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Dunbar UCC
April 20, 2008

John 14:1-9
Seeing God

  1. In our Bible Study that meets on Monday nights, we just finished the Gospel of Mark.  Having completed the book, we looked at the question:  “How do you find out about who Jesus is?”  There was some silence.  One response was:  “’We look at what he taught.”  Another question:  “How do we discover what he taught?”  Answer:  “We’re taught a  home about Jesus -- from childhood, our parents teach us about Jesus.”
  2. But I hope you won’t take your parent’s word for it (that’s why we give children their own Bibles), or the preacher on TV, or the magazine article or the book, or what you learned in Church School -- or even what you hear me saying every Sunday, or in the Dome. The only record of the words and actions of Jesus is in the Bible.  Don’t be satisfied with what others tell you -- because everybody puts their own spin on it. 
  3. But it’s a lot of work.  Why should we take the trouble to open and read a book that’s thousands of years old -- and so hard to understand? Because if you believe what the Bible says -- then to see Jesus is to see God.  (Think of all the less important things we trouble ourselves to see!) People would rather go to Disneyland -- or a ball game -- or a cruise -- than meet God. Many people don’t care about God -- and it’s always been like that.  But if we’re interested -- it’s right here.
  4. Here’s one close-up -- one picture -- of Jesus in the Bible. Jesus said, “Love one another.”  But how can we know what “love” meant to Jesus? Is “love” the same as “being nice?”  Look and see.  Jesus called at least one woman a bitch.   He called his disciple the devil, and he called the religious leaders liars.  Those aren’t “nice” things to say to people.   And yet, our Bibles say that Jesus loved every one.  How can he call a person a dog, and at the same time love her?
  5. I don’t know. But after he insulted this woman, Jesus healed her daughter. So, do we want to see God?  Then we have to go to the bible and look at Jesus.   It’s as simple, and hard, as that.