2. Luke 7:18-35

3. Are you the One? When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Matthew 11:2-3

4. Luke 7:18-35

5. Are you the One? “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19

6. Luke 7:18-35

7. Are you the One? Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.

8. Are you the One? Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 2 Corinthians 11:22-26

9. Luke 7:18-35

10. Not the God we would have chosen Prayers of Walter Brueggeman We would as soon you were stable and reliable. We would as soon you were predictable. And always the same toward us. We would like to take the hammer of doctrine And take the nails of piety And nail your feet to the floor And then we find you moving, Always surprising us, Always coming at us from new directions.

11. Not the God we would have chosen Prayers of Walter Brueggeman Always planting us And uprooting us And tearing all things down And making all things new. You are not the God we would have chosen Had we done the choosing But we are your people And you have chosen us in freedom.

12. Not the God we would have chosen Prayers of Walter Brueggeman We pray for the great gift of freedom That we may be as free toward you As you are in your world. Give us that gift of freedom That we may move in new places In obedience and in gratitude. Thank you for Jesus Who embodied your freedom for all of us. Amen.