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A faithful presence of love in the absences of our city.

The Grand Narrative

The Grand Narrative

Chaos. Chaos permeates our world, nation, the city of Albuquerque, relationships, and our homes and hearts. I do not like the feelings chaos brings. I love when my to do lists are checked off, the house is tidy, the dog is sleeping, my toddler is quietly coloring at the designated kid table, everyone is healthy and no large circumstances are weighing on me. Then, comes chaos. The dog has chewed my shoe, Lucy has spilled her lunch on the floor, there are emails to be answered, I push something to tomorrow’s list, I forgot about the people we invited to dinner this weekend, we get the dreaded phone call about a loved one, or our finances are tight. I need a perspective shift. Which is just what this weekend’s sermon was. An invitation to see beyond the chaos and to look to the one who is in the midst of it.

Daniel called it the grand narrative. It is this idea that God has enveloped my story into His grand story. As we read Genesis 1 and think about the people it was written to- the wandering wilderness generations of Israel, we see that God answers their questions of “why?” with His story of the world. As we come to God asking the same “why?” questions, he answers us through His Word. God speaks. As Michael Lawrence commented, “God speaking is God acting”. Through his Word, God brings light into the darkness, into the chaos of our world and hearts. I loved the scripture references Daniel used to drive this point home:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…All things were made through Him…In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness…” (John 1:1-5)

“ Again Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘I am the light of the World. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’”. (John 8:12)

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

God addresses the chaos of humanity through the living Word, the incarnate Jesus. Do you believe that? God has intervened. God is still intervening. Whether it is the chaos and conflict within or the war torn, poverty stricken world out there. He answered with the light in the darkness-Jesus came, lived, died, was raised, and said, “It is finished”. Even as we feel the tensions between the realities of our present day and the hope of the future, we can find rest in God, in his light. We are free to help bring that light into the dark places. Church, I pray that this would be our heart and goal, to proclaim the light of God’s Word into our world. 

~ Bronwyn Siebert

 

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