It’s always weird when a celebrity comes back to the place they grew up – they have a new identity and influence, yet people see them through lenses formed long ago. Everyone grows up somewhere, goes to school, plays sports, makes friends – and enemies. For Jesus, that somewhere was Nazareth, which is where he and his family settled upon return from their time of refuge in Egypt once King Herod had died (Matthew 2:19-23). And his townspeople were pretty sure they knew him. Even as he manifested a very different skill set than the one needed for carpentry, and as his fame grew, they were pretty sure they knew him.
Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
Joseph’s son was how they knew him. Joseph’s son was predictable. But this man had another Father as well, and that paternity was now being revealed. When he said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” Jesus was owning his divine identity, his messianic mission. That life would not prove so predictable.
Do we ever feel proud of Jesus? Do we feel we know him? It can be hard to feel gratitude or pride when we’re just so used to him being around. Those who have grown up in the church have heard about this guy our whole lives. We know his life story, his teachings, his miracles. He’s a stained glass window in the background. How can he surprise us?
Try this: Go back to the beginning. As many glimpses as I may have caught of Jesus over the years, I know I don’t have a clue. So I read the Gospels as though I’m being introduced to Jesus – who is he? I pray, “Let me know you, as you know me.” Occasionally I get words in my mind which I feel are him speaking; they reveal a little about him. I ask him for inspiration in ministry, and sometimes am flooded with ideas. That shows me a little about who he is. Prayer, study, ministry, worship – these are some of the best ways we have of getting to know Jesus. What's your strategy?
This Jesus, who lives in us and through us and around us, is not completely knowable in this life, and yet is much more than a stained glass saint. “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened,” he promised (Luke 11:10). As we seek him, we find him, and find he isn’t anything like we expected.
No comments:
Post a Comment