This is my beloved son." This was not the first time God declared this, He also declared it at Jesus' baptism. But even before that, Peter writes that God spoke these words through David almost a thousand years earlier in Psalm 2. Peter, who physically heard God repeat what He had spoken so long ago writes: "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

God’s light shines in the darkness, opening the eyes of the blinds and releasing the prisoner. He gathers sons and daughters to Himself. But He then calls us be a light in the darkness. What a responsibility… and what a great privilege.

Many Christians traditionally celebrate the presentation of Jesus in the Temple, forty days after Christmas. In Luke’s gospel, we are told five times that Joseph and Mary acted in accordance with the law of the Lord. In an age of increasing anti-Semitism and the rush to deny the Jewishness of Jesus, this passage serves as a powerful reminder of the Jewish identity and mission of the Messiah and the urgent need to stand against those who use the New Testament as a weapon against the Jewish people.

Ancient Israel was thrown into despair and hopelessness in 722 BC when Assyria conquered much of its land in the north (Zebulun and Naphtali). Yet the prophet Isaiah could foresee a time when gloom would turn to joy because “a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” In many societies today we find ourselves in such darkness that gloom, fear, and despondency cover our lands. The Good News is that the Son and His invitation have been given: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

In the first chapter of John we encounter three questions: Who is Jesus? What do you want? Where are you staying? These questions are just as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago, challenging us to set our desires in order and to abide with Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.