Friday, December 19
And Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.”
—Luke 22:60
A hard, hard lesson. And yet there's something liberating when we hear this part of the story. It's not that the feeling is good when we hear the rooster crow in our own lives. No, the sadness of denying Jesus can be overwhelming. But the freedom comes in realizing that we are not God! We are not the ones with the answers, solutions, fixes.
While the love of God in Christ calls us to a remarkable responsibility in the world, it is God who gives us the answer when others ask, "Do you know Jesus?" "Do you know this Christ born to us in Bethlehem?" "Do you know this man who claims you as God's very child?"
When we stop creating our own world and live into the world that God has given us, God begins to pray in us, and as the questions come, God speaks. In the healing of a loved one, whether in body or spirit, we see God at work in our lives. In a child's "thank you"” when we tutor at an inner-city school, we hear Christ speaking. When we venture to places that make us uneasy, stepping out of our comfort zone and into the vulnerability of all the crosses in life, we feel our lips taking shape as God answers the world's inquisition—"do you know him?"
God working in us provides the link between the pain of this world and the kingdom breaking in among us as the Christ is born. So let go of your own answers to the world and let God answer for you when others question. Let the incarnate love of God dwell within your heart and the hands of Christ guide your daily work. Let the whole world know of God's love and grace in your life by just living—living as a treasured child of God. Let the questions come and let all the crowing be silenced.
Loving God, fill me with your love and wisdom that you might speak for me when the world clamors for my answers.
