Jesus, the Beloved Son; We Beloved Children of God

1 Epiphany B  January 11, 2015

Genesis 1:1-5   Ps. 29

Acts 9:1-7   Mark 1:4-11

Lectionary Link

  Today, we commemorate the baptism of Jesus.  You and I have been baptized in part because we have been taught to follow and imitate the life of Jesus.  Jesus was baptized and so have we been baptized.  If it was good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for us.

  Today, we might ask ourselves why Jesus was baptized.  For us we are used to assuming that Jesus had of the all of the theological self-reflections which is a part of the biblical writings of the New Testament.  We assume that Jesus had all of the theological reflections of the later church and so we simply imagine Jesus having all and more of the theological reflections about himself.

  I suspect that Jesus was one who manifested all of the limitations of his time as it pertained to the kinds of knowledge and information and religious practice that were available to him at the time.

  We can speculate now about why Jesus who was the perfect Son of God had to be baptized by John the Baptizer.  If he were perfect, he would not need to repent so how could the baptism of John even be needed or relevant to him?  And this question was of course raised by the presentation of his baptism in other Gospels.

  I believe that the presentation of the event of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptizer is evidence of the baptismal practices of the early church and is in part a rationale for those practices.

  Like us, the early churches practiced baptism.  Why?  Because they inherited the practice of baptism from the practice of John the Baptist and his community.  The Jewish practice of the time was to require a “significant rite of proselyte baptism” for non-Jews who wished to become members of the Jewish community.  And sometimes entire families participated in these proselyte baptisms.

  But why would John the Baptizer require that Jews undergo another water rite?  It is as if his insistence upon this further baptism was calling into question the religious authenticity or the validity of their faith which they had passively received by being born into families of practicing Jews.

   So you feel secure with God because you were born into a Jewish family?  That is not enough; automatic or accidental Judaism does not mean that one has necessarily attained to an understanding of one's identity as a son or daughter of God.   John the Baptizer was saying that even if one was a Jew, one had to undergo another kind of proselyte baptism.  One had go beyond “automatic” ethnic Judaism and authenticate one’s relationship with God with the promise of an intentional commitment to be better today than one was yesterday.  You can reside within the herd of Judaism and know a natural birth, but that is not enough; one must intentionally embrace the experience of being a son or daughter of God.

  The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist shows us that John and Jesus were close.  Jesus did not have an ego-problem in submitting to the baptism of John.  And John had no ego problem in recognizing that Jesus was a teacher of a different sort who could advance his followers into further teaching beyond his own expertise.  John the Baptist wanted his students to graduate from his program and matriculate into the school of Jesus Christ.

  The presentation of this smooth and transition relationship between John and Jesus was an indication that many of the earlier followers of Jesus had first been followers of John the Baptist.  It also meant that the followers of Jesus were continuously welcoming followers of John the Baptist to become followers of Jesus because of this close relationship between the two.  In fact, John the Baptist interpreted the meaning of his life as being the one who would prepare the way or be the set up person to introduce Jesus into the lives of the people of his time.

  That Jesus submitted to the baptism of John is an indication of his love and respect for John and also an indication that he participated in the community of John the Baptist even to the point of being baptized by him.

  Jesus had such a high regard for John the Baptist and John for Jesus that the followers of John knew that to follow and respect John the Baptist would mean that they could follow Jesus and still be honoring their first mentor, John.  In a sense, John the Baptist was treated by the Gospel writers as the respected and loved prophet “emeritus” in the community of Jesus Christ.

  But the most telling aspect of the baptism of Jesus is the heavenly voice which declares, “You are my son, the beloved.  With you am I well pleased.”

  This is the telling aspect of baptism for the early church which practiced baptism.  It is to be a significant reality for each of us a well.  We need to know a telling and authoritative voice from the parallel and heavenly realm proclaiming an affirmation to each of us:  You are my son and my daughter, beloved ones, with you I am well pleased.

  This heavenly voice is recorded in the Gospel for the baptism of Jesus because it is meant to the declaration for each of us.  Yes, we have automatic status of birth into our family situation, our natural families, but this is not enough.  Each of us needs to know the affirmation that we were born into the family of God and have discovered God as our heavenly parent.  When we discover our identity with our heavenly parent we be can affirmed with such ways to make up for anything that is lacking because of the imperfection of our nurturing environments.  To be affirmed by our heavenly parent is to take on responsibility for our own lives; it means we don’t allow ourselves to blame people who have not always been perfect for us.

  We are privileged to know about the event of proclamation of the Jesus as God’s Son, because he as our older brother in God’s family, showed us to the way of knowing our own identities as sons and daughters of God.

  It takes the parallel kingdom of God to raise us as sons and daughters of God as we have to live in the world of our natural birth.  I wish to each of us a happy birthday as I congratulate each of us on our baptisms which were the realization and subsequent celebration of our membership in the family of God.  For this experience we can truly be thankful for the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ.  There is no reason to confess Jesus as the special and unique Son of God, if we don’t honor him by joining him as his brothers and sisters, and as sons and daughters of God.  Jesus came and realized his unique status as Son of God in order to share completely this wonderful realization of membership in the family of God.  Amen.

Sunday School, January 11, 2015 1 Epiphany: The Baptism of Our Lord, Cycle B

January 11, 2015 Epiphany 1: The Baptism of our Lord

Sunday School Themes:

The Baptism of Jesus

The meaning of baptism

The two family experience of each person

One's natural family and the realization one is a child of God

A heavenly voice told Jesus that he was a "Beloved Son."

Each person needs to know that one is a "child" of God

Baptism is the celebration of the realization that one is a child of God

Present comparisons of between baptism and birthdays

Talk about baptism as a celebration of "Christian birth"

Go over the beliefs and vows of Holy Baptism

Remind the students that they and each Christians practice "confirmation" at each baptism because each person reaffirms or confirms the vows of one's baptism.  So even though Holy Confirmation is another celebratory event, it is something that we continuously do; we confirm our beliefs and promises to God and to each other.

Puppet Show:

Interviewer, Jesus, and John the Baptist

Interviewer: Ladies and Gentlemen, I am here on behalf of Jerusalem News Network to interview two very important people, Jesus and John the Baptist.  Welcome, Jesus and John.  Thank you for this occasion to speak with you.

John the Baptist:  Thanks for having us.

Interviewer: John, I must say that you do dress, how might I say, differently than others.  Camel hair robe and you have an interesting diet.  Honey and grasshoppers.  Tell our viewers about your life style.

John:  Well, you know I spent most of my time in the wilderness.  I don't get to town very often to do some shopping and so I just learned to live off the land.  I have learned to depend upon just my own efforts to eat and provide for myself.  And it means that I only have to be attentive to God and not to other people.

Interviewer: John, you are known for practicing a special religious ceremony.  Can you tell us about this ceremony.

John: Well, you know people call me the Baptist, because that is what I do, I baptize.  I bring people into the Jordan River and I immerse them in the flowing water and I ask them to make a commitment to change their lives.

Interviewers:  But John, aren't all of the people whom you baptized good Jewish people.

John:  Well, yes they are but it is easy to get very lazy in one's religion and faith.  Sometimes we just think that we are automatically the same as our parents and that we don't have do work or perform our faith.  To use a baseball metaphor, Sometimes we act like we've hit a triple when we were born on third base.  I am saying that each person has to start over and to make promises to God.

Interviewer:  John, why do people have to come to the Jordan River.  We have some very lovely spas in Jerusalem which would be fine for baptism.

John:  I want my friends to come to the Jordan River.  The Jordan River was the last barrier before the people of Israel entered their Promised Land.  I want people to "re-enter" the Promised Land of obedience to God.

Interviewer:  John I heard that you baptized a very special person recently.

John:  Yes, I am a little embarrassed to say, that I baptized my cousin, Jesus of Nazareth.

Interviewer:  Why are you embarrassed John?

John:  Jesus is my cousin and best friend.  We have grown up together and learned together about the ways of God.  I can only teach people so much.  I want people to graduate from my program of learning and become students and followers of Jesus.  I know that he has a very special ministry and I know that I am to support his ministry.  I am humbled that he asked me to baptize him.

Interviewer:  Jesus, why did you ask John to baptize you.

Jesus: Well, John is my cousin and good friend.  I am a member of his community.  He and and do not compete with each other because we know that we both have special teaching roles for the people who live here.

Interviewer:  John, what happened when you baptized Jesus?

John: Well, there was a flash of light and it seemed as though a beautiful dove came down and there was a voice from heaven which spoke to Jesus and said, "You are my beloved Son.  I am pleased with you."

Interviewer:  Jesus, is this true?

Jesus:  Yes, it is but it happened to me so it could be shared.

Interviewer:  What do you mean?

Jesus: This voice told me that I was God's Son, so that everyone could come to know that each boy and girl and man and woman is a child of God too.

Interviewer:  So you aren't the only child of God.

Jesus:  Oh, no.  I am like the big brother who came to show all people that they were created by God and made in God's image to be sons and daughters of God.  And so I was baptized by John and I commanded my disciples to baptize others so that they might know themselves to be sons and daughters of God.

Interviewer:  Wow!  That is fantastic.  Thank you John and Jesus for sharing this good news about baptism with us.  And remember everyone:  You are invited to know yourself as a son or daughter of God.  That's all the time we have today.  I am signing off from the Jordan River and now back to our studios in Jerusalem.

Liturgy

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

January 11, 2015: Epiphany 1: The Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Gathering Songs:

 There Is One Lord, Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, God is So Good

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit

People: And Blessed be God’s Kingdom, Now and forever. Amen.

Song: There is One Lord (Renew # 161)

There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; there is one God who is Father of all.

 (Twice to begin, once after each solo verse)

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

Liturgist: A reading from the Book of Genesis

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Liturgist: Let us read together a verse from Psalm 29  

Ascribe to the LORD, you gods, * ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his Name; * worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; * the LORD is upon the mighty waters.

The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice; * the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor.

My faithfulness and love shall be with him, * and he shall be victorious through my Name.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:        The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark  

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon:  

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Your prayers are asked for the health and comfort of  Bill, Cindy, Ginger, JP, Alan, Lou, John, Crystal,  

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Liturgist:        The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:            And also with you.

Offertory: Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Song: Jesus Loves Me, This I Know (# 104 in All the Best)

1-Jesus loves me, this I know.  For the Bible tells me so.  Little ones to him belong.  They are week but He is strong.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus Loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  The Bible tells me so.

2-Jesus love me. He who died.  Heaven’s gates to open wide.  He will wash away my sin, let His little child come in.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  The Bible tells me so.

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist.

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.

Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we

   Forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(Children may gather around the altar)

The Celebrant now praises God for the salvation of the world through

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

  this food and drink that becomes a part of us.

The Prayer continues with these words

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us that we may love God and our neighbors.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, “Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this Holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ; and that his  presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By  Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing, (Children may rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

Our Father (Sung): (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:        Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration.

Communion Song: Jesus Loves the Little Children (# 30 in All the Best)

Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world.  Red and yellow, black and white, They are precious in His sight; Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: God is So Good (# 31 in  All the Best)

1-God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He’s so good to me.

2-He cares for me, He cares for me, He cares for me, He’s so good to me.

3-I’ll do His will, I’ll do his will, I’ll do his will, He so good to me.

4-He is my Lord, He is my Lord, He is my Lord, He’s so good to me.

Dismissal:   

Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People: Thanks be to God!

Jesus, on the Eve of Bar Mitzvah?

2 Christmas  B January 4, 2014 
Jeremiah 31:7-14 Psalm 84 or 84:1-8
Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a  Luke 2:41-52
 
Lectionary Link

    As parents, when our children are born we imagine having the problems which Mary and Joseph had with their young son Jesus.  We can imagine that our children are prodigies until we settle for what children are in the proverbial "Lake Wobegon" where all the children are above average.

  What does a parent do with a genius child?  Can you imagine the adults in the life of Wolfgang Mozart?  He was composing as a child without struggle and it all seemed to come so easy.  What about when children are better in some skills than adults?  How do parents live with this situation?

  Today's Gospel lesson about the 12 year old boy Jesus is something like the story of a prodigy and the concept of the  movie  "Home Alone."  This was a long time before there was a Jerusalem Child Protective Services.  When Mary and Joseph were traveling in a caravan of people, they relied upon their prodigy son to meet up with the caravan and they assumed their village would help raise their son but about a day's trip from Jerusalem, Jesus could not be found in the caravan.  Mary and Joseph then had to make a day’s trip back to Jerusalem and then take three more days to finally find their son Jesus in the temple participating in the a typical question and answer session with the resident teachers of the Torah.

  Jesus was 12 when this took place.  The typical age for the bar mitzvah is thirteen.  The coming age rite was better defined in Talmudic times of the 3rd to 6th century but the Talmud was a time when the Oral Tradition of the Torah was finally written down.  So we have traditions which derive from the great rabbis of the time of Jesus, the schools of Hillel and Shammai.  Jesus in the temple was probably in the middle of a discussion between the various schools of rabbinical thought.  One of the discussion had to do with who should be taught the Torah.  One school thought that everyone should be taught the Torah whereas others thought that it was for those with a more special calling.  One could in an anachronistic sense call this unique story about the young Jesus when he was on  the eve of his bar mitzvah.  In a typical bar mitzvah the father of the boy makes a prayer of thanksgiving for being relieved of responsibility for the conduct of the boy because the boy has now been given responsibility for his own actions.  In the Gospel story it seems as though Jesus is willing to take that responsibility before his father and mother want him to.

  In the exchange of Jesus with his anxious and upset parent, his sayings are quite puzzling and if Jesus was perfect, I guess we would want to say he was also perfectly, adolescent in his aspirations to be older than others were going to allow him to be.  In his response he is really pushing the limits on the fifth commandment about honoring one's father and mother.

  "Mom and Dad, you are upset about me not returning to your home.  I am home right here in the Temple.  This is my Father's house and I must be about my Father 's business."

  Wow!  Poor Joseph just wanted Jesus to get back to the carpenter shop and work on mitering with his saw cuts.  And here Jesus wants to be an academic.  He wants to hang out with the teachers of the Torah.  And the amazing thing about Jesus is that he clearly has the aptitude for it even at the age of 12.

  What are we to make of this lone Gospel story about Jesus as a child?  What are we to make of the seeming separation of himself from his earthly parents and their home in Nazareth?

  This story functions within a constellation of puzzling "family value" statements attributed to Jesus during his ministry.  “If you don't leave family and home and follow me, you can't be my disciples.  Who is my mother, brother or sister?  The one who does the Father's will.  If you don't hate your family you can't be my disciple.”

  One of reason we are such Trinitarians as Christians is because of the sayings of Jesus.  With Jesus we arrive at the Fatherization of God.  I think that the rather enigmatic and shocking family value statements of Jesus represent the conditions of the formative eras of the Christian faith.  To be truthful, the Gospels represent sayings which pertain to the controversies within Judaism which led to the separation of Christianity from Judaism.  The Gospel represents time when families and communities were divided by their religious loyalties and commitment.  The disagreement led to open division between families and communities.  So the strong bonds of the natural family which would give advocacy to each family member within society had to give way to a spiritual family whereby a person gave up one's natural family for one's spiritual family.  And in this new family, one recognized God as one's Father and primary parent.

  This is hard for us to understand since we understand religion and faith to be something which is taught and shared in one's own family.  We understand like the Jews of old, the deep ethnic bonds of religious faith.

  But this is not the formative experience of the Gospel era and so we have their quite shocking family value statements which begin even when Jesus was a young boy.

  So how do you I and process this message today?  We survey it and ask ourselves how it applies to us and our modern life experience?

  Each of us like Jesus need to know that God is our heavenly parent and that we dwell in this world as God's house.  Adult and mature spirituality happens when we are not dependent or over determined by our parents views but when we have learn to transact with God as the one who becomes the one who "determines" our life.  This is a liberating experience of Christian adulthood; no longer either blaming our parents for our problems or simply parroting their faith views; but rather truly coming to know that God is the determining one in our lives.

  The other thing for us to learn from the ironic family value tradition of the Gospel is this: sometimes we have to part company with people close to us in order to obey God and make a creative advance in our lives of faith.  It is wonderful if our parents and friends do not assert themselves as competitors to our obedience to God but this is not always the case.

  So this story about Jesus as a child prodigy exists and functions within this ironic family value tradition of Gospel communities which were being formed within the crucible of division from Judaism.  We have to be honest about this to be honest to the Gospels, but we also have to be honest to come to know our identity as sons and daughters of God in the events of our own personal spiritual breakthroughs  And this is the greatest things which our brother Jesus taught us, even when he was but a child of twelve.  Amen.

The Intrepid Acolyte, January 2015