This first miracle of Jesus turning water into wine reminds us that God doesn’t just show up in mountaintop moments or dramatic miracles. But in kitchens, at tables, in conversations between friends, and in small acts of care. In the ordinary rhythms of life. So the invitation for us this Lent is simply this: pay attention.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been using Zach Lambert’s book, Better Ways to Read the Bible, to take a look at different lenses through which we read scripture—by lenses, we mean sets of assumptions that we filter the scripture through, as we attempt to make meaning out of an ancient text.

For the first three weeks of this series, we looked at unconstructive lenses that Christians have used—lenses of literalism, moralism, hierarchy. Then for the last couple of weeks, we started focusing on lenses for reading scripture that are more constructive—ways that help us understand what God intends for these sacred texts to tell us.

First, we looked at the Jesus lens, asking ourselves if a scripture is in alignment with the person, work, or teachings of Jesus. Acknowledging that if it wasn’t, then it’s a big hint that we’ve misinterpreted or misunderstood what the scripture intends.

Last week, we looked at the context lens, which takes into consideration a scripture’s historical setting, audience, and place in the larger story of scripture.

Today, we look at the Flourishing Lens, which invites us to ask: does this reading of scripture lead to life? Does this interpretation lead to greater love, justice, and well-being for all?

A word of care: Our scripture reading today has been difficult for many, especially when it’s been read without attention to context or used to limit rather than heal. Today, we’re reading it with attention towards the particular situation it was written for, and the culture it was shaped by. Reading with the Context Lens invites us to ask: Who was this for? What was happening? And what does faithfulness look like in light of that?

Believe it or not, Christianity isn’t a text-centered faith. It’s a Jesus-centered faith. As Zach Lambert says in his book, Better Ways to Read the Bible, “Christians are not primarily people of the bible; rather they are people of the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

As important as the bible is for understanding who Jesus is, our faith isn’t ultimately in a text but in a person—that’s why we aren’t called “little Bibles,” but “little Christs.” That’s what “Christian” literally means—“little Christ.”

But how do we know that our faith isn’t text-centered, but Jesus-centered?

Because the bible tells us so.

When Winter Storm Fern marched across most of the United States, with dangerously cold temperatures and plenty of snow making travel dangerous, we made the unprecedented decision to cancel worship services on Sunday morning. But Pastor Heidi shared a special message using Facebook Live. Join us for sanctuary on a winter day!

We like to think that we can just pick up the bible and read it, and we’re going to understand what it means—God will show us The Truth of that scripture and it will give us wisdom for the day.

But the reality is, the bible wasn’t written for us, in the 21st century—we read scripture over the shoulders of those who originally received it. We don’t instinctively understand the contexts and cultures of the biblical texts, and we don’t natively speak Hebrew or Greek or Aramaic.

Which means that when we read scripture, we bring with us a set of lenses—a set of assumptions that we filter the scripture through, attempting to make meaning out of an ancient text.

There’s a 21st century lens, and then lenses for our personal experiences, what we’ve been taught about scripture and life, our questions and doubts, what we fear, what we hope to be true—all of these are like that “1 or 2” “3 or 4” of the eye doctor—they all change the way we understand scripture.

It’s tempting to think, “Well, I’ll just take off all the lenses I have and then I can see clearly.” But there is no neutral or unfiltered way of reading scripture.

What we can do, is recognize and name the lenses we have—take stock of the assumptions we bring to scripture—and ask ourselves, “Is this lens helpful or harmful?”

Today, we come to the end of our series, “What Do You Fear?” that has led us through Advent and beyond. And we come to the end of the story of Jesus’ birth.

It’s the end of the story, and yet Herod is still in power.

Christ is born, yet it feels as if the world has not changed.

The Gospel of Matthew doesn’t give us a tidy ending—the magi leave quietly, warned by God to go home by another way. And when Herod discovers he’s been outwitted by them, his fury turns into devastating violence.

It’s yet another example of having a reason to hope for transformation—Jesus is born!—and then look around and think, “Nothing has really changed.”

The same systems still operate. The same people still hold power. The same fears linger.

And when fear lingers long enough, it can be tempting to give up. To grow numb. To shrink our expectations. To settle for survival instead of hope.

However, the reason Matthew tells this story it’s not to resolve our fear, but to show us how to move through it.

Graham Ball, Executive Director of Nehemiah Mission, visits with an inspiring message about caring for those on the margins. As we enter a new year, what action can you take to make the world more safe and just for everyone?

Today is a special Sunday—we will hear our scripture and message in the form of a Cantata our choir will share with us.

Sitting in a hospital waiting room,

watching/listening/reading the news,

a painful conversation you didn’t want to have,

staring at a list of all that is yet-to-be done, wondering, Is any of this worth it?

There are moments in life when our hope feels threadbare—like the smallest movement will cause it to fall to pieces at our feet.

The future feels hazy, our effort feels fruitless—the world’s brokenness feels so large that our small acts seem almost laughably insignificant.

This is where we meet John the Baptist today.