[Sunday] Famous Expectations - Missio Dei
Questions for the week
The people of Nazareth thought they were entitled to receive Jesus’ gracious words and deeds because they were his friends and relatives. What things cause us to feel entitled to receive God’s grace and mercy? How do we counteract that sense of entitlement?
Read Luke 4:14-30. Nazareth was a thoroughly Jewish community. As such, the people labored non-stop to keep themselves pure from spiritual uncleanliness of the Gentile world surrounding them. Their penchant for personal purity, however, blinded them to God’s compassion for the world and their participation in his mission. How do we do similar things today that get in the way of our participation in God’s mission to the world?
How has Jesus liberated you to serve in his mission? Who might you bring this Good News of Jesus to this week?
This Christmas, let’s see Jesus as the one who came for us and is with us, and let our hearts grow—just like the Grinch’s—so we can go out, celebrate, and share this good news with all “those” people.