Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“And if anyone says to you at that time, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look! There he is!’ —do not believe it.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, March 19, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I wonder what would happen if the Messiah came back today? There’s so much confusion and debate about who Jesus was and is and how we’re supposed to follow him in our present context would anyone even recognize Jesus? Anyone who didn’t like what the real Jesus had to say in our modern context could just point to this scripture and say, “Don’t believe it!” There have been dozens of works of fiction exploring this concept, either from the angle that Jesus has returned or the angle that someone who is seriously messiah-like (but is not Jesus) has stirred things up in a huge way. Ultimately these stories aren’t about the returning messiah at all, but about the way the very idea creates staggering upheaval in everything we believe or think we believe. It bears doing the thought experiment ourselves: what do we think the returning Jesus would be like? How would we recognize him?
Then think about this. What if (as I believe) Jesus, the Messiah, is already here, living among us now? How do we recognize him? How do we respond to him? Are there people claiming to be working in his name who really aren’t? Are there people disparaging and persecuting those who are?
Then, closer to home, I invite you to wonder about this:
Where is Jesus active in my life right now? What is he calling me to do? How can I discern the truth of his voice?
