Terence on 10 March 2005

Scripture
Luke 3:1-2
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.

Isaiah 6
In the year that King Uzziah died...

Luke 3:23-38
Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melki, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph...
...the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Isaiah 5
They make sure their banquets are well-furnished with harps and flutes and plenty of wine, but they'll have nothing to do with the work of God, pay no mind to what he is doing; therefore my people will end up in exile because they don't know the score.



Observation
Luke & Isaiah both reference the historical context of their writings- "in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Ceasar, Pontius Pilate was the governor and Herod, tetrarch of Galilee"; "in the year that King Uzziah died..."
These were real people, in real situations, with real hopes and struggles... Isaiah, deeply frustrated and mournful about the failure of his people to live up to their covenantal relationship with God and doing all he can to cry out against them- full of hope for their restoration and absolutely clear about pending judgement; John in the desert, seeking the Lord, living out his vocation and calling to "prepare the way for the Lord"...

Luke begins this chapter with the historical setting of the situation and finishes this chapter with a genealogy of Jesus that traces all the way back to the very beginning of history. In this way, he now fills the present moment in history (ie, the birth of Jesus with all its surrounding events), full of significance- linking all events past, present and future (as can now be attested in our present moment) together in God's purposes from the very beginning of Creation. Jesus, son of Joseph... son of Adam, son of God.


Application
I don't want to be guilty of Isaiah's cry against God's people, that they "make sure their banquets are well-furnished with harps and flutes and plenty of win, but they'll have nothing to do with the work of God, paying no attention to what He is doing...."
Instead, the challenge the Holy Spirit's laying down before me today, is to embed myself in the present- to be fully sensitive to the real time place and relationships I belong to, and at the same time, fully alive to the unfolding work of God all through history, up to present moment- made alive in Jesus.

What does all that actually mean?
Often times, I find myself guilty of either living so embedded in my present situation, that I am filled only with consciousness of myself and the ailments or lust that press against me; at other times, I am so filled with big picture perspective, that I get lost in the clouds of visions and dreams, totally disconnected from the present reality of persons and place.
God has and is working His purposes since the beginning of time; like Isaiah and Luke, the Holy Spirit's crying out within me, a call to be living fully in the present times, connected to all around me, but shot through with the historical significance of creation even from the very beginning of God's work, which culminated in Jesus.


Prayer
Father, I want to live an abundant life- just as Jesus promised. Not just a busy life, not just a life invaded by the needs of the people around me, but an abundant life that's fully in touch with the reality of You in Creation time. As I dive into my day and the rest of this week; fill my heart and mind with the historical significance of Jesus in all Creation and as your Spirit enables me, to live out my life in His steps. Amen.