Are you the One?

          I enjoy working on my sermons.  The task gets me deeper into scripture and forces me to spend time in the stories.  One former pastor I knew said that a good pastor always preaches the sermon to themselves first and I agree.  
​              This week the lesson is when the disciples of John the Baptist come to Jesus and ask if he is the One who is to come.  This is a short excerpt from my thoughts.
               I ran across a short reading that talks about the question “Are you the one?”  I wanted to share it with you.  Are you the one who is to come?  Are you the one who will walk with the poor  and show us how to feed the hungry and ask us to join you?                     Are you the one who will sit with the forgotten and remind us how to be still, speaking words of compassion in a world devoid of such gifts?  Are you the one who will open the scriptures and meet us there, where we sit in silence and listen?   Are you the one who will sow seeds of the kingdom and plant words of peace,  plough the ground for renewal and sow for harvest?  Are you the one who will take bread and break it and ask us to eat and pour wine and bless it and ask us to drink?  Are you the one or are you waiting for another?  Are you waiting for us?                 So perhaps as we ask the question, all we need to do is look around and see how Jesus has changed the world for us.  Without Jesus in my life I would have a hard time seeing the good in all people; without Jesus in my life I would not know how to forgive my brother or sister who hurts me; without Jesus in my life I would not know that I can share all that I have with someone who has nothing and I can walk away better for it.  Is this man Jesus the One who has come?  He taught me to hear the birds sing and appreciate the beauty of this land where I live, here in Eastern Montana.  Jesus taught me to want to live together with all people in love and understanding.  Jesus taught me that when I judge someone else I am forgetting his love for that person.  Jesus taught me that the best life is the simple one where possessions don’t count for much and all that really matters are that other people love me.                          Is Jesus the One?  He is the only One for me and I will love him and praise him and follow him all my days.  I hope you will too.