Nov. 06, 2021

“Broken Things” are important to Jesus. But what does that mean? In this story of the man with the shriveled hand, I want to circle three things that answer that  question. The first is that the man with the shriveled hand – the broken hand – is THERE ... in the synagogue – in the place that exists for people to encounter the presence of God. The Pharisees try to exploit him to trick Jesus, and as we’ll see next week, Jesus refuses to take the bait. But the fact that the man with his brokenness is in the place where the presence of God can be encountered tells us something about the importance of the  broken things in our lives. We – with ou own places of brokenness – have a place in the presence of  God. We are not excluded from God’s sight and heart because we are in some ways broken. We do not have to “get the broken things fixed” before we can step into God’s presence. As the old hymn says, “just as I AM, I come...”

TAKING IT HOME 

Our readings for the week ahead are:

MONDAY, November 8    John 5

TUESDAY, November 9    John 6

WEDNESDAY, November 10    John 7

THURSDAY, November 11    John 8

FRIDAY, November 12    John 9

SATURDAY, November 13    John 10

SUNDAY, November 14    John 11

This week we celebrate All Saints Day, a day that we remember the individuals that have left our world for the church triumphant. View those names here.