“One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God.”
Luke 5:1 NLT
This might seem like a benign verse, obvious is that we don’t have a deep theological truth that is going to rock our socks off. What is going to shock us is the simple realization that that people had the time to listen to the word of God. It wasn’t the normal place, it was the normal time but people had the time to come out and hear Jesus speak and teach.
In today’s day and age we strive to be busy. Busy with work, busy with family, busy with play, busy with rest, but are we so busy that we don’t have time to hear Jesus. People gathered from the area to hear Jesus. Yes they lived in a different culture, a different society with different time constraints and expectations but they still chose to go and listen.
Is our busyness the problem? Maybe for some. Is the cultural expectations the problem? At one time in many Eurocentric countries it was expected that you would be in church, but this is not so everywhere and definitely not today. But we have to remember that this verse is not about the sabbath, this is about the word of God. Have we made the word of God so convoluted, watered down, complicated, that people don’t expect to meet with Jesus ever? Have we lost the logical mystery of faith that called so many into a life saving relationship with Jesus? Have we tried to explain away the divine to elevate our mundane, normal lives to godhood? It could be all of the above and more.
People thought it was important to come and hear Jesus. It is still important to come and hear Jesus. Whether it is at church, in your home, at work, in the park, on a park bench, in the stands, in the grocery store and yes even in the schools. We can make many excuses but when it comes down to it, we need to make time to come and hear Jesus.
For some it will be about the logic, some it will be the stories and understanding that they need to confront that next step of life and faith. But many of us will need to hear Jesus confronting our fear and sin, saying “Don’t be afraid.” You are forgiven, you are worthy, you are loved, you have a purpose.
Make time to meet with Jesus.
