& (try) to put our world together

standing in the breach


We’re about to begin another trip through the Bible. This is our second year with the Narrative Lectionary; and I’ve really enjoyed it. 
I love that we start at the beginning and work our way through. That the passages are longer. That there is only one passage to focus on. That we get to spend time with some great parts of the Bible that are often overlooked or given short shrift.
But one of my favorite things is, the way working from beginning to end helps us draw connections. How you can see the way the stories in the Old Testament continue and build on one another. 
How you can see what it means to say Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises.
Because Jesus didn’t just come out of nowhere. Jesus came from the story that began in Genesis and ends in Revelation. And Jesus is the one who completes these stories.

Sadly, I think that’s hard for us to connect with these days. 
Because we live with a lot of broken promises, don’t we? We hear promises made with no intention of being kept. We learn not to count on anything or anyone. And no matter what anyone say, it’s hard to live like that.
Broken trust and and unkept promises are so hard to live with because one way or another, we all live by them. Vows. Repayment plans. Layaway. Investments. Retirement accounts. Appointments, and the like. If we can’t trust our promises, what can we trust? 

Which is why you need to hear that, Jesus is the fulfillment.
Because Jesus isn’t just the lynchpin in the great story that begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation. He’s is also the one who holds your story together, too!

All our stories have a beginning, and we know there will be an end. So often, though, it’s the stuff in the middle that’s so hard to make sense of. Because if you’re anything like me, your story has starts and stops. Beautiful paragraphs and sentences that just trail off. Parts you love to come back to, and chapters you wish you could erase.
What the Bible declares from beginning to end is, Jesus shows up right in the middle of all that. Jesus doesn't only show up in the parts of your life having to do with church, he even shows up where the pages are torn apart. 
Because Jesus Christ was crucified for you. He died to hold your story together. 

That’s the old, old story, isn’t it? That Jesus didn’t just bask up in heaven as the Son of God, but instead Jesus came into this world, into your life. Jesus came right into the middle of your story to take all your brokenness upon himself. And in return, to give you his story. The story of the child of God. The story of resurrection from the dead. The story of the one without sin.

Beloved, when your story comes apart, Jesus stands in the breach. He takes the rips and tears upon himself, and keeps your’s from shredding apart. There is a lynchpin to your story, and his name is Jesus. 
He is the one who will bring all our stories to fulfillment. That’s a promise you can count on.
Amen!

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