John 7:1-9

John 7:1-9
English Standard Version (ESV)

  It's hard to know what to say -- the world seems to be straining at the edges, threatening to fall into chaos so many days.  There is so much senseless violence, anger that boils over and steals innocent lives, sending us scrambling in fear, afraid of what else there is to come.  So much violence, and so few answers.
  This world is the same world that turned on the Messiah sent to save and hung him from the cross.  Our anger and violence is not new, but it is exhausting, and it is terrible.  The disciples beg for Jesus to come and show his works, so that the world may know.  The church today prays to Jesus for him to reveal his Lordship to the world, that sin and death may be banished and peace may reign.  We pray for an end to the strife and struggle, to the tears and heartache.  We pray for Jesus to lead us into a place where hatred fades and we can truly sit down together.
  Jesus tells the disciples that his time has not come.  Jesus had a larger understanding than they did, and on the first Easter morning, a bigger picture was revealed.  In the same way, the answer to the church's prayer seems to be that the time for Jesus' return has not yet come.  There is a bigger picture that we do not understand, so until we do, the church is called to stand in the gaps, to love those who are broken, to serve all, even our enemies, and to work for peace in a world in desperate need of it.