A God of Surprises

Preparing for Sunday there are a number of things running through my head.

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread

'We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.' Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see'

These Passages remind me that this is a God who acts in ways we don't expect. This is the God who says "Behold, I am doing a new thing". God acts to supplant the family of Eli in favour of an untried boy. And through that God proposes to lead a whole nation. God acts in a time when "the word of the Lord was rare" and starts a new ball rolling.

IN the Gospel we hear that there is doubt about the man from Nazareth, after all he is from Nazareth.

What surprise is God offering to us today? What new thing is happening, coming from way out in the wilderness, to bring us hope and promise? What needs to be supplanted for God to act? What voices in the night do we ascribe to wind and weather and so ignore? What news do we reject because it seems silly, or comes from a disreputable source?

In these questions lie our search for new life. They lead us to find the new way of being. In this part of the world the economic structure is under attack. We need a new base on which to build. We need God's surprising wisdom and leadership to find a new way of being.

Now just to tie that all into a comprehensible sermon...