Seeing the Lord in the Word
A Sermon by the Rev. John L. Odhner
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things from Your Law. (Psalm 119:18)
W
e gather this morning to connect with God. Some of us may have come
here with a feeling of coming home, being in a familiar place where
our minds easily embrace the Lord’s great love for us and the blessings that He
gives us every day. Others may have come with questions or doubts. Perhaps
we feel distant from God. Perhaps we have suffered painful experiences of
loss, conflict and grief, and have trouble believing that a loving God could
allow such things. Yet the majority of human suffering is the result of greed,
selfishness, prejudice and hatred. These things separate us from one another
and separate us from God.
God as He truly is, is pure love and compassion, never condemning,
never angry, always forgiving, always wanting a loving partnership with every
person. To let Him into our lives is to let in love and compassion. This is the
power that can end human conflict, bring joy out of suffering and healing of
the injury we do to one another. But can we connect with God as He truly is?
A New Way to See God
God has provided the world a new way to see Him. In ancient Israel God was
revealed as the powerful and yet mysterious Creator who led His people to
victory, peace and prosperity, yet who was sometimes – actually, frequently –
angry and punishing. Then God took on His own human form, and in Jesus
Christ we came to see more clearly God’s love for all people.
Yet Jesus said to His disciples that He had many things to tell them that
they could not yet bear. (John 16:12) He said that He was going away, but that
He would return as the Spirit of Truth that leads to all truth. (Ibid. 14) Many
have looked for His return over the past 20 centuries, yet few have opened
their eyes wide enough to see Him in the way that He now reveals Himself.
John wrote in his story of the life of Jesus Christ: “In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. . . . And the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us.” (Ibid. 1:1, 14)
To fully reveal the Divine Truth about Himself, God took on a Human
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