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Monday, January 10, 2005
With God on Our Side
People of a certain age remember Bob Dylan's musical rant "With God on Our Side." Verse after verse, he ironically nailed the smug self-confidence of people and nations who assume heaven smiles down on their every endeavor. Too bad for the other guys.
It's complicated enough when a Texas football game begins with a prayer for God's special blessing. Which team gets God's vote? And why?
The stakes shot up sky-high when chaplains for Allied and German troops each led their soldiers in prayer. Germans and Russians too. Christians all, they fervently hoped God would give them victory over -- well, whom exactly? Other Christians. Offering up the same simultaneous prayers.
Makes you even gladder you're not God, doesn't it.
In Matthew 3:1-17, John the Baptist does his prophetic thing, warning people they'd better get on God's good side or else. They could do that by repenting and being baptized. If they'd just turn back to God, instead of putting their own desires and ambitions first... Then they could take John's ceremonial spiritual bath and begin a whole new life.
Hundreds and thousands lined up to do just that.
One day John was stunned to see next in line his own cousin Jesus. "Whoa! I can't baptize you. You should baptize me!" John felt about knee-high to Jesus when it came to spiritual things. He knew the family stories.
Angels. Virgin birth. God-With-Us. Jesus was over-qualified for baptism.
But Jesus set him straight. "It's the right thing. Just do it!" Then and there, he sided with the sinners who really needed John's baptism.
Amazingly, according to this little story, when God chooses our side it turns all the predictable tables.
For one thing, Jesus demonstrates that God isn't into scolding us or beating us up spiritually. No, God meets us just as we are, right where we are, to take us toward all we're meant to be.
And then, when Jesus was baptized two other remarkable things happened. A dove flew down to sit on his shoulder, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. And a voice thundered in the sky, "This is my Son, and I'm well pleased with him."
Those words are lifted from an old prophecy (Isaiah 42:1-9). About God's chosen leader, who'd never break a bruised marshreed or snuff out a dimly glowing candle.
In other words, he comes to protect, encourage, empower the people -- not to scold or beat them up.
The same prophecy quotes God, "I take you by the hand."
So God doesn't take our side to baptize our ideas and actions. Fat chance. No, God comes alongside people like you and me to guide us, to protect us, every step of the way on life's long journey.
That's the way God chooses sides. Undeserved, unasked for, and totally unexpected.
Amazing grace!
posted by Jack Buckley at
9:37 AM
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