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In this account, a seeming unbeliever had a miraculous encounter with the Son of God without any knowledge of who Jesus was. The man was given zero instruction on the rules for proper living thereafter. On the contrary, he was told by Jesus Himself to break sacred tradition. All of this would be deemed scandalous by many in fundamentalist circles today as well. Yet there it is, right in the Bible.

Jesus, it appears, makes little distinction when granting His favor and grace. He doesn’t qualify His prospects or search the database to determine who’s in and who’s out before He intervenes. His love extends equally to all. And likewise, no one is immune from adversity, regardless of position on the spiritual journey.

No doubt many interactions take place each day that are encounters with Jesus. But like the healed man, I don’t always know that it was Him at work. Jesus doesn’t seem to mind, however. He’s already disappeared into the crowd on His way to the next stealth encounter.

“Do you want to get well?” Jesus asked. The man replied “I have no one to help me into the pool.” Jesus then side-stepped the ritual and healed the man on the spot, without him having to go into the pond at all.

Being plagued with any type of infirmity is a sad state of affairs. Having no friends to see you through such a time makes it even worse. In this case, Jesus Himself came to the rescue eventually, which I suppose is the nugget that many preachers and teachers would point out in the story. But I can’t help thinking of the 38 years of loneliness and waiting, and how they may have been just a little more bearable if this man had been able to share life with one or two other human beings.

Yes, the Christian journey is largely about encounters with God’s Son. Encounters with the brothers and sisters of God’s Son make the times in between those supernatural appointments all the better. (And sometimes those are supernatural themselves … a topic for another day.)

Likewise, on my own journey in the faith I face situations which don’t fit my sense of the way God should act. Why am I forced to struggle against the same old temptation? Why does this friend face new hardships so frequently? Why bother to pray when circumstances seem hopeless?

Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t judge me as insincere, is not upset, and doesn’t point to my lack of maturity when I simply don’t get it. He asks only that I submit to His direction, and then promises that someday the reasons will be known. (Whether that will happen in this lifetime, I can’t say.)

I may not be able to figure out why God does what He does. I don’t have to. Sometimes I even protest, which is perfectly fine and puts me in the company of Peter. But just like Peter, the wisest thing is to eventually step back and let Jesus have His way.

For starters, Jesus told the spiritual elite that they, not the “bad” people, were the ones who were doomed. He spoke judgment on those who focused on acting devout and pious, exposing the pride in their hearts, while applauding the ones whose failures were laid out for all to see. And He made serving God, who He called His Father, into a spontaneous party instead of a predictable ritual happening at the same time and place right on schedule.

Thinking about it, maybe nothing’s changed. I’m guessing that today’s spiritual outsiders would love THIS Jesus just as much as today’s religious folk would hate him. The problem is that both groups have the wrong view of the Christ. (Where that came from is another topic altogether.)

I’m looking for the real Son of God, the one in the Gospels, because I’m more of a sinner than a success at living the life of faith. And that’s wonderful! It puts me closer to Jesus … which is a great place to be.

Let’s suppose I leave my house to take a trip to the beach. Now there’s nothing wrong with going to the beach, but that doesn’t mean that it is or is not God’s will.

A few miles down the road I get a flat tire. No problem, these things happen. I change it and carry on. Shortly thereafter I get another flat tire. Somehow I have an additional spare so I make the repair again and get back on the road. My spiritual radar is on high alert now. Could this be more than coincidence?

Before long, flat tire number three. Either I drove through a bed of nails recently, or it’s very likely time to conclude that God has other plans for me than a day by the surf.

The third flat tire method of knowing God’s will has many applications outside of the circular rubber on the corners of my car. It involves discerning factors in the simple everyday situations of life. It’s asking, “Are these things happening as normal consequences of my actions, or is there something supernatural going on?”

“The Lord works in mysterious ways” somebody said. I think He works in some very ordinary ways as well.

There was a time when God said that the root of the Christian life is love.  “Love Me and love your neighbor as yourself”, He said.  Today a situation comes along and I seek God for guidance.  His answer?  “Love Me and love your neighbor as yourself.”

God once stated that we humans don’t need to be fearful and anxious.  Circumstances develop in life, and I worry.  “What should I do, God?” I cry.  His small voice speaks in my spirit, telling me that I don’t need to be fearful and anxious.

In these and many other cases, God has a lot to say, to be sure. But it’s not novel stuff.  It’s what He’s said all along.

Solomon, the wisest man in history, wrote “There’s nothing new under the sun.”  I’ve never quite figured that out, but I’m starting to think that even God relates.  What’s new?  Maybe nothing.  But there are a lot of classic oldies worth hearing again.

The spiritual life is full of surprises.  There’s the trial that comes out of nowhere, the blessing when you least expected it, the human betrayal (and sometimes seeming betrayals of the divine sort), unconditional love and friendship of others on the journey just when you need it, and a whole lot more.  Books and teachings promote simple formulas for all these things.  The truth that comes from God, however, says something quite different:  often, the twists and turns just can’t be figured out.

The best way to walk the path of faith is the route Mary took.  Observe.  Treasure.  And then quietly meditate.  In that process I often find something even better than an answer.  I discover that the savior of the world – and my situation – is right there with me all along.  And that’s something to ponder.

Merry Christmas.

So when the Bible account says that a certain group of these men were “afraid” as all of a sudden a bright light shone around them and they saw an angel of the Lord, it’s most likely an understatement.  What this angel told them was even more absurd.  The long awaited savior who would deliver their nation from Roman oppression had been born that night.  “And this will be a sign to you,” the angel said, “he’ll be in diapers and lying in a farm animal’s feed bin.”

The signs of God’s presence rarely come as I expect.  Rather than giving me the winning lottery numbers, He takes the form of a fellow human desperately in need of a cup of cold water or an encouraging word – and a friend who gives the same to me.  Instead of being impressed with my valiant efforts, He tells me to be still and know that He is God.  When I think that what I need is the leader of a powerful army, He shows up as a helpless newborn.

We read that the shepherds then saw a whole host of angels before making a bee line to the place where the child was.  No doubt their lives were never the same after that extraordinary night.  The savior in the barn has that effect on people.

Too often I have placed myself under undue pressure.  I’ve felt (and sometimes been told) that it was my duty to single-handedly provide solutions to matters that were way over my head.  And while I’d like to do just that, the truth is that my abilities and resources are limited. So I get to the end of my most valiant efforts, and if the issues are not fully resolved I feel guilty or like a failure.

There are cases where my best course of action is to introduce Jesus to the situation and vice versa.  I can talk to all parties, human and divine, wondering out loud what might happen when He eventually intervenes.  I can at least be a sounding board, especially when God does the unpredictable, as often occurs.

This doesn’t mean that I’ll shirk responsibility.  On the contrary, Jesus may indeed do certain things through me, as He resides in my spirit.  At other times He’ll use a corporate community of His followers, or manifest Himself in some other miraculous fashion.

Only the Son of God has the ultimate answers.  John knew this and did a good job of preparing the way.  There’s nothing more helpful.