No One Like Jesus

Then the temple guards went back to [them] and were asked: “Why did you not arrest him?” The guards answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” – John 7:45-46 (NRSV adapted) 

There’s no getting around it: there were forces at play that wanted to stop Jesus. And while we have the benefit of looking back on the events of his life understanding Jesus to be the One they’d been waiting for—the Messiah—so few shared that view at the time. It was too much to behold. 

Is it, still? Is it still too much to behold God with us? Emmanuel?  

Do we, still? Do we still have forces at play that resist God’s presence and will and action in the lives and loves of all of God’s creation?  

Of course we do, clearly. There are forces outside of us, and even within us, that resist Jesus and want to arrest God in God’s tracks.  

The story of Jesus’s life teaches us an important lesson here, though. Though the forces force, God holds fast and makes it through, anyway.  

Sometimes we seek God and do not find what we’re looking for. I know this feeling all too well. But whenever this happens in my life, I learn to look to the unexpected places. I learn that even those who set out to stop God’s works of mercy, love, and justice are subject to divine intervention. I remember that Emmanuel was found with the types of people the sanctified would find scandalous.  

Perhaps most importantly, when I remember the spirit of the guards’ proclamation – “Never has anyone spoken like this!”—I remember that there’s no one like Jesus. Which is why we need him now, more than ever.  

Seek, beloved, and ye shall find the God already with us. Glowing in glory, majesty, mercy, and light.  

Prayer
O Come, O God. I need you—we need you. Because there is none like you. In Jesus’ name: Amen.

About the Author
Kaji Douša is the Senior Pastor of The Park Avenue Christian Church, a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, in New York City.