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Fathers of the Bible — Joseph, Jesus’s Earthly Father (Part 9)

46 After three days, they found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all those who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked them. “Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he said to them.
51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.
Luke 2:46-52

Dear God, I want to look at the emotions used to describe Mary and Joseph in this passage:

Astonished (verse 48)
Anxious (verse 48)
Confused (verse 50–“But they did not understand…”)

I know there have been times when I’ve been angry with my kids and ready to let them have it. So many times, however, I found that they had an explanation for what they had done that made perfect sense from their perspective. They weren’t being rebellious. They weren’t being defiant. They were just doing what they thought was right.

In this story, I can only imagine the fear and anxiety both Mary and Joseph felt. Who would have guessed that the boy was in the temple, holding court? I wonder if a younger Caiaphas was there too. How about a younger Nicodemus? No matter. The people who were there were “astounded” (verse 47) by his questions. It probably doesn’t get enough attention that Jesus isn’t portrayed as sitting there and giving a bunch of answers. He’s portrayed as asking amazing, insightful questions. He obviously had a lot on his mind that he was figuring out and now he had an opportunity to be in the temple in Jerusalem to access the people who were supposed to know the answers. Of course it was necessary for him to be in his Father’s house!

It’s clear that Mary and Joseph had no idea how to raise this particular boy. His needs didn’t fit into any particular paradigm. I wonder how inadequate Joseph felt around him when it came to these types of questions I’m sure he asked at home as well as in the temple. I wonder what kinds of conversations Mary and Joseph would have about Jesus when they were by themselves. Or even what kinds of conversations Joseph would have with his friends who knew Jesus.

Father, I know I have certainly felt over my head when parenting my children through the years. I’m sure Joseph felt that much more so. He must have continuously wondered, “Am I enough for this boy? Am I adequate to raise God’s son?” I’m sure that this responsibility deepened his own prayer life and his own relationship with you. How could it not have? Help me to follow this example and to sink deeper into you as I continue to pray for my children and that you will give them what you need them to have from me, my wife, and those around them.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

Emails to God – Mob Mentality, Part 2 (Matthew 21:12-17)

30 Mar

¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

¹⁶ “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

“‘From the lips of children and infants
you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”

¹⁷ And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Dear God, is it bad to say that I can sympathize with the chief priests here? I talked a couple of days ago about getting caught up in a mob mentality and a situation that overwhelms your ability to process it and cope. Well, the chief priests were sitting there, geared up for the Passover, probably a little stressed, and then here comes Jesus. He turns over tables and rebukes a lot of people who are changing money and selling doves. He creates a ruckus by healing people. Children start not only singing to him, but basically saying that they believe he is the Messiah by calling him the Son of David. Things were getting out of control and they were indignant. They lost it in a way that was tragic, and their responses that day set them on a path that would continue beyond Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. The path would dictate how they responded to the Christian church for decades and centuries. I can’t imagine what would have happened if they had embraced Jesus as the Messiah that day. What would Jesus have done then?

I hit my mental and emotional overload yesterday. Every time I turned around at work someone was coming to me with another problem. Some of them are just hard, but one, in particular, is vexing, and, now that I think about it, it is important that I handle it correctly now because I can see that my response will have ramifications on the Center, a patient, and even some of our staff for a long time to come. I found myself, yesterday, disagreeing with some of my staff that wanted to take a harder line in a certain situation, but I was able to show them that a more tender and merciful path would be better. I don’t know where it will end, but I think I was able to avoid the peer pressure and make a wise decision.

Father, while the decision MIGHT have been the right one, I still need you in this particular situation. I need you to love the patient in question. This person needs your healing. We need you to heal her. Please do so with your mercy and your power, if you are willing. I need you to reveal yourself to all of us as we move through difficult situations like this. It applies to parenting too, as well as my marriage. We all make decisions every day that have the potential to reverberate for years and years. Please help me to be wise when these situations come up, avoid what tradition says I should do, and embrace what you call me to do. Love through me, even at my own expense. Pride accomplishes nothing for me. It only hinders your Spirit and what you try to do through me. So help me to be humble as I seek your path.

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Posted by John D. Willome on March 30, 2012 in Matthew

Tags: Bible Study, Devotions, Jesus, Jesus in the Temple, Matthew, Prayer