Readings

FIRST LESSON

The first lesson is from Thomas the Israelite Philosopher's Account of the Infancy of Jesus

I, Thomas the Israelite, have deemed it necessary to make known to all the brethren of the heathen the great things which our Lord Jesus Christ did in his childhood, when he dwelt in the body in the city of Nazareth, going in the fifth year of his age.

On one of the days, there being a rainstorm, he went out of the house where his mother was, and played on the ground where the waters were flowing. And he made pools, and brought in the waters, and the pools were filled with water. Then he said: It is my will that you become clear and excellent waters. And they became so directly. And a certain boy, the son of Annas the scribe, came past, and with a willow branch which he was carrying threw down the pools, and the water flowed out. And Jesus turning, said to him: O impious and wicked, how have the pools wronged you, that you have emptied them? You shall not go on your way, and you shall be dried up like the branch which you art carrying. And as he went along, in a short time he fell down and died. And when the children that were playing with him saw this, they wondered, and went away and told the father of the dead boy. And he ran and found his child dead, and he went away and reproached Joseph, saying: It is impossible for you to live with us in this city: but if you wish to do so, teach your child to bless, and not to curse: for he is killing our children, and everything that he says is certainly accomplished.

And Joseph was sitting in his seat, and the child stood before him; and he took hold of Him by the ear, and pinched it hard. And Jesus looked at him steadily, and said: It is enough for you.

And on the day after he took him by the hand, and led him to a certain teacher, Zacchaeus by name, and said to him: O master, take this child, and teach him his letters. And he said: Hand him over to me, brother, and I shall teach him the Scripture; and I shall persuade him to bless all, and not to curse. And Jesus hearing, laughed, and said to them: You say what you know; but I know more than you, for I am before the ages. And I know when your fathers' fathers were born; and I know how many are the years of your life. And hearing this, they were struck with astonishment. And again Jesus said to them: You wonder because I said to you that I knew how many are the years of your life. Assuredly I know when the world was created.

Behold, you do not believe me now. When you see my cross, then will you believe that I speak the truth. And they were struck with astonishment when they heard these things.

And Zacchaeus, having written the alphabet in Hebrew, said to Him: Alpha. And the child said: Alpha. And again the teacher: Alpha; and the child likewise. Then again the teacher said the Alpha for the third time. Then Jesus, looking in the master's face, saying: How can you, not knowing the Alpha, teach another the Beta? And the child, beginning from the Alpha, said by himself the twenty-two letters. Then also he said again: Hear, O teacher, the order of the first letter, and know how many entrances and lines it has, and strokes common, crossing and coming together. And when Zacchaeus heard such an account of the one letter, he was so struck with astonishment, that he could make no answer. And he turned and said to Joseph: This child assuredly, brother, does not belong to the earth. Take him, then, away from me.

And after these things, on one of the days Jesus was playing with other children on the roof of a house. And one boy was pushed by another, and hurled down upon the ground, and he died. And seeing this, the boys that were playing with him ran away; and Jesus only was left standing upon the roof from which the boy had been hurled down. And when the news was brought to the parents of the dead boy, they ran weeping; and finding their boy lying dead upon the ground, and Jesus standing above, they supposed that their boy had been thrown down by him; and fixing their eyes upon him, they reviled him. And seeing this, Jesus directly came down from the roof, and stood at the head of the dead body, and says to him: Zeno, did I throw you down? Stand up, and tell us. For this was the name of the boy. And at the word the boy stood up and adored Jesus, and said: My lord, you did not throw me down, but you have brought me to life when I was dead.

SECOND LESSON

The second lesson is from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, verses 41 through 52

Now every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when Jesus was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that Jesus was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for Jesus among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Jesus. After three days they found Jesus in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Jesus were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When Jesus’ parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” Jesus said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in the house of God?” But they did not understand what Jesus said to them. Then Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

This Week's Sermon

Date: January 3, 2010

Title: Who Are You Now?

Message Delivered By: Rev. Dr. Joe McMurray

I know some of you have heard the tale of the famous Bubba Briggs, who lived just a couple of states to our north?

Bubba worked for a telecommunications company with branches all over the world. For years, Bubba bragged to his next door neighbor about one thing or another. Usually, Bubba was in the habit of name-dropping, claiming how well-connected he was and how well-known he was in the upper echelons of the glitterati.

On this particular occasion, Bubba said to his neighbor, "You know, I know quite a few famous people because my work takes me all over the place. I provide a service that people need. I’ve rubbed elbows with just about everyone important there is to know. For example,” he said, “I am good friends with Angelina Jolie.”

Finally tired of his ridiculous boasting, his neighbor called his bluff, "OK, Bubba, I’ve heard enough of your talk. Prove it!"

“Angie and I are good friends,” Bubba said. “I knew her before she became a star, and she has never forgot me. I went to her and Brad Pitt’s wedding, and I can prove it," he said. Just as his neighbor was going to challenge it, Bubba produced a picture from the wedding. Sure enough, there was a picture of Brad and Angelina’s wedding, and Bubba was standing right between them.

Bubba’s neighbor looked carefully at the photo, and his eyes widened. But he was skeptical, saying “You could have had that picture doctored. I still don’t believe you.”

"Okay,” said Bubba. “This time you name somebody, and I bet I know them.”

"Okay,” said his neighbor, “How about Bill Clinton."

"Oh, yeah," Bubba said, "I know Bill and Hillary. In fact, I’m going up to New York for some work this weekend. Why don’t you join me and I’ll introduce you?”

So the weekend came, and off they went. At Clinton’s downtown office, Bill Clinton spotted Bubba downstairs and motioned him and his friend into his office. "Bubba, what a surprise, I was just on my way to a meeting, but you and your friend come on in and let's have a cup of coffee first and catch up. The meeting can wait." Well, the neighbor was very shaken by now, unsure whether all of Bubba’s boasts were, in fact, true.

After they left Bill Clinton’s office, the neighbor thought, “Bubba probably met Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas.” He again expressed his doubts to Bubba, who again implored him to name anyone else. "Okay,” said the neighbor, “I got you this time. How about the new Pope—Pope Benedict." He was certain he had trapped Bubba this time.

"Oh, sure!" says Bubba. "My folks are from Germany, and I've know the Pope a long time—I met him back when he was first made Cardinal Ratzinger. In fact, I was invited to the big ceremony at the Vatican and he told me to stop by anytime I want.”

Again his neighbor expressed doubt until Bubba issued a challenge: “Okay, if you don’t believe me, I’ll bet you the cost of a trip to Rome that I know the Pope. If I don’t, I pay. If I do, you pay all expenses.”

His neighbor agreed, so off they flew to Rome. Bubba and his neighbor were assembled with the masses in Vatican Square when Bubba said, "This will never work. I can't catch the Pope's eye with all these people and his line’s busy. So I’ll tell you what, since I know all the guards here, let me go upstairs and I'll arrange for the guards to bring you up with me.” His neighbor laughed and just shook his head.

When Bubba had been gone about 30 minutes, his neighbor heard the crowd begin to stir. He wasn’t sure what was going on, Suddenly, two figures appeared on the balcony several stories above, but the neighbor could not figure out who they were. Just as one of the tourists next to him asked him a question, Bubba’s neighbor grasped his chest and fell to the pavement. Paramedics came to attend to him, and Bubba flew to his side.

"What happened?" Bubba asked. His neighbor looked up weakly, and said, "I was fine until two figures came out on the balcony. Then the man next to me pointed and said, "Who's that on the balcony with Bubba?"
_____________________________________________________________

Will you pray with me? Loving God, we have witnessed anew the coming of Jesus. We have sung the hymns and retold the stories. Help us now to keep alive the meaning of Christ’s birth, to keep hope for the world foremost in our hearts. Let us continue to strive for justice and peace as individuals and as a community. And may my words and all of our thoughts be filled with honor and praise to you. Amen.

I spoke last week about how many of us grew up in faith traditions that never questioned the Divinity of Jesus, and rarely seemed to acknowledge his humanity.

I said that belief in the pre-destiny of Jesus brought a risk of dehumanizing him; that it took away from the same human choices all of us are faced with; and that it gave us an impression of Jesus that placed him on a track similar to what the aviation industry aptly calls “automatic pilot”—a condition whereby the flip of a switch on a control panel enables a plane to fly itself with little need for the pilot to engage, at least in those moments.

I urged us to think of Jesus as having the same human conditions that we have: to think of his ministry as a calling, just as we are called; to think of him as having choices as we have choices, and sometimes to be forced to make choices that are often not easy. I also urged us to grant him the same access to his emotions as we have; and to consider that they were relevant to his life and the choices he made.

I said that this might enable Jesus to become more accessible to us, mere humans. This might bring us closer to Jesus and give us an understanding of his life in human terms. Sometimes we assume that Jesus’ temptation, his uncertainty, his pain, even his death were irrelevant because his Divine connection eliminated the aftermath of those scars and that suffering. If we embrace his humanity, we also might be embraced more readily by the Jesus who felt what we feel and experienced the same emotions as we do.

How many have ever heard of or read these selections from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas? And how many are surprised by its content?

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is a series of miracle stories of the childhood Jesus, which were woven together by one of the early Christian communities whose goal it was to explain the life of Jesus between his birth and prior to the gospel reading we heard today.

The stories depict a precociously clever yet destructive child, very much like the child-gods of other traditions and mythologies, showing his capabilities and power, at least until he reached close to the age of puberty, when he was found teaching in the temple.

The original language of the text, probably written in the year 150 AD, is unknown, though scholars assume it was written in Greek or Syriac. The oldest surviving text is from the 6th century, though the text was considered heretical because of its content and its use by groups of Gnostic Christians.

Like some of the other writings both inside and outside of the Scriptures, this gospel was written to satisfy a need, a deeper understanding of the childhood of Jesus than was presented in the Gospel of Luke. The message contained depicts an untamed and somewhat wild Jesus who eventually learned to channel his abilities in more useful and appropriate ways. Its author, "Thomas the Israelite" was not the same person as the biblical Thomas (also known as Judas Thomas, Didymos Judas Thomas, etc.).

I chose this as one of our lessons today to give us a broader picture of some of the human faces Jesus bore in the early centuries after his life, death and resurrection—at least as these faces were assigned by various Christian communities.

As always, we can make a choice to completely ignore the text, which we may choose to do with other ancient texts, as well. However, I think it’s useful because it gives us an unusual and eye-opening depiction as to what may or may not be true about this human and Divine man.

While our traditional reading from Luke may be what we prefer—or what we choose to believe—it’s important for us to acknowledge that there is not one single truth about Jesus. Instead we must accept that there are many truths—and that the deepest and most important of these, we will probably never know.

That’s hard for us to hear, sometimes. We seek specific knowledge so that we are secure in our beliefs. We want an understanding of all things Divine so that there are no surprises for us after this life has ended, or at least that all the surprises will only be pleasant ones.

We want the assurance that our lives were not lived in vain. We want to our time on this earth to have had purpose and meaning. We want a reassurance that our previous relationships will be reinstated and will continue after our lives on earth have ended. We want encouragement that our faith has meant something; that our sacrifice and suffering happened for a reason; and that our loved ones who gave their lives for the benefit of others will find some reward for their courageous actions.

These are not unreasonable desires. They bespeak the very depths of our emotions, feelings and beliefs. This is our humanity. There is no shame in these hopes we hold—hopes that are often lived out through Jesus’ life.

But the only thing that can really bring us assurance, the only thing that guarantees that our lives have been meaningful, the only encouragement of what may come next can be found only in our faith—not in the certainty of facts and statistics. The future will come, despite what we think of it and despite what we hope it will be.

Our actions, words and beliefs help us to determine the parameters of our faith. Just like Jesus, whether we believe him to be a precocious, troublesome child or a loving, compassionate teacher, or someone in between, we have options on how we want to live. What we believe about Jesus may represent a huge reflection of our own choices.

This is why I say that it’s important that Jesus become accessible to us in his human form so that he can guide us, comfort us, and love us into the choices we will make.

Whether or not we believe in the true personhood of Jesus—that is, that we believe Jesus was fully human, or whether or not we believe in the Christological understanding that Jesus was also fully Divine—as human beings, we must admit it is beyond human comprehension to understand this complex contradiction. It’s as if we are saying 1 + 1 = 1.

Therefore, it behooves us, especially if it is our nature to accept Jesus completely as one thing or the other—fully human or fully Divine—and we would be wise to seek and befriend the Jesus of that opposite way and try to imagine him, to see him fully there.

Too often, our inclination takes us completely in one direction or another. If a friend or neighbor disappoints us, we assign them that role and thus diminish their quality in our minds and our hearts. If another nation has been our “enemy,” it is often impossible ever to see them in another light. And in seeing Jesus one way, it often seems impossible to see him in any other way.

So I challenge us—each of us—to stretch ourselves, stretch our character, broaden our experience, walk in someone else’s shoes for a better understanding of them and the life they lead. And in the same way, we should also stretch ourselves in matters of faith and belief. Keep open the possibility that the Jesus we grew up knowing was far more complex and diverse than we had ever given him credit to be. Our faith should never be in a place of narrowing or limiting. Instead it should always be in a place of growth and expansion.

I know that can be threatening to us at times. But if expanding faith does become threatening to us personally, we must recall some of the familiar writings of Jesus’ expanded faith that we’ve loved all our lives—the understanding Jesus reached when the Syrophonecian woman asked that he open his heart and leave behind his stereotyping of who she was; what her level of faith was; and her worthiness to receive God’s attention.

If expanding faith is discomfiting to you, recall the expansion of Jesus’ faith when, in the role of teacher, he told the story of the good Samaritan, the only man who showed mercy to a person in crisis; even thought that someone and his people systemically persecuted the Samaritan people.

And recall the Jesus of expanding faith who cried at the death of his friend, Lazarus; and who expressed fear in the Garden of Gethsemane, begging God to take away the cup of his suffering.

So I invite you to join me in this New Year as we attempt to expand our faith, examine the stories and the myths—both old and new, and find fresh meaning and perhaps new direction in our own faith journeys. And as we do so together, may we continue to follow where God is leading. Amen.