Sunday Homily

Jesus offended people all the time and knew it. He even said, “Blessed is he who takes no offense.” In the Gospel, Jesus cleanses the Temple and overturns the tables. He does this knowing that he is challenging the stewards of the Temple and that it will offend them. If we live a life of purpose and direction and work to accomplish others, we will offend other people.

Offenses are inevitable. Offenses are a trap. But, we have a choice about how we handle offenses. This one truth we are looking at today can give you a more proper perspective on offenses so that you see them in the right context. This truth could change your life.

The Gospel tells us that Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days. Afterwards he said, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news.”

How is guilt a gift? We don’t like the idea of guilt. How can guilt be a gift? We’re not talking about some sort of lifelong regret here. You see right sense of guilt can actually help us have a happier, more joy filled life. Here’s a three minute podcast on how that works. It’s only 3 minutes.

Moments matter. Because life comes down to a series of moments. And in each of them, God is at work. While you can’t plan for teachable moments, you can prepare for them by knowing what is most important, by staying focused on the main thing. And that best happens in a daily quiet time, a daily prayer time.

In the Gospel, Jesus heals on the Sabbath as a sign to show that his new teaching has authority and power. It stands as a direct contrast to the religious rules and ideas of the Pharisees who misunderstand the law. This event shows that Jesus has come to give fresh insight into God’s law and for the purpose of faith and religion. God has come to set people free from oppression.

God sends Jonah to the Nineveh to challenge the people to repent or the nation will be destroyed. This is a stretch for both Jonah and the Ninevites. For Jonah he is challenged to go to a people who are the enemies of Israel. The Ninevites are confronted with their own failings. In this message we will look at how God puts us in situations beyond our comfort zone. Our job is to embrace them rather than run from it as Jonah did.

We often understand defining moments in retrospect. An event happens in our lives and we don’t understand its importance until much later. In our readings today, this happens to both John and Samuel. At a certain point they were called into God’s much larger story through a defining moment. Their relationship with God becomes personal. Like Samuel and John, God invites us into a larger story.

Before Jesus enters into his public ministry, his heavenly Father orchestrates a defining moment so that he will know the love and delight of his heavenly Father. Jesus is in a crowd of people who are baptized, but once he is baptized, he hears the words, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” In this message we will look at how God works to bring this insight into our lives. As parents and leaders, we can also reproduce this same moment for others.

In this week we will introduce the concept of the series of defining moments and how God uses them to draw us to him. The Magi had been looking at the stars their whole lives, when suddenly they had seen something they had not seen before. A rising star in the sky brought them to Jesus. God often breaks the pattern of our lives (breaks the script) so that we will come to know him.