01-02-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 2, 2024
In Luke 2:48-49, we find one of the few stories about Jesus as a young boy. The scripture says, “When Jesus’ parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’  He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?’”

I don’t know the approach your parents took when it came to discipline, but the response Jesus makes here would have definitely been interpreted as being sassy and disrespectful when I was a child. In the musical The Cotton Patch Gospel, there is a wonderful song entitled “It isn’t easy.” The musical is both delightful and deeply troubling, as it sets the story of Jesus in the Racism of Alabama/Georgia in the 1960s. The premise of the song is that it isn’t easy growing up to be the Son of God. I don’t know that to be true, but I’m guessing it had its unusual challenges. At the same time, I don’t believe it is easy to grow up as a Christian. As Jesus demonstrates here and in many other places, being faithful to God’s call often puts us against family and friends. Whenever a belief system has high standards, it will often put one person against another.

O Heavenly Creator, give me the strength to be the person you believe I can be. Amen.