By the Light of the Moon

Up in the dark sky there is just a sliver of a moon sliding down toward the western horizon.  It is not the kind of moon which is going to dispel deep darkness, but it reminds us that what can be seen is only a small portion of what is invisible.  The whole of the moon has not disappeared.  Only a small  portion of it can be seen in the darkness of this night.   But, it is there.  It is always there.  It is as it has been since the beginning of the creation recorded in the book of Genesis. It has been present in every night sky since then as the silent one who watches over us.     

The moon has at some places and times been the object of worship of pagan people, but for those whose eyes are sensitive to the Light the Spirit brings into the world, it is a part of the creation which enables us to experience revelation of the God who brought it into being.  As the moon reveals itself to us, so does God reveal Himself to us.  To see the sphere in the heavens is to gain understanding about the way God is choosing to reveal Himself to us.     

God is always present with us.  Sometimes it seems that it is the night of the darkened moon, but, He is still hanging out in the shadows waiting for us to look for Him in the unlikely places where His Light is not really expected to shine.  And, of course, through the ordinary moments we often catch glimpses of His presence.  It may not be the full revelation we hope to experience, but there are those moments which give assurance to us that even as we see Him in part, He remains fully present with us.  And what glory is ours to know when His presence lightens our spirit like the full moon in the heavens lightens the dark sky making all that has been invisible visible.   

The Promise Maker

Today as I drove home along a long stretch of expressway, I was reminded of the story of Noah.  Of course, what gave the reminder was the arching spectacular rainbow which reached from the road ahead of me into a distant place that I could not see.  The bands of color were sharp and the color was beyond any of those crayon sticks I used to find in my desk when I was learning about art work in elementary school.  At one point it seemed that I would surely drive into the rainbow, but by the time I arrived where it seemed to be, it was gone to another place.    

Anyone who spent a few hours in Sunday School as a child knows that the rainbow was a sign for Noah that there would be no more floods such as floated the ark for some forty days.  About the rainbow the Word of God says, "God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant that I make between you and Me and every living creature that is with you..."  (Genesis 9:12)   At first glance the rainbow reminds us of the ancient story and the promise God made to the faithful servant known as Noah, but on a larger scale it points us toward an understanding of God that is extremely important to all of us.    

This important word is that God is a Promise Maker and a Promise Keeper.  Go through the Word and start underlining all the promises God has made to His people.  And, then, get a notebook and start writing down all the promises God has kept which have impacted your life.  By the time the work of reading and writing is done, everyone of us will be kneeling in awe and raising our hands in thanksgiving to this gracious God.  He is a Promise Maker and Promise Keeper.  Every moment of our living bears witness to this divine reality.  Praise the Lord for His gracious goodness to each one of us!

The Unhurried One

It is not always easy to make room for the unexpected someone who shows up in the midst of our hurrying and wants a few minutes that we just do not figure we have to give.  What is easier is to make some dismissive comment which implicitly says, "I am in  hurry," and then move on to wherever it is we are hurrying without even looking over our shoulder.  It is an art that many of us have mastered over the years of living our lives in a hurry.  If degrees were given for making the master getaway, I would have a wall full of certificates by now.    

In these later years life has slowed down a bit.  Or, maybe I have slowed down a bit, too, as I intentionally work at paying attention.  Retirement has a way of bringing to the surface the things of the past which could have been done differently and better and then gracing us with a few moments of extra time to see if we really learned anything.  In the midst of our continued struggle it is good to read the gospel narratives of the way Jesus stopped from whatever it was that He was doing to respond to someone in need who called out for a few minutes of His time.  Again and again we see Him taking time for others even when His disciples pressed Him to press on to wherever.    

We all have our role models for living.  There is, of course, none any better than Jesus.  The thing about this life with Jesus is that we are not called to live as one who is constantly straining and stretching to make our lives like His life, but as those who are called to a life that speaks of Him abiding in us and us abiding in Him.  As we enter into such a life and submit ourselves to all it means, the things we want to do and should do that we do only because we force ourselves to do them are the things we do naturally and spontaneously because of His unhurried and caring presence within us.  

Experienced Blessing Hunter

I look back over the years with more than just a small degree of amazement.  First of all, I am still here.  So many who started the journey are gone.  Their families grieved over the loss of a loved child long before it should have ever happened.  And as the check out clerk said today, "Oh, I am fine.  God woke me up and here I am at work."  What was true for her is true for us each day.  When we wake up, put our feet  on the floor, and walk to wherever we want to go, it is more than just a good day.  It is a blessed day indeed.     

Yet, we often live so much with our eyes on what we think might be better that we miss the simple and ordinary blessings which are coming to us each day.  It is easy to live with the attitude, "Poor me" which excludes the possibility of blessing awareness.  It is easy to look around and see others who simply must be living a better life.  Life is so full of blessings.  Some years ago Ann Voskamp wrote a book entitled "1000 Gifts" which was written around her experience of writing a daily gratitude journal.  And while I lack the discipline of the author, I still work at it and encourage others to follow her example.     

We tend to live such little lives without a genuine sense of gratitude for that which comes to us through divine mercy and grace instead of human effort.  Of course, even being able to exert the human effort is not about us, but about God granting us the strength to pick ourselves up and go forward.   Gratitude is not something to be forced into our lives, instead, it only comes as we become aware of the blessings which are being showered upon us daily.  Some of them are obvious and some seem to hide midst the darkness of the difficulties which are a part of our lives, but the experienced blessing hunter sees them all.  Let us pray for one another that we receive the gift of being an experienced blessing hunter.

No Wings

Sometimes sermons did not fly.  Every preacher has written a few of these if the preaching has gone on a few years.  A sermon that does not fly is one that should not be preached.  Oh, it can be preached, but it is best just thrown in the trash basket, or put aside for more work on another day.  As I remember those thrown away sermons, I remember them as not being so bad.  They just did not have any fire in them.  Or, maybe it would be more appropriate to say, there was no inner fire for preaching them.   

What must be confessed is that I have preached a few of those sermons that should not have been preached.  It is easy to rationalize a bad sermon into a good one on Saturday night.  But, such rationalization does not make for a good sermon on Sunday morning.  Preaching a sermon that should not be preached is like holding up a load of bricks.  By the time the sermon is finished, the preacher is worn out.    There have also been a few times when I came to Saturday night knowing I held a dud in my hands,  that I had no fire for preaching it, and threw it down, and went to bed trusting the Lord to figure it out the next morning.  

While I never recommend that any preacher go into the pulpit without a well thought out sermon, sometimes such does happen.  Why I do not recommend it is that it is a formula for laziness.  But, now and again the Spirit says no to the preacher with such force that the only choice that makes sense is to trust the Spirit and find out what it is that He wants to do during the preaching hour.  While it is always a frightening place for the preacher to stand, it is better to stand in the pulpit in faith rather than standing there with a sermon which has no wings.  

Dancing Feet

In these retirement years I have become a watcher.  I am aware that I am paying attention to life around me more than I used to do.  No longer do I feel like I am hurrying to nowhere fast.  At least, such is true part of the time.  A slower pace has created more time to watch.  This watching has made me more of a people watcher.  Today while waiting for a bag of lunch in a fast food eatery, I watched a guy at the table across the room as he watched the laptop open on his table.  He was from the wrinkles on his face and the graying around his face pushing fifty.  He had finished eating and was intently watching whatever was on the screen.    

So, he was oblivious to most everything even an older people watcher across the room.  What really caught my attention was his feet.  The music filling the air was a little faster than most hymns are sung on Sunday morning in church, it was loud, and it had a strong beat.  I wondered as I watched if he knew his feet were dancing while every other part of it was still as a rock planted in cement.  Up and down with music they went and when the music stopped, they stopped as well.  Nothing else changed.   

The guy kinda reminded me of what it is like to be a United Methodist.  We sit still as rock in worship, but every now and then there rises up within us a need to raise our hands in praise, so we turn them over with palms up on our knees, or we hear some powerful music and our toes start tapping like we about to square dance, or we hear a profound spiritual truth that requires that we become like the old time shouting Methodist and we softly whisper "Amen."  All the while the rest of shows no awareness that something is stirring some place deep within us.  We just sit there like a room full of rocks poured in cement.  Every now and again we should get up and dance!   

Praying for a Preacher

I pulled a book entitled "Prayer" by E. M. Bounds off the shelf tonight.  I have discovered over the years that nothing encourages me in my prayer life like being immersed in what this 19th century preacher wrote about prayer.  He was one of those souls who rose at 4 am to pray and somewhere along the way, he also began to write about what he had learned about prayer as well as his convictions about its power.  When I was preaching every Sunday, I kept it on a very accessible shelf next to the desk in my office.   

However, tonight as I flipped through a few pages, my mind went to another prayer warrior whose prayers touched my life and my preaching.  One Sunday while leading worship in Richmond Hill, I sensed a need to leave the pulpit area for some water.  This meant opening a side door and walking down a few steps to the water cooler which was just down the hall.  When I opened the door, John was sitting on the steps which was strange for a number of reasons, but there he was, nonetheless.     

Later I talked to him and asked him what he was doing since he had already been to early worship and Sunday School.  By the time I saw him he should have been on his way home.  What I discovered was that it was his practice to sit on those steps and pray for me while I was preaching.  It was something not known by many and I only found it out because I needed a swallow of water.  We preachers are sometimes tempted to think the good sermons we sometimes preach are all about us.  I found out differently that morning.   

Being Like a Nail

It is not always the big grandiose things experienced in life which have life changing power.  Perhaps, if I had ever made it to one of those gigantic Billy Graham crusade which filled a stadium, I would feel differently.  But, the truth is that my spiritual journey has been marked more with simple small things than the big stuff.  And, to let the memories control the story is to know that in many cases redundancy did more to direct my journey than I would have ever thought.   

I am a spiritual product of a thousand Sunday evening worship services while growing up.  Of course, I went on Sunday mornings and while I often thought once a Sunday was enough, my parents differed and always outvoted me.  Understand I was not always a willing participant, but I went, endured it, and let the spiritual stuff subconsciously soak into my soul.  When I became a pastor, that old habit of Sunday night worship went with me.   

Another similar influence took place during my first two years of college at Young Harris College in north Georgia.  Every evening after supper the chapel bell at Susan B. Harris Chapel sounded across the campus inviting whoever to come to evening vespers.  It was not a moment which drew the whole student body, but there was always a small crowd that gathered there each evening to sing songs like "Day is Dying in the West" and to hear some one offer a brief devotional word.  While I have other memories of those days, those memories of gathering in Susan B. are most special.  It seems that I was one of those who needed a lot of showing up to have what I needed in my spiritual life hammered in my spirit.  I am grateful for those who encouraged me to be like a nail.

Not Seen Again

We are seeing today what can never be seen again.  While there are those who would declare such an observation to be wrong since every day the same view is seen out the same window, or from the same porch, they are the ones who are wrong.  Nothing in this marvelous creation that the Creator God has made is the same in the next day, or even in the next moment.  A tall pecan tree may look the same every day, but every day there is something different about its movement toward growth, or death, and every day different living creatures find new sources of of nourishment from it.  Everything that is, constantly changes.    

What is amiss in our view of the world are eyes that look, but do not see.  Even as there is so much unseen stuff to see every day, there is also so much missed because we are not living with a mindfulness that keeps us primarily focused on where we are and who is with us.  And, of course, even when we are alone, we often find ourselves somewhere we are not.  All of this hinders us in really seeing who and what is sharing the present moment of our life.    "Take no thought for your life..."  ((Matthew 6:25) is what I learned from my old and first Bible which was a King James Version.   

This whole section of the Sermon on the Mount which begins with this verse calls us to not only lay anxiety and worry aside, but also to stay focused on today.  Surely, one of the things which keeps us from seeing that which can never be seen again is our inability, or unwillingness, to lay aside the other things which are behind us, or ahead of us, that vie for our attention in the present moment.  It only takes a moment to see what can never be seen again, and once we see, all we want to do is lift our hands in gratitude to a God who gifts us with one blessing after another after another.  

Sacred and Profane

The idea that one day is holy which implies that the other six are unholy was something which stayed rooted in me for a long time.  Too long.  And along with it was the parallel idea that the church was a holy place in a profane world.  Part of this came from a seminary course in theological school which had us reading a book by Mircea Eliade entitled, "The Sacred and the Profane."  Knowing me, I likely read it too fast and did not understand completely what the author was saying.  Nonetheless, I lived for a long time with this view of the world which made a few things sacred and holy and most everything else profane, or unholy.    

It was only when retirement took me away from the church and the holy place became more distant did I begin to struggle with the loss of the holy.  What came out of the struggle was the realization that the church was only one holy place midst a holy world.  There was something about walking daily with the creation unfolding around me that opened eyes to see what had not been seen.  Not only is the world a holy place, but every moment is a holy gift being given to us by the Creator who put us in the place we find ourselves.     

Others surely figured all this out long before me.  This is true of many who have shared the road of faith with me and true of many who have walked the road long centuries before me.  I confess to being a slow learner.  The world around us is not a perfect world as we might define perfection, but it is a holy world.  Perfection is not necessary for someone or something to be holy.  What is required is the hand print, or the creative breath of the Creator who has brought everything and everyone that is into being.  

An End of Sabbatarianism

I have a small problem with the Fourth Commandment which says, "Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy." (Exodus 20:8)   There has always been a sabbatarian streak in me.  I guess I grew up with it as I was told again and again about what could and could not be done on Sunday.  Sunday was special long before I knew it was special because it was designated as holy in the Scripture.  My problem has not been in seeking to observe the Sabbath.  It has not been in regarding it as a holy day.  Instead, the problem has been in regarding the seventh day as holy while understanding that all the others are holy, too.    

It took me a long time to come to a place of knowing that one day could be lived as a holy day even while choosing to live as if all the others days were holy, too.  Actually, every day is like everything else which bears the imprint of the Creator's hand.  Everyday from Monday to Saturday is holy even as is Sunday.  While the Word may speak of a different kind of life to be lived on the seventh day, this does not mean that every day that is filled with the work and living of life is not a holy day.    

What I have come to realize in these retirement years is that I do regard the seventh day which is known as Sunday as a holy day, one set aside for things like the worship of the Creator, this does not exclude the reality that all the other days are holy as well. So, I suppose I have come to the place of no longer being a sabbatarian.  All of this simply speaks of a greater awareness that I live in a holy creation where everything that is has been touched the hand of the Creator.  Keeping the Fourth Commandment does not mean that every other day is profane for whatever God brings into being can only be counted as holy.  

The Fourth Commandment

My journey in figuring out what to do with Sabbath has come a long way since the beginning instructions.  Like many of my era, there was a time when observing Sabbath had more to do with what not do than what to do.  My first remembrance of Sabbath instructions came from my father who at the time was not a practicing Christian, but an avid fisherman.  When he saw me wetting a hook one Sunday, he told me, "You don't fish on Sunday, give the fish a day of rest."    

And then there came another era when the Sabbath was all about duty and obligation to the point that it was stifling.  It seemed to me that all my friends got to watch Sunday night TV while I had to attend Sunday night worship after having been in Sunday School and Worship that very morning.  When I came home the first time from college and announced that I would not be going to church that Sunday, my mother had something to say about the rebel in her house that caused him to get out of bed, get dressed, and find his old place in the pew.  

Of course, what caused the dilemma for many of us was something which happened long centuries before we were born.  Moses went up on Mt. Sinai and came down with a tablet containing Ten Words he had received from God.  One of those simply stated, "Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy." (Exodus 20:8)  To read on a little further takes us into the messy world of work and rest.  It seems there are six days to work and one to rest which creates another set of problems for many of us. To be honest is to admit that I am at a different place now than I was when my father told me to give the fish a rest, but even now in these later years, my understanding of this commandment is still a work in progress.  

One Day

 Beyond here

   is there

     where eternity

       is joined

         with now

and what always 

  has been.

Inside this span

   of unseen time

      goodness and love,

        grace and hope,

,         abounding mercy,

and even redemption 

   surround us.

One day

    not yet here,

      but on the way,

        the sun will dawn.

          and we will rise

for the final journey   

     which takes us Home.    

Before

 Before I knew, 

     You knew, 

        You watched,

           You joined

              You created,

and You then dared

      to call me wonderfully made.

Before she knew,

     Before the sign,

        the stirrings within,

          the swelling belly,

            the sense of knowing,

You were making me in secret,

       nothing hidden from You.

Before I knew

     You loved me, 

        You had a plan

           not just any plan,

             but one for me,

And before they named me, 

     You knew me and called me son.

(Psalm 139:13-15)

             

The Pick and Choose Method

Most folks have favorite Bible verses.  Some folks have verses they would choose to cut out and throw away if such were an option.  And who knows?  Some feel so strongly against the inclusion of certain verses, they might as well take a pair of scissors to the Word.  And while no one has ever said they would like to get rid of II Timothy 3:16, I suspect there are some out there.  It says, "All scripture is inspired by God..."   The exclusion clan would rather the Word said, "some" instead of "all"   And, of course, the phase "inspired by God "  is certainly suspect since it was written by someone no different than anyone of us and really reflects both a specific time and culture.    

The idea that the Word of God could transcend both time and culture and continue to be both authoritarian and relevant is too big a step for some who practice a "pick and choose" approach to the Scripture.   A Word that had transcending power was no problem for Jesus.  The 4th chapter of Luke tells us of a moment when He came to Nazareth, went into the synagogue, and read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah,  When He finished the reading, rolled up the scroll, and sat down, He said, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your midst."  (Luke 4:21)     

To paraphrase an old spiritual, "If it is good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for me."  Those who practice the "pick and choose" method of reading and accepting the Word may speak of their belief that the Scripture written long ago no longer fits the accepted mores of society, but the truth is that they are also declaring themselves to be the authority in deciding what is the Word of God and what is not.  To read the Scripture with such a mindset is to read it with a "It is all about me" spirit which is a far cry from declaring the Biblical truth stated within the Word saying, "All Scripture is inspired by God."

Those Old Bibles

Back in the '90's I bought two Bible that were just alike.  Well, one was black and the other was blue, but everything inside was the same.  My plan was to use one as my study and pulpit Bible until it was worn out and then pick up the second one to finish out the years of ministry.  This particular Bible was chosen because it was thin which made it easy to handle in the pulpit and it was my translation of choice which was the New Revised Standard Version.  When the first one became too marked up and needed tape to hold it together, it went to my oldest daughter who for some reason let me know she would like to have it.  

Actually, I could understand her desire to have the old Bible.  I have one that belonged to my father, another one that was used by my mother, and still another which I found in my father-in-law's unwanted stuff after his death.  I count them all as treasures.  I do not read them, but now and again I will pick one of them up, hold it, turn the pages, and remember how each Bible was held and used in the faith journey of someone who has gone before me.  Most folks tend to mark certain passages, or stick things inside the pages of their Bibles which makes a passed down Bible all the better.    

Back in a day before my own, it was common practice for folks to have what was considered to be a family Bible which had pages in the front to record such things as births, marriages, and deaths.  The listing of all the family information enhanced the value of the Bible and was carefully passed from one generation to the next.  But, I think what makes these Bibles of ours special is not only the way they become personalized with the story of our families, but also with the underlining and marginal notes which tell something of the spiritual story of the one who first held it and read it as the Word of God.  

The Obscure Years XII

The obscure years began at the moment of holy conception in Nazareth when the Word became flesh among us.  It was, of course, a moment no one witnessed, a moment likely not realized at first even by Mary in whose womb the miracle took place, but in an unknown moment the Invisible Light of the World came into the darkness which was a part of this world.  Little is known about the early part of the journey of the Christ in our world.  There was a trip to Bethlehem, and Egypt, and then back to Nazareth.  And then there were journeys here and there until some thirty years later the One who had all but been invisible though visible among us made Himself visible for all to see.    

Those obscure years which began at conception and ended at the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized by a kinsman known to Him as John, but by everyone else as John the Baptizer.   The Word tells us that John leaped for joy in the womb of his mother Elizabeth when the just pregnant Mary came with the beginnings of the Christ child within her.  John had a role to play as the obscure years began and still another to play as they came to an end.  As the waters from the Jordan River began to dry upon the body of Jesus, washing away the invisibility of His presence, the obscure years came to an end.     

As the obscure years ended, the public years began.  The obscure years had been thirty or so in process and the public ones would last for about three years and then the now visible Christ would once again enter into the realm of the Invisible.  However, through all those years the Light of the World which has shined since before the beginning shined among us dispelling not only the darkness of the womb, but also the many shades of darkness present in the world.  During those final years of Jesus being visible among us, everyone would see that no darkness, no matter how great, no matter how personal, could prevail against the Light which came into Nazareth and prevailed even against the darkness of death itself.  

The Obscure Years XI

With so many children coming with such regularity, Mary must have had her hands full.  After Jesus was born there were four more boys born and at least two girls.  It is likely there were any unused and dull moments.  The possibilities bring to mind Susanna Wesley who had nineteen children with nine of them dying at birth.  Historians speaks of her as a disciplined mother who spent intentional time with each of her children each day.  Perhaps, Mary and Joseph had a similar home life, or then again, it may have been mostly sheer chaos.  Here is one of those Biblical mysteries we will not know in this life.    

For those who are prone to think of Jesus as an only child who had little difficulties with which to deal, this may change the picture a bit.  As we remember the Old Testament families of Genesis and beyond, we know that even those families with faithful parents had problems rearing children.  All the things that could go wrong often seemed to go wrong.  While Jesus was not sold into slavery by His jealous brothers, it is not hard to imagine that they might have had some degree of resentment toward Him as the oldest and One who seemed so favored at birth.    

Exactly how life was lived within the home when brothers and sisters were constantly being born is something we do not know about Jesus.  It is indeed a part of those obscure years.  It would probably be a mistake to think that the home was empty of strife just as it would be a mistake to think that it was always chaotic.  Mary and Joseph surely brought their faith to bear in the lives of their children.  They were faithful in their observance of community religious practices and faithful in their obedience to God.  Their spiritual influence did not create a  perfect home empty of the things with which families struggle, but it was an influence which provided guidance for everyone.  

The Obscure Years X

Tradition tells us that Joseph, the husband of Mary and the earthly father of Jesus, died in these obscure years Jesus spent in Nazareth.  He is mentioned in the story of Jesus in the Temple at age twelve.  "Child, why have you treated us like this?  Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety."  (Luke 2:48)  These words of Mary to her son declare that Joseph was alive when Jesus was twelve.  And then in Mark's gospel there is a story of Jesus returning to Nazareth where He taught in the synagogue.  Some of those who listened took offense that Jesus, who was one of them, would speak with such authority.  "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simons..."  (Mark 6:3)      

Here is a word which seems to point to the fact that Joseph had died.  Not only is Joseph not mentioned, but Jesus is spoken of as the carpenter of Nazareth which would indicate that He had taken the place of His father in the village shop.  As the oldest son, Jesus would have been trained in His father's trade and if His father died, He would be the one expected to provide for the rest of the family which was by this time rather large.  Apparently, Jesus spent enough years in the carpenter's shop to be known as a carpenter in the community of Nazareth.     Little is known about the relationship between Joseph and Jesus.  Actually, nothing is known.  What we think we know comes mostly from our conjecture and understanding of how things might have been in the culture of the day.  

But, surely one of the things Jesus dealt with in His relationship with Joseph was the grief and sense of loss that came to Him when His earthly father died.  He lived in the moment of Joseph's death and He stood as a mourner at His father's grave.  He comforted His mother and sought to be the man of the house for His younger brothers and sisters.  Surely, He wept even though He knew that there was more to the story of life than most would have dared to believe.   When we stand in such moments, we can be comforted by the knowledge that the Pioneer of our Faith has stood in that place before us and has even gone into the darkness of that place to overcome its darkness.      

The Obscure Years IX

In some ways the story of Jesus sticking around in Jerusalem for some personal Temple time when He was only twelve years old is an open window which enables us to see something of His family life.  It seems obvious that Mary and Joseph did not keep a tight rein on their oldest son.  Perhaps, the reason for this had to do with the trust He had earned with them over the years.  Regardless of the possibilities, the reality is that He was gone for a day before they realized He was not with them and then it was three more days before they found Him in the Temple.   Had they had the kind of rein on Jesus that many of today's parents try to keep on their children, none of the drama of those days would have taken place.   

It is also interesting that when they realized Jesus was missing, they looked for Him among friends and relatives.  This suggests to us that such a place would have been a natural place for Jesus to be.  Perhaps, back then it was more obvious than it seems to be now that a village is required to rear a child.  I remember as a teenager living in a small town where everyone knew everyone else's business and no adult seemed shy about saying a corrective word to a child or young person who might need it.  It seems that it was to this kind of community that Mary and Joseph entrusted their child.    

And finally, it is significant where Jesus was when He was found.  He was in the Temple.  Jesus was reared in a home where faith practices were observed, stories of faith were shared, and trust in God guided every move.  Both Mary and Joseph knew that God was doing something extraordinary through the life of this oldest son.  They knew He had been marked for the Father's business and they did everything possible to make sure that the center of their home gave support to what God was seeking to do in the life of His Son.  

The Obscure Years VIII

The most well known story of the obscure years in Nazareth actually does not take place in the hometown, but in Jerusalem.  In the second chapter of Luke there is a story of Jesus staying behind in the Temple after his parents had left for home.  The amazing thing to today's most protective parents is the way it took so long for Mary and Joseph to notice that their oldest was missing.  The Scripture says, "Assuming that He was in the group of travelers, they went a day's journey.  Then they started looking for Him among their relatives and friends.  When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him.  After three days they found Him in the Temple...."  (Luke 2:44-46)    

Unlike today's twelve year olds who might be a bit anxious if separated from their parents as was Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph showed no evidence of anxiety or concern.  When they found Him, He seemed surprised that they would not have known where to find Him.  "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" He asked them.  (Luke 2:49)  As we read the story we not only see a young boy who was well beyond His peers in understanding the things of the Father, but also One who had a strong sense of the inner spirituality which was shaping His life.   

While we might attribute this spiritual smartness and wisdom to the fact that He was divine as well as human, it is also true that His spiritual journey was shaped by the teaching and example of those whom He called mother and father there in Nazareth.  Their influence on this son of theirs and the Father's cannot be overestimated.  Not only did He learn from them by their words, but He also saw through their living within the family and within the community what it meant to live in obedience to God.  Nazareth and His home in that small town was fertile ground for the spiritual life being grown in One known as Son of God, Savior of the World.   

The Obscure Years VII

It is impossible to consider the obscure years in Nazareth without wondering about the relationship that likely existed between John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth who would later be know as John the Baptist, and Jesus who first visited John when both were in the wombs of their mothers.  While Elizabeth was much older than Mary, it was to Elizabeth that Mary went when the angel told her that she would miraculously bear a child conceived by the Spirit.  It is hard to imagine that the visit that day was the only visit the old woman and the young woman shared together.    

What seems more likely is that the two found an inseparable and mysterious bond which was a part of their lives until Elizabeth died.  Of course, they could not know in those beginning days the ways their two boys would be used by God and that one would be a messenger of the other.  It has always seemed logical to assume that there were many times when the two boys would be together and do boy things.  There is, of course, no record of such happening, but surely Elizabeth and Mary spent time together through the years they shared together.    

Each of the two heard the story of their unusual birth and each no doubt knew the story of the other.  And, because of these stories which joined them together while each was alive in the womb, they, too, likely knew an inseparable bond.  Each one must have sensed that their lives were joined together and it was probably only realized how much this was true when Jesus went to the Jordan River some thirty years after their relationship began to be baptized by the one known as John the Baptist.  

The Obscure Years VI

Jesus did not grow up in Nazareth as an only child.  By the time He reached those middle adolescent years, the house was overflowing.  Mark wrote a word about the family of Jesus in the 6th chapter of his gospel.  Jesus was teaching in the synagogue in Nazareth and there were some who listened not believing their ears as they said, "Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not His sisters here with us?  (Mark 6:3)      

As we listen to unkind words being directed toward Jesus, we learn that He had four brothers and at least two sisters.  The absence of any mention of Joseph suggests that he was no longer living and that Jesus had taken over as the carpenter in the shop of His earthly father.  Here is a bit of information that fuels our spirit of conjecture.  Growing up with so many siblings was no doubt hard in the impoverished environment in which they lived and with Joseph dead there were many duties and responsibilities which fell to the oldest son.    

While we do not know how many years he continued his earthly father's trade, it was surely long enough to learn about wood splinters in the hand, breathing sawdust in the air, aching shoulders, and dealing with cantankerous and unsatisfied customers.  In Nazareth He experienced first hand the life of the taken-for-granted poor people of society.  As we later see Him going about His Father's business, we see One who carried with Him from Nazareth a deep concern for the poor, the forgotten, and the least of the world.  

The Obscure Years V

A very wide fence is thrown up around the boyhood days of Jesus in Nazareth.  In Luke 2:40 the Word simply says, "The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon Him."   I suppose there are some who can take those few words and write volume after volume, but what I can discern is mostly what the heart hears and not what the mind knows.  Those early years for Jesus were surely much like the years of any child.    

Such an assumption can be made from the mysterious reality that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine.  The description of Him growing up seems to speak to His physical growth, His discerning spirit, and the way He experienced the blessings of the Father in heaven.  Much was expected of Him since He was the oldest son.  Not even the unusual circumstances of His birth would change this cultural reality.  The Temple story which finishes out the rest of the second chapter gives us insight into the spirit of Jesus which was already more attuned to the things of God than the ordinary pursuits of life.  At an early age He knew He was the son of Mary and Joseph, but also the son of the Most High.    

Those years of growing up in Nazareth were years which were surely shaped by His awareness of His story which was told to Him over and over again.  His parents were two godly people whose visible faith encouraged Him in His own search for the road which was unfolding before Him.  And, most importantly, the Spirit of all that was of God was growing in Him and finding not only a fertile heart, but a desire to do nothing more than to be obedient to whatever God had planned for His life.  Nazareth was then the place of beginning which would lead finally to the cross, the empty tomb, and eternity.  

The Obscure Years IV

The early part of John's gospel tells us of the calling of some of the disciples.  After Philip finds Jesus, he goes and finds his friend, Nathaniel who is described as sitting under a fig tree, and tells him about "...Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth."  (John 1:45)  Nathaniel is not impressed and with a great deal of sarcasm asks his friend, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  (John 1:46)  Nathaniel, of course, knows the answer to his question.  Nothing good could possibly come from a hole in the road like Nazareth.     

When I read about Nathaniel, I am always reminded that my faith journey and my calling to ministry had its origin a small church in a very small town.  Alamo is hardly much more than a dot on the map.  What I have discovered over the years is that there were many of my ministerial peers who were also called from the churches that were in little towns across south Georgia.  Logic would have said that the small town churches would not be the places where ministry started for so many, but logic does not always speak of the ways of the Spirit.   

Nazareth was not the kind of place which would provide significant spiritual leaders.  Its people were common folks who worked from one day to the next without any real thought of accumulation.  Poor, hardworking, and uneducated described those who lived in Nazareth.  Nothing good could be expected from such a place.  What Nathaniel would come to learn was that he was wrong.  And not only was he wrong, but the very Son of God who was about to change his life came from that easy to forget town of Nazareth.  

The Obscure Years III

While the story of Jesus which centers around Bethlehem is a most important part of our faith tradition, another story took place in the life of Jesus before the Star brought the men from the east to the stable to see the holy child.  It is a story which took place nine months before Bethlehem in Nazareth.  It was in Nazareth that the angel appeared to Mary saying, "...you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you will name Him Jesus."  (Luke 1:31)   When Mary reminded Gabriel of the impossibility of what he was saying, the angel spoke again saying, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you..."  (Luke 1:35)    

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but He was conceived in Nazareth.  The eternal Light which shined before Creation and brought all things into being shined first in the darkness of Mary's womb as she went about the routine of her life in a place so small it would hardly be worth noting on a map.  The Word did indeed become flesh (John 1:14), but it began in a way that no one could see and no one would ever celebrate.   

There are stories inside the many stories of the people who lived and worked and died in Nazareth in those days, but there is no story like the one which began unnoticed by all who lived in that place.   And when the unknown began to be known in the body of this young girl, there were surely some who counted the months as fodder for the gossip mills.  And in such a way the story of the Holy One started in a small town where everyone knew everyone's business, or at least thought they did.