Monday, March 20, 2006
From AscensionNYC
Monday in the Third Week of Lent
Feast of St. Joseph (transferred)
Psalm 89:1-29
2 Samuel 7:4, 8-16
Romans 4:13-18
Luke 2:41-52
This passage in Luke is one of the rarest of its type of all the gospels. It is a story about Jesus' childhood. Moreover, he is not an infant, but a precocious twelve-year-old. It is the only gospel story we have of Jesus as a boy. Of the four gospels, Luke's is one of two to describe Jesus' life before his public ministry. The birth narrative in Luke, and this story of the finding in the temple, confirm for Luke's reader that Jesus is the promised messiah long before Jesus' baptism and the 'public' confirmation of Jesus' special relationship to God. Luke leaves no doubt that, from birth, Jesus is God's son.
At the beginning of today's passage, we learn something about Jesus' family life. Mary and Joseph attend the Passover in Jerusalem every year. Jesus' family is a religiously observant one, going to expense and some lengths (literally) to observe Israel's holiest feast in the holy city. It is out of this family environment that the prodigal Jesus comes, with knowledge and critical judgment that astounds the elders and teachers that gather in the temple to study and discuss their faith.
Luke, the most literarily accomplished of the evangelists, is skillful in his development of the character of Jesus. It is this precocious boy who will grow into the man who astounds, then antagonizes and upsets the religious authorities. Jesus will not obey the rules, but will challenge convention and custom in his teachings, in his choice of associates, and he will fly in the face of the religious and political power structures of his day. A forensic psychologist might see a hint of the man's behavior in the twelve year old who would cause his parents such worry by failing to follow them home from Jerusalem. Indeed, it is this disobedient, worrisome, presumptuous twelve-year-old child that is indeed father to the man he will become, and that we will worship.
Psalm 89:1-29
2 Samuel 7:4, 8-16
Romans 4:13-18
Luke 2:41-52
This passage in Luke is one of the rarest of its type of all the gospels. It is a story about Jesus' childhood. Moreover, he is not an infant, but a precocious twelve-year-old. It is the only gospel story we have of Jesus as a boy. Of the four gospels, Luke's is one of two to describe Jesus' life before his public ministry. The birth narrative in Luke, and this story of the finding in the temple, confirm for Luke's reader that Jesus is the promised messiah long before Jesus' baptism and the 'public' confirmation of Jesus' special relationship to God. Luke leaves no doubt that, from birth, Jesus is God's son.
At the beginning of today's passage, we learn something about Jesus' family life. Mary and Joseph attend the Passover in Jerusalem every year. Jesus' family is a religiously observant one, going to expense and some lengths (literally) to observe Israel's holiest feast in the holy city. It is out of this family environment that the prodigal Jesus comes, with knowledge and critical judgment that astounds the elders and teachers that gather in the temple to study and discuss their faith.
Luke, the most literarily accomplished of the evangelists, is skillful in his development of the character of Jesus. It is this precocious boy who will grow into the man who astounds, then antagonizes and upsets the religious authorities. Jesus will not obey the rules, but will challenge convention and custom in his teachings, in his choice of associates, and he will fly in the face of the religious and political power structures of his day. A forensic psychologist might see a hint of the man's behavior in the twelve year old who would cause his parents such worry by failing to follow them home from Jerusalem. Indeed, it is this disobedient, worrisome, presumptuous twelve-year-old child that is indeed father to the man he will become, and that we will worship.
Mark Collins
