Today’s Readings: Psalm 122; Genesis 37:1-11; Luke 2:41-52; Acts 16:35-40; Psalm 15
As a child, I always thought it was odd to run into one of my school teachers in a different setting like, say, the post office or supermarket. I thought that because I had a pretty rigid way of compartmentalizing the world. Teachers belonged in school; postal carriers belonged in the post office; grocery clerks belonged in the supermarket. It was difficult for me to realize that people and things often crossed lines. I’m not the only one to have this tendency to compartmentalize. Jesus’ parents had a similar tendency in today’s passage from Luke. You see Mary and Joseph saw Jesus primarily as their child; consequently, they expected him to be with them at all times. Where else would he be? Then suddenly Jesus turned up missing. Of course it turned out Jesus was in a place that revealed a different aspect of Jesus’ nature: the Temple. The only way they could locate Jesus was by think about Jesus in new ways: not just as their child, but as one passionately connected to God. It was only when they re-thought their perception of Jesus, that they were able to find him..All of this is to say that part of our challenge as human beings is to fight the temptation to compartmentalize things and open ourselves to larger experiences of the world. I find this particularly true when it comes to our tendencies to compartmentalize things into the sacred and the secular. We often end up putting God into boxes and only looking for God in those places we would expect to find God. Today, I invite you to open your view and look for God’s presences in at least one place you would least expect to find God. You just might be surprised where God turns up. Til next time…
As a child, I always thought it was odd to run into one of my school teachers in a different setting like, say, the post office or supermarket. I thought that because I had a pretty rigid way of compartmentalizing the world. Teachers belonged in school; postal carriers belonged in the post office; grocery clerks belonged in the supermarket. It was difficult for me to realize that people and things often crossed lines. I’m not the only one to have this tendency to compartmentalize. Jesus’ parents had a similar tendency in today’s passage from Luke. You see Mary and Joseph saw Jesus primarily as their child; consequently, they expected him to be with them at all times. Where else would he be? Then suddenly Jesus turned up missing. Of course it turned out Jesus was in a place that revealed a different aspect of Jesus’ nature: the Temple. The only way they could locate Jesus was by think about Jesus in new ways: not just as their child, but as one passionately connected to God. It was only when they re-thought their perception of Jesus, that they were able to find him..All of this is to say that part of our challenge as human beings is to fight the temptation to compartmentalize things and open ourselves to larger experiences of the world. I find this particularly true when it comes to our tendencies to compartmentalize things into the sacred and the secular. We often end up putting God into boxes and only looking for God in those places we would expect to find God. Today, I invite you to open your view and look for God’s presences in at least one place you would least expect to find God. You just might be surprised where God turns up. Til next time…
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