The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
March 29, 2009
Vol. 12 no. 13

Everything But...
           It is ironic how the most famous phrases of the Bible can be on everyone’s lips, but with the wrong flavour - in other words, not in the context or with the purpose it was originally spoken. In the Gospel of John, after Palm Sunday Jesus and his disciples were milling around Jerusalem with a crowd of people who had heard of Jesus’ miracles, most recently his raising Lazarus from the dead. The Pharisees were besides themselves, but there was nothing they could do, “Look, the world has gone after him.”
          Then a gaggle of Greeks - obviously “God-fearers” or Gentiles who believed in the Jewish God and faith - came up to Philip, one of the senior disciples, and asked, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Somehow Jesus was still a stranger to most of the people in the city, his reputation preceded his appearance. Everyone knew who he was, they just couldn’t recognize him.
          On many pulpits there is a little sign for only the preacher to read: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” An inspirational message for the one who is called to inspire. Not everybody who preaches is a Sir, so I hope those churches have adjusted.
          “Seeing Jesus” has shifted its senses from seeing a physical object, a person, to seeing mentally, spiritually, the message of Jesus. The pulpit reminders are stretching the metaphor a wee bit, but are on the right track. It is one thing to catch a physical glimpse of a famous person and while his/her personality may enlighten and inspire you (the Dalai Lama, for example), to grasp what such a person’s life contains and means is an almost infinite assignment. That’s why those little reminders are there for the preacher: no preacher can say it all about Jesus in one sermon. We have to say a little more about him next week, and the next week after.