Mtr Taylor Devine

Dear Friend,

Our Gospel reading this morning ends with a zinger:
Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.

The Gospel passage is the memorable one about the disbelief that the Messiah could come from Galilee-not only because of the prophecies that pointed toward Bethlehem, but also because...Galilee? Well you know about Galilee. With so much time and culture between us and the Scriptures sometimes it can be difficult to find our place in the story - I've never drawn water from a well, what are the cultural norms for communal wells in the ancient near-east? I've never been a shepherd or so much as touched a sheep outside of a petting zoo, what does it mean when one wanders away? The fun with this passage is that we can hear the inflection - from Galilee?

We are also caught up with the crowd who notice Jesus leaves a wake behind him, "Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him." It seems like all week we have been hearing about the expectation that Jesus would be one way when he turns out to be another. Keeping people guessing was not just a personality quirk or contrarianism, but was noticed and written down and shared as people wondered, is this what God is like? Is it true? Even though a crowd is gathered, it seems like an intimate experience where hearts are turning, people are wondering, people are parsing what they see from what they expected. Have you had an experience like this, where you see the wake of Jesus in a person's life, maybe your own? Look out for these unexpected moments when the Holy surprises you - I'll join you in looking.

In Christ,
Mtr. Taylor