Amos 9:11-15
Psalm 63:1-8
2Thessalonias 2:1-3, 13-17
John 5:30-47
Unexpected
Recently, I had the opportunity to see and hear Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber speak about her New York Times bestseller “Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People”, as well as her ministry at House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado. I found her to be profound, unexpected, funny, heart-breaking, sincere, gentle, brutal, soft, hard, cool, geeky, generous, humble, rough, and a complete Jesus freak….all at the same time. I beg you to Google her and to especially listen to her interview from the NPR program, Fresh Air. I was fascinated, listening to her story of evangelism, addiction, rejection of Christianity and how despite her running away from God, “He came after me, hunting me down.” Her message of grace, forgiveness and community was summed up in her being asked “What is your job?…My job is to preach the gospel. My job is to point to Christ, preach the gospel and remind people of their identity in Christ and that they are absolutely loved. They are named and claimed by God. All of their mess ups aren't more powerful than God’s mercy and God’s ability to redeem us and bring good out of bad.”
In all honesty, the “external package” of Nadia Bolz-Weber compared to her words and preaching is, to put it lightly, unexpected. Her tattoos, foul language, piercings, spiky hair, torn jeans, and combat booted-self seems “out of place” for a liturgical, Lutheran pastor delivering the message of Christ’s unconditional love and pursuit of each of us. Unexpected. As I continue to contemplate her words and stories weeks later, I can’t help but think of other unexpected messengers as we wait with anticipation the remembrance of the birth of Christ: the angel to Mary, Herod to the wise men, Mary to Joseph, Joseph to the inn keeper, the star to the shepherds, and Jesus to the world. Unexpected. The King of kings, Lord of lords, Jesus the Christ, God made flesh, Savior and Redeemer of the Word, born from a teenage girl in a stable…unexpected. All for the purpose of saving me, saving you. Unexpected.
As we approach the celebration of the birth of Jesus, I pray that we all find hope through unexpected messengers and joy in the absurdity of God’s pursuit of us through love, grace and mercy. Hallelujah!
Melissa Peter