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The Gospel of John |
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Chatting
with God & Each Other over the Gospel of John July
31st and August 1 marked the end of a first years visit over
the Gospel of John. Beginning in September 2005 through the 1st
of August this year we have met Monday or Tuesday nights (with breaks
around holidays, bible school, etc.) from 7:00 to 9:00 and worked through
the first six chapters of John’s gospel.
One
might think, “Only six chapters in a whole year? Too deep for me!”
Or, “Only six chapters in a whole year? Too slow for me!” Or,
“Six chapters? What do you
talk about?” It is the last
question that lands closest to the truth: What do
we talk about? We
are not studiously deep, we do not inch our way through the gospel to
glean every possible bit of meaning from the scriptures.
We come together and visit. Taking our cue from 1 John 1: 1-4 we
visit together over the things of Christ and find in our visiting that God
is present with us. He visits, shares or fellowships (you pick the word)
with us. He speaks to each of us through each of us by the things that are
on our hearts to share. In this the focus is very little on what any
particular scripture means (any commentary author or authors will tell you that). The
focus is on what the scripture says
(and only God can tell you that). This is because God is not as interested
in us knowing about Him as He is
that we simply know Him; and
know Him as a person. We find
that God delights in revealing Himself to us. There
are a number of important truths that John, indeed, the whole of scripture
itself, wants us to know and believe. But getting to know God is a very
difficult thing; He is a hard person to figure out, being, as He is, so
different from any of us. Sometimes He seems to hide. But when one
discovers that there is a person who loves them, for apparently no good
reason, one is drawn to learn about this person. And none of us can learn
about a person merely by the acquisition of knowledge; we learn of and
discover people in relationships. This is what God is doing in these
visits: visiting with us that we may learn of Him. In so doing, God
reveals who we truly are and we see our need for Him. Hence,
the seeming slow pace. When we get together to visit with family or
friends we do not set agendas. We select a time and we visit. This we have
done for the past year. And true to His promise, God visits with us (even
if, as mentioned above, He is
sometimes difficult. But that’s family for you.). The
framework of the Gospel of John is the vehicle we use to visit with each
other and God. The meetings
and schedule are as flexible as visits with friends. One gleans something
from a friendship whenever the visit occurs. This
year we will begin the visits with Chapter seven of John’s gospel. Our
first visit will be Monday or Tuesday (your choice) September 18th
& 19th. We will
meet every Monday and Tuesday (again, your choice) through Thanksgiving
week and break until after the 1st of the new year.
You’re invited. If you are interested please contact the church
office & we’ll have a place ready for you. |