"And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor."
--Luke 2:52Tucked at the end of the second chapter of Luke's gospel, extending from the narrative of Jesus' birth, is the one account we have of Jesus growing from a child into an adult. He is twelve years old and accompanies his family on the yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. When the family returns home toward Nazareth in the north, Jesus stays in Jerusalem. Realizing his absence, his frantic parents return to the holy city and--after searching three days--they discover Jesus sitting among the teachers, "listening and asking them questions." "And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers." The anxious Mary and Joseph overflow with angry emotion (and a great deal of relief). The young Jesus responds that it shouldn't have been such a puzzle: Don't they know that he needs to be in this place of spiritual nurture ? That he is a part of God's family? His parents don't understand what he means at first, but Mary later treasures the depth of the journey and the life of her son that is unfolding.
The Jesus of Luke 2:41-52 is roughly Confirmation-age. I asked the members of the 2008 Class: What are some of ways you want to grow with Jesus? Their responses were thoughtful and sensitive: "to grow in kindness and generosity, like Jesus;" "learning to do the right thing, especially when its hard to do;" maturing in their ability to be "helpful and cooperative" with other people; to "become wiser," which will require ongoing learning.
One said that she wanted to follow Jesus the best way that she could, to learn to be like him as much as possible, but that it is hard sometimes because he is "perfect" and we are not. Giving voice to this joy and struggle of discipleship was an important contribution for her to make and provided that class with a wonderful opportunity.
We acknowledged that "perfection," in our understanding, usually means "flawless" or "unattainable." But I was able to tell the young people that the Greek word translated "perfect" in the New Testament is teleois; it means "whole" or "complete," rather than flawless. The life of Jesus offers the promise of "wholeness" and the experience of "completion," even when we have experienced brokenness in our lives.. Jesus is "fully human," and we are called to the fulfillment of our God-given humanity, in all its wonder and difficulty. The light of Jesus can illuminate wonders in our lives that we have been unaware of or have paid little attention to, and our ongoing growth throughout life becomes the promise of God full-filled!
One of the class members said that flawlessness is "not a good thing," because we "learn from our mistakes." Wow! No mistakes could equal no learning. There's some insight! Flawlessness might even be boring. (That brought an "Amen!" from the pastor). When you think of our lives as an artistic endeavor (we are God's artwork, and in a creative partnership with God) sometimes the things you didn't plan are the most interesting.
In that regard, another member of the class volunteered that she didn't see Jesus as "perfect." A "perfect" person, she thought, would be happy all of the time and would please others. The Jesus of the gospels doesn't fit the bill in either case. We even noted his troubled payer in the garden of Gethsemane. But we were able to contrast worldly notions of "perfection" with the wholeness of Jesus' life and the movement of God's ever-creative Spirit. The Jesus of the gospels does not seek to please people, but is authentic and available; he not only opens up his own humanity vulnerably to share, but he eagerly makes space to receive the humanity fo others. He is fully himself to the end, even death on the cross. Jesus lives the life of agape love completely, and makes it available to us.
I marvel and rejoice on these Wednesday evenings when the teacher becomes the student, and vice-versa. The young folks ask great questions, and move me with their understanding and inspiration. But why not? Don't I realize that they need to be in this place of spiritual nurture?
And that as they grow with Jesus, in that wisdom that God intends, they are gracious enough to invite me along. I treasure that.
The Jesus of Luke 2:41-52 is roughly Confirmation-age. I asked the members of the 2008 Class: What are some of ways you want to grow with Jesus? Their responses were thoughtful and sensitive: "to grow in kindness and generosity, like Jesus;" "learning to do the right thing, especially when its hard to do;" maturing in their ability to be "helpful and cooperative" with other people; to "become wiser," which will require ongoing learning.
One said that she wanted to follow Jesus the best way that she could, to learn to be like him as much as possible, but that it is hard sometimes because he is "perfect" and we are not. Giving voice to this joy and struggle of discipleship was an important contribution for her to make and provided that class with a wonderful opportunity.
We acknowledged that "perfection," in our understanding, usually means "flawless" or "unattainable." But I was able to tell the young people that the Greek word translated "perfect" in the New Testament is teleois; it means "whole" or "complete," rather than flawless. The life of Jesus offers the promise of "wholeness" and the experience of "completion," even when we have experienced brokenness in our lives.. Jesus is "fully human," and we are called to the fulfillment of our God-given humanity, in all its wonder and difficulty. The light of Jesus can illuminate wonders in our lives that we have been unaware of or have paid little attention to, and our ongoing growth throughout life becomes the promise of God full-filled!
One of the class members said that flawlessness is "not a good thing," because we "learn from our mistakes." Wow! No mistakes could equal no learning. There's some insight! Flawlessness might even be boring. (That brought an "Amen!" from the pastor). When you think of our lives as an artistic endeavor (we are God's artwork, and in a creative partnership with God) sometimes the things you didn't plan are the most interesting.
In that regard, another member of the class volunteered that she didn't see Jesus as "perfect." A "perfect" person, she thought, would be happy all of the time and would please others. The Jesus of the gospels doesn't fit the bill in either case. We even noted his troubled payer in the garden of Gethsemane. But we were able to contrast worldly notions of "perfection" with the wholeness of Jesus' life and the movement of God's ever-creative Spirit. The Jesus of the gospels does not seek to please people, but is authentic and available; he not only opens up his own humanity vulnerably to share, but he eagerly makes space to receive the humanity fo others. He is fully himself to the end, even death on the cross. Jesus lives the life of agape love completely, and makes it available to us.
I marvel and rejoice on these Wednesday evenings when the teacher becomes the student, and vice-versa. The young folks ask great questions, and move me with their understanding and inspiration. But why not? Don't I realize that they need to be in this place of spiritual nurture?
And that as they grow with Jesus, in that wisdom that God intends, they are gracious enough to invite me along. I treasure that.
I think that we can all grow in God in one way or another. It doesnt matter what form, but we can all atleast try in some way.
ReplyDelete