John the Baptist and Uncle Si

     He might not have been everyone’s cup of sweet tea but John the Baptist would have fit right in with Uncle Si and the gang at Duck Dynasty. I'm guessing there is some relation, maybe. From the moment he was born to a couple that was way past child-bearing years, John was a reminder that God and his grace were a very present and dangerous reality. He should have been named after his father, Zechariah but God said to name him John which means “God given grace”. Grace had no place in their world of tight order and religious law! To a world desperately trying to reach God, this impossible birth of a boy with an impossible name shouts into their world that God is coming down. He is coming to rock their paradigms, destroy bondage, liberate captives and paint their slums with joy.

     With his beard, camel coat and diet of honey and bugs, he would be relegated to the status of outsider – way outside outsider. But he could not be ignored. Neither could his message. God is coming. Jesus is coming. And he is bringing with him a dangerous grace.  I know such dangerous grace is scary. It unsettles our perfectly ordered world. But do we really want a tame God that fits neatly into our world? Really? I remember thinking I wanted Jesus to come take up residence in my world – in my way of life. How egotistical and foolish! What I needed was for Jesus to transform my world. BAM! Transform it Jesus with your presence, love, holiness, mercy and grace.

John the Baptist and his message of coming grace crashes our party the way Uncle Si would crash a gathering of Presbyterian pastors*. But rest assured, neither one would be ignored!

Anchored in that dangerous grace,
Harrison

*full disclosure - I am one of those Presbyterian pastor ;)