Believe!

Good morning!

Here in the Deep South, we have had several days of gray, gloomy weather:  mostly average temps for this time of year, plus off-and-on rain.  Meh.  January in the South.  But elsewhere, the northern "hinterlands" have been feeling the effects of Winter Storm Gorgon, which cut a wide swath from Washington to New Jersey, moving at the speed of a freight train over 2,000 miles, dumping huge amounts of snow and shutting things down.  We've taken to naming winter storms now, as we do hurricanes.

Where did the name Gorgon come from?  A gorgon was a mythical character from Greek mythology. You may be more familiar with the Medusa, from Homer's The Odyssey.  You know,  Odysseus went on a long journey, during which he encountered some strange monsters.  One of those was the Medusa, a woman with a head out of which flowed many, writhing snakes.  That sista had one perpetual "bad hair day"!

One of the things I learned in studying this morning is that during the "silent period", the 400-year timespan from Malachi to Matthew, the Jews had allowed pagan influences to creep into their worship and even into the very structures of their synagogues.  Archeology has revealed that, for example, in the black ballast stone synagogue of Chorazin, a very well-preserved Medusa figure was found.  This is evidence that pagan beliefs had crept into this community's worship, and Chorazin was not alone in her deviancy.  Similar pagan influences have been found in other synagogues in the region.  The Medusa was a symbol of a female deity.  A prominent feature of paganism in that day was polytheism and especially the worship of "goddesses".

In Matthew 11:20, Jesus condemned Chorazin.  As for me, I had never heard of this place. You don't hear many sermons about it, and the town is mentioned only twice in the New Testament.  Yet, this was a town just a short distance from Capernaum; in both places, Jesus did many, many miracles.

Jesus revealed that these towns had earned their own special curse.  Why?  It was not directly because of a Medusa in a synagogue.  It was because of their unbelief.  Chorazin, Capernaum and Bethsaida were Jewish settlements, in the midst of a highly Gentile area.  In fact, Isaiah referred to the area of Galilee as "Galilee of the Gentiles" (Isaiah 9:1)  Jesus' ministry was first to the Jewish people of His day, even though He interacted with and ministered to Gentiles as well, and we can see this recorded in Scripture.  He came as the Jewish Messiah.

There is a reason we do not hear much about Chorazin in the New Testament.  Their corruption by paganism, their rabid adherence to "religion" over truth, and their rampant unbelief were too great. They were severely blinded, so much so that they could not recognize the King of Heaven even as He walked among them performing miracle after miracle.  Jesus said that, for all their peacock-strutting, they would end up in the abyss (vs.23)

There are people like that.  Jesus is still today in the business of transforming lives, working miracles. I have loved ones in this condition.  If you do too, we must earnestly, faithfully pray that the Holy Spirit will open their eyes to the truth.

Jesus was expressing His extreme frustration with that region of Galilee.  After pronouncing the curse, which He knew would come to pass anyway since He knows all things from the beginning to the end, He broke into a spontaneous prayer.  This, too, should be our response.

Earlier in the chapter (vs. 2-14) He had received a message from his first cousin, John the Baptist, who had been put into prison by the Galilean tetrarch, Herod.  In fact, John had been in prison for most of Jesus' earthly ministry.  John himself predicted this when Jesus came on the scene, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30).  John the Baptist, languishing in prison, was experiencing doubt.  He sent a message to Jesus:  "Are you the Messiah, or should we continue waiting for Messiah to come?"  (Matt. 11:3)

This message must have broken Jesus' heart.  Although God, He was simultaneously human.  He got frustrated; He got tired.  I'm sure that, often, we humans "got on his last nerve", as the saying goes. John the Baptist (of all people!), was weary and confused.  Jesus sent a message back to him, a message of affirmation, re-framing, encouragement (vs. 4-6).

And then, after venting some of His frustration and praying His prayer, Jesus issued an invitation, one of the most beautiful in Scripture.  It can be summed up in one word:  Believe!

"Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?

Come to me.

Get away with me and you'll recover your life.

I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me - - - 

Watch how I do it.

Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.

Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Matthew 11:28-30

 Does it sound to you like he is talking about "religion" here - - - with traditions and statues and homilies and so forth?  No, He is talking about relationship, a relationship with Him, the God of the Universe.  And, like the Hokey-Pokey, that is indeed "what it's all about".

Dear Lord Jesus, I am so thankful for the rest that is present in my relationship with You.  Although my path is not entirely smooth, You are constantly with me.  And, your unforced rhythms of grace sustain me through "thick and thin".  Thank you for Your GIFT of belief!  Lord, I pray for those I love who do not believe, whose eyes have been blinded by the paganism that surrounds us.  Please strip away the layers of confusion and deception so that they can see only You, in Your glorious sufficiency.  You are all-sufficient.  Only You are Life Eternal!  In Jesus' name, amen.