Does Jesus ever just show up in the world? In Santa Fe, New Mexico they tell the story of a mysterious carpenter who showed up and built a magnificent staircase in a church. Some locals say it was Jesus who showed up and then disappeared. On a lighter note, another group saw Jesus’ face in an advertisement of a plate of Pizza Hut Spaghetti on a billboard in the U. S. I know what you are thinking. When did Pizza Hut serve spaghetti? Never mind. They thought they saw Jesus in the billboard.
There is a name for Jesus showing up. We call it a “theophany,” or manifestation of God. When Abram defeated Kedorlaomer, the king of Sodom came out meet him. Then Melchizedek, king of Salem brought him bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High and he blessed Abram.
In the book of Hebrews, the writer says Jesus is a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. If Melchizedek blessed Abram, he had to be greater than Abram. In the analogy, some hear the author of Hebrews saying that this was Jesus showing up. I am skeptical. Not every metaphor or example is to be taken literally. It seems unlikely to me because the king of Salem was in fact, the king of Salem. In no other place do we see Jesus showing up as a person who has already been in the world in a real place. In the next chapter, we may see an actual theophany of Jesus.
Then what can we learn from Melchizedek? First, his name means King of Righteousness. Second, he is actual king of the actual town called Salem, which was an early name for Jerusalem. Third, he is the priest of God Most High. Then and now, God has people who are serving him in wonderful ways in our world. We may run into them and think, who is this? Was this person an angel or a theophany? Melchizedek knows God as the Creator of heaven and earth. And he praises God Most High for delivering the kings into Abram’s hand.
Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote, “But I say more. The just man justices, acts in God’s eye who in God’s eye he is. For Christ plays in ten thousand places, lovely in eyes, lovely in limbs not his to the Father through the features of our faces.” Christ works through us and some people notice the resemblance. Helping one of our families last week they mentioned that Mrs. Sue Stone helped them at a “Big A” club in their apartment complex. This changed the trajectory of their lives. I knew what they meant. One day I caught her praying with friends in the church library. “What are you praying for?” I asked. “For you,” said Sue. She reminded me so much of Jesus, but she was not an actual theophany in any official sense. Jesus was still in heaven, but she walked closely with him.
My professor Virtus Gideon used to say, “In every church, you will find a person who walks closely enough to Jesus that they speak true wisdom. Knit your soul to that person.” In my forty-four years as a pastor, I have discovered that Virtus was right about that. Sometimes, God does miracles through ordinary saints who just love him. Keep your eyes open. When you least expect it, you may run into one. In fact, you might not know at the time, but at some later time, it may become clearer. God is omnipresent. He is always with us. And he works through people who are serving him in out of the way places. Are you one of them? Then bless someone in the name of the Lord Most High!
