Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, February 16, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Show, don’t tell. That’s the mantra of any good creative writer. It’s easy to explain something over four paragraphs of back-story and the inner workings of a character’s mind that you can easily—and far more compellingly—convey in three sentences describing their reaction.
John’s disciples come to Jesus and ask if he’s the messiah that John has been preaching about. Instead of laying out a bunch of theology and justification to try to convince them that the answer is “yes,” Jesus just points to his actions. “Tell John what you hear and see.” What they have heard and seen are miracles of healing, proclamations of justice, and a demonstration of humility. What more can Jesus tell them that his way of being in the world doesn’t clearly convey?
I have to admit that I am not always comfortable saying that I am a Christian. It’s a loaded word, these days, and open to all kinds of interpretation I’d rather not invite. Instead, I try to live my faith in the actions I feel God is calling me to and, if these actions are noticed, then I resoundingly claim my faith as foundational to everything I do. That way, it’s the work of being a Christian that draws attention of Jesus’ message, rather than the name “Christian,” which draws attention to people’s own assumptions and biases.
In other words, show, don’t tell.
How do I demonstrate my faith in my day to day life? When, where, and how do I credit my Christian faith for making me who I am?
