Christmas is over for some, the season continues for others, and the New Year is soon upon us. Right now as I prepare for another Sunday, I am unwrapping a gift that is perfect for this moment. It is Luke chapter two. This week in church we will hear a simple story of Mary and Joseph following through with the patterns of their faith, taking the baby Jesus to the Temple for his presentation. Keep reading, and Luke’s narrative tells about their annual faith journey to Jerusalem. These are stories of a family whose lives are both ordinary and extraordinary. And if any of us take a moment to consider how our lives have both threads woven into the narrative of our lives…. we will see the connection. Luke weaves into his narrative, little clues to the faith practices of the holy family. He tells us matter-of-factly, “Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover…” Later in the narrative, Luke will tell us of the Sabbath and synagogue “customary” practices Jesus kept. Throughout the gospel, we also hear of his frequent and consistent personal prayer life.
Therefore, we could look at these texts as providing a strong benchmark against which we may judge our last year, and a great role model for all of our new year’s resolutions for our faith life. Through Luke’s narrative the Lord has provided examples of people serious about their faith, devoted to one another, and faithful in worship attendance and personal devotion. We read how the holy family gave what they could, humble though they were. They followed patterns that helped to define who they were in respect to all others and also patterns that helped them live well by putting healthy order to work, worship and rest. I imagine that the end of the year is a time of personal assessment for many. How did we do with personal goals in 2017? How might we do in 2018? In 2018, if we wish a closer walk with the Lord, what will that look like? How do we do that?
The holy family provides much to think about; they really are a gift. Humility, trust, love, determination, protection, caution, and courage can be seen in the many stories in all the Gospel accounts. The example of Jesus moreover provides us with “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) But how does one accomplish this? The answer is simple and difficult at the same time; it requires discipline. If we hope to live the Jesus life, then we need to know the Jesus truth, and to follow the Jesus way. “The way, the truth, and the life” is a simple phrase to say, and yet it requires so much more to live it day by day. The Apostle Peter in his first letter described his understanding of the required process: it was to copy the way of Jesus in our own lives, just as children in penmanship class copy the letters on the top of the page. In First Peter 2:21, he says that Jesus has provided the “letter above,” the hypogrammos that we might learn from him. Just as penmanship takes practice, so does the faith-filled life; it doesn’t just happen.
My hope is that as we learn the Jesus Truth, and as we practice the Jesus Way, we will come closer to the Jesus Life. This is the way to a genuine, deep and fuller life. Perhaps we hear in this story of the holy family an inviting kind of sincerity; the kind we hope for ourselves. Jesus and his family do these things simply because this is who they are. Perhaps we hear in the life of Jesus a sweet story of integrity; the kind we desire in our life. Perhaps in Jesus, we encounter a God-driven compassion, which will provide our integrating purpose. May we learn from the holy family and our Lord, follow their practice, and be blessed with the abundant life Jesus came to give.
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month our contributor is Reverend Mark Ditmanson of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Marais.
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