The year was 1979 and I was 19 years old and entering the second year of my automotive apprenticeship. I loved working on cars, but I especially loved working on “Muscle Cars”. This love was so strong that I had an unofficial side business of being the “poor man’s” muscle car shop. Young people that could not afford paying big prices would come to me and I would help them get more “umph” out of their car. I was not a particularly good businessman, as often I would not charge guys for working on their vehicles, I just so much loved the opportunity.
One day a fellow I knew named Ken came by with a problem. The carburetor on his vehicle was acting up, so he came to me for a possible remedy. Now Ken had a real nice set of wheels, it was a 1969 Trans-am convertible. Let me pause for a moment as I unpackage the true identity of this car (forgive my drooling). 1969 was the introduction year of a special model of the Pontiac Firebird, this model was the Trans-am. In 1969 Pontiac only rolled out 697 of these jewels on the assembly line and of those 697 only 7 were convertibles. Ken had a convertible, one of only 7 made worldwide. Now hang on, I have not yet got to the good part. Ken’s registration paper for the car had on it the words “Proto-Type”, that means that the car I was working on was the first one built, it was the template or pattern for all the other Trans-am convertibles that would be made. We could say that this car was the first born of a new generation of Trans-ams, this car was the heir to the throne.
Sadly, it was not until years later that I became aware of what was presented to me that day. I worked on that car. How many car enthusiasts would have given their right arm to be in my position of leaning over the grill with the hood popped up interacting with this engine. Unfortunately, I was so focused on myself and what I was doing, I became blind to what was going on around me. I missed the moment.
What I find interesting is that the Bible is full of stories of people missing the moment out of blindness. I think about Luke 4 where Jesus enters the synagogue on the Sabbath and read from Isaiah. Scripture was fulfilled that day and the “Proto-type” was manifest before their eyes and they could not see it, they were blinded by their own viewpoint, blinded by what they thought they saw (Is this not Josephs’ son; is this just another car that I am working on?). Solomon said it well “There is nothing new under the sun”, what we were then, we are still today.
Why is this the case? I have some thoughts on that very subject. Let us look at what Jesus read that day in the synagogue and perhaps it could give us some insight.
Luke 4:18,19 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE DOWNTRODDEN, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
This scripture verse is the template upon which Jesus would write His life. It was the mission statement, the purpose, the will of the Father throughout eternity. If we examine the simplicity of what was said and look at what we have made it to incorporate today, it will raise the question “Are we still living by the same template”?
The gospel (good news) was proclaimed to the poor. The word poor in the Greek means to crouch or be bent over. It comes from the Hebraic letter “daleth” which is a tent door (flap) in which one must bend over to enter. It is a position of humility, to be bent over, looking down. It denotes that which is the opposite of pride which sometimes can refer to the rich man. I recognize my need of others. Teachable and willing to listen to things I may not understand. Poor in this instance can refer to being in a receptive position to learn and follow.
Next, we find a proclamation of freedom which is no surprise as the name Jesus means “Liberator”. To be free from the things that bind us, especially those mindsets that are within us. The liberator also opens our eyes to see and be aware of the blindness within ourselves. Freedom from oppression and other mindsets that can hold us down and crush us. Then to cap it off with the proclamation that we are accepted and approved in His sight.
What I find interesting is that this is a proclamation of the present not a qualification for down the road. We can struggle with this as we tend to see who we are not and become our own judges whilst Jesus is declaring that “I am opening your eyes so that you can see yourself as the Father sees you. I am opening your eyes so that you may be aware of what is going on around you, that you would not miss the day of your visitation”.
Imagine the pharisees standing next to Jesus, talking with Him, trying to fix Him and all along they missed the awareness of who they were next to. Today we can have encounters with God and if we are not careful, we too can miss the moment. Once that moment is gone, we can never have that moment again except as a memory of a missed opportunity to drink in that moment. The Proto-Type has its’ moment as it passes by. Let us open our eyes and practice awareness in the little things and as we continue in this journey, we will find our eyes being trained to see that which in the past was missed. You never know, you may come across that very 1969 Trans-am convertible, and if you do, please say “Hi” to Ken for me.
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