Written by professors, graduates, and others in
the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary community, these reflections, prayers, and spiritual practices will take you along the journey with Jesus through the cross toward resurrection.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
• Psalm 124
• Luke 8:26-39
What have you to do with me, Jesus?” The question the demoniac voices rings through the ages. What have you to do with me, Jesus?
Jesus has this way of directly seeking us out, even calling us out. The big work of redeeming the world happens through a series of individual encounters. Jesus’ destination is Jerusalem, but the journey inevitably involves stops along the way as he responds to personal situations. As Luke presents it, Jesus has come all the way across the sea to the land of the Gentiles in order to engage this one person. What have you to do with me? Why have you sought me out? How did you hear my prayer? How did you know my brokenness? Why did you not pass me by?
Jesus makes it personal. It happens again and again in the gospel of Luke. Jesus seeks out the tax collector, Levi, and bids him to follow (5:27). He engages the widow of Nain with deep compassion (7:13). He scandalously forgives the sins of the woman who lavishly cares for him in the Pharisee’s house (7:48). Jesus interrogates his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (9:20). He teaches the inquiring lawyer about neighbors with the story of a good Samaritan (10:30). He directs a certain ruler to sell all he has and give it to the poor (18:22). He calls Zacchaeus to come down from the tree and to open up his house (19:5). On the cross he assures the nearby criminal that they will be together in paradise (23:43). Three days later, on the road to Emmaus, he clandestinely teaches Cleopas and his companion “all the things about himself in all of the scriptures,” and then later reveals his identity as he breaks the breads at the table with them.
It’s one encounter after another, all the way to Jerusalem, all the way to the cross and beyond. What have you to do with me, Jesus? The journey of Jesus is a series of specific encounters where faith is challenged, shaped, corrected, assured, and deepened. What have you to do with me? For the demoniac, Jesus offers healing and wholeness. What is he offering you? Why has he sought you out?
Faithful God, whose love seeks us out, give us courage to name what we need, give us faith to trust what you teach, and give us strength to follow where you lead, so that our journey may lead us to wholeness and peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
– The Reverend Dr. John Wurster (DMin’01)
Pastor, St. Philip Presbyterian Church, Houston, Texas
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