January 11, 2011

Jesus' Lifelong Desire

At age 12, he said, "I've got to be [among the doings/beings] of my Father."(*)  Not just some particular task, Jesus needed to go see who was still devoted to God (in the Temple) after the Passover crowds had all vanished.  And he needed to be there, among such folks.

At age twenty-something, he was still just a peon back home.  Still working construction.  Still showing up each Saturday at the Synagogue.  Wanting so much more than what he was (often) hearing, Jesus did not push their envelope.  For whatever reason, in Nazareth, the impressiveness he'd displayed since age twelve was now visible only to God.

And so, a most sacred devotion progressed, intimately, between Jesus and his Father.  But the young man still wanted that one single thing more.  "I've got to be en the (*)s of my Father."  In some deep and vigorous way, Jesus still yearned to be more intently involved in the doings of God with God's people.  Except now, he was being more patient about it.  While he kept busy, loving God, loving others, Jesus added on something like twenty years worth of perseverance to godliness.

His perseverance was that he still wanted more.

At thirty-something, when one disciple (finally!) asked Jesus, "Teach us to pray."  He modeled a prayer that he must have prayed many times before - certainly thought for thought, and probably word for word, often.  And the first supplication was, "Bring your Kingdom."  Jesus still yearned, above all, to be among persons who would hallow God's name, who were into God's 'business'.

And if we long for this, also... if we long to have more of God in the midst of God's people...

It'd be a shame to grow too quickly weary of working and praying for that.

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*The text of Luke 2:49, at this point:  ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πατρός μου.  For you illiterates, that "tois" is a plural "the" with no persons, places or things there attached.  So the verse reads "in the [somethings] of my Father".  I don't know what that means, but it doesn't say Temple or business.  So I'm leaning on the context of Jesus' reported actions for that week.  For you super-literates, if you have any Greek grammar insights, please do share.