The eyes of John

Like many mornings the day begins with two competing agendas.  First, there is the desire to stop and in the quiet hear the Lord’s voice, to encounter Him in a personal, profound, and life changing way.  The second agenda is the busyness of the day; it is the agenda of the lists.  There is the ‘must-do’ list, there is the ‘need-to-do list’, there is the ‘would-nice-to-be-done list’ and there is the ‘want-to-do list’.  All these lists scramble through my mind demanding attention.  The first agenda is orderly and quiet; it is practiced in calm, beauty and peace.  It enjoys a richness of heart that invites me to linger for the whole day in serene quietude.  The second is the chaos in which time and resources are not nearly adequate for all that is expected or needed.  This second agenda is lived out in functionality that is devoid of joy or passion.  How exciting can one really be about the dreariness of car service, errands, chores and all the other functions the suck up time; the most non-renewable, natural resource. 

We crave for the sublime moment where our encounter with the divine is along John the Baptist’s description: “I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of Heaven, and remained on Him”.  But wait.  Jesus has just returned from the trials in the desert.  He is about to call His first disciples and dive headlong into three years of the chaotic life of ministry.  Jesus was serene, but His life wasn’t.  We may have missed something that will help us.

“When the Spirit descended like a dove” needs to be understood from the Jewish perspective.  Jesus and John were Jewish as were John’s original audience.  In the Jewish mind, what did this “descended like a dove” mean?  In Genesis 1:2, we learn that over the formless, void, waste and emptiness that was initial creation the Spirit of God hovered over the chaos.  The Rabbis saw the Spirit fluttering like a dove over the face of the waters.  They saw in this passage the Spirit breathe into the chaos beauty, order, purpose, direction and reason for being.  The Spirit did not obliterate chaos; it was shaped to conform to the will of God.  While this is not the whole meaning of the decent of the Spirit it would have been part of the Jewish mindset. 

Order that pleases God can come out of the chaos of busy days.  Jesus’ life did not, at this moment, become more quiet and reserved.  He didn’t go off to a retreat center for three years of Bible reading, journaling, and quiet study.  Instead, He waded into the chaos of life and the order that would please the Father emerged.

The chaos of my day is still before me.  My “must-be-done-by-noon” list could easily fill a whole day.  Some things simply will not get done and that will mean loose ends- read chaos-to be dealt with later.  But in cooperation with the Spirit of God this chaos need not distress me; in fact, I may see God at work in it.  If only I can develop the eyes of John.