This week I find myself thinking of what may not be the most popular hymn-tune in my memory bank, but the anonymous hymn-text which accompanies the tune is one that every United Methodist would do well to visit, again…..and again…
The opening stanza paints for us a picture of God’s amazing and relentless love.
I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew he moved my soul to seek him,
seeking me. It was not I that found, O Saviour true; no, I was found of thee.
“Jesus-seeking” is for some people a thing to do, or a way to be. But what if “Jesus-seeking” describes God’s actions toward all creation in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus? What if our “Jesus-seeking” is only a response to his seeking us first?
This week we walk with Jesus in and out of Jerusalem. Having been there many times, I can picture Jesus leaving the rented room he shared with his disciples at Passover. I can see him leading them out of the eastern gate of the city, down the valley, across Brook Kidron, and up into the Garden of Gethsemane. I can still hear the echoes of the hopeful crowds from just days earlier: – “Save us! Deliver us! Save us, now!” Jesus treated those cries seriously. “Good Friday” he embraced justice and mercy equally, as he was mocked, beaten, and unjustly accused – then placarded to a cruel tool of capital punishment. And once the tool had done its work, he was left for dead inside a dank, dark tomb. This coming Sunday we will celebrate what comes next…. but for now we pause to consider how in Jesus, God pursues us – right where we are.
As Bishop Will Willimon reminds us,
I’m only an ambassador. I witness under the conviction that Christ wants
this life, that Christ is already active in this life before I got there, and that
Christ will continue to work in this life long after I’ve gone on to whatever.
Jesus has in store for me next. But only Jesus saves……
This week we pause to ponder God’s gift of salvation enfleshed in Jesus. “Jesus-seeking” is not our idea – it’s God’s. “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was/is lost. [Luke 19] As John reminds us in his gospel, “The Word became flesh – and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”
How Sweet The Sound! 
Jon (the Methodist)
If you would like to view past editions of How Sweet the Sound, follow this link: https://sounddistrictnc.org/category/from-the-ds/