...Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. ~Luke 10:21 NLT
Prior to Jesus praying this prayer of thanksgiving to God he has just rebuked the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum because they did not accept his message after witnessing him perform miracles. Verse 13-16 are strong words of rebuke for these Jewish towns. Immediately after Jesus rebukes these towns, he celebrates the return of the 70 disciples that he sent out to spread the news about the kingdom of God and then he prays.
He prayers this odd prayer of thanksgiving where he thanks God for "hiding these things" from the wise and clever. "These things" are referring to the revelation of who he is and the way of the kingdom of God. It seems like an odd thing to be thanking God for. Wouldn't Jesus want everyone to know about him and God's kingdom? Would we every pray a prayer to God thanking God for hiding the good news from certain people? Is it possible to be thankful for things that seem to be bad or harmful? Seems like quite the paradox, doesn't it?
What if the work of God is made manifest even more powerfully through the lacking, bad, or harmful thing? Is that even possible? I believe it is! Why not, it is God after all! I think about the time I left my church, family, and friends to begin a career on a cruise ship. In some ways I was running away from all kinds of things, including God. It was a deeply lonely and painful time for me. I was lost and unsure where my life was going. It is not a time I would ever have considered giving thanks to God for and yet it was on that cruise ship where I had a profound encounter with the Holy that changed my life and sent me into ministry. I do, in fact, give thanks to God all of the time for that cruise ship. It is possible that I would have still ended up in ministry had I not been through that, but it was an extremely formative moment in my life and in my call.
Maybe the rejection of Jesus from Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum opened up new possibilities for incredible transformation. How much more powerful is the message and way of Christ if it converts those who reject it instead of convincing those who are indifferent or even those who accept it!
Too often we see our failures and struggles and lost causes. We put a period on that moment and move on. But what happens if we begin to be thankful for them? What opportunities might those failings or shortfalls lead us towards?
For the last two months, we have been in our annual stewardship appeal where we asked you to stretch and dream BIG. We set VERY high goals. And guess what...we didn't reach those goals. We had hoped for 45 household making commitments of $261,000. We are currently at 37 households that have committed to $200,500. It is easy to look at these numbers and say we failed. Except for the fact that:
the average increase in household giving was 26%
6 households made commitments for the first time
4 households doubled their commitments
It is only the 2nd time in 30 years that Christ the Servant has received over $200,000 in commitments
Our income will increase at least 9% for 2025
AND there is still time for more commitments to be made, these numbers are not final!
Church, these numbers are incredible and worth rejoicing over! We should be shouting our thanks from the roof tops and praising God for the abundance that is being poured out over this congregation! It might seem strange to be so thankful for missing our financial goals but what if...
people are trusting God more through their giving?
there is space for new people to join the mission and ministry to help make the difference?
God is preparing us for growth?
this is all we actually need to accomplish what God is doing here right now?
Imagine how incredible it might be if we end 2025 with little or no deficit! That might feel like a miracle; the miracle that we might all need to experience in order to inspire others to come and see what God is up to around here. Let us have faith that this is what is to come!
So church, let us be thankful and praise God in prayer and gratitude:
“O [God], Lord of heaven and earth, thank you" for the faith and commitment of your people and for those who have yet to join in your mission and ministry at Christ the Servant. Thank you for the many ways you bless us with your abundant love so that we might share that love with others. Inspire us, guide us, and fill us with your spirit as hopeful people. Thank you for the opportunities to grow in faith through the seemingly strange ways and trusting that You can and will work through the things we call failures. "Yes, [God], it pleased you to do it this way." Amen!