Come and See

Meditations in the Season of Epiphany 

February 3, 2022

Come and See

Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

Luke 5:27-28

Read: Luke 5:27-39

Back in the day, before I retired, by necessity, I stayed up to date on the evolving technology we used in our church. Our office had a computer network that I linked to my office in the parsonage. Our sanctuary had two video projectors and a state-of-the-art sound and video booth. Recently I purchased a new laptop to replace one I had for eleven years. The upgrade as been a bit of a challenge. And I am finding I’m not handling change well, and for that, I have empathy for the Pharisees in today’s passage.

The reading for today has several snippets demonstrating the difficulty the Pharisees had in accepting the change Jesus was bringing as he ushered in God’s New Kingdom. In these snippets, I see a common theme for our culture. They contrast those who would like to accommodate bits and pieces of Jesus’ teaching into their lifestyle, and those who embrace the radically different nature of Jesus’ Kingdom to today’s prevailing culture.

The Holy Spirit continually reminds me of the radically different new life for which Jesus called me: “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

My Takeaway: Levi, aka Matthew, left his livelihood behind and followed Jesus. Why? What was his epiphany that compelled him to become a disciple? Could it have been just a simple invitation? Is there someone I will encounter who may respond to a simple invitation to come and see?

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.