The Joshua Victor Theory

  In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The four Gospels only share this one episode between His infancy and His adult ministry—the child Jesus in the Temple. While God obviously did not consider the rest of the “middle years” as essential knowledge about Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31), this one episode frames some important themes in His family life. As the Christmas hymn sings, Jesus is our “childhood pattern, day by day like us He grew” ( Once in Royal David’s City). Some of the themes framed by this window into Jesus’ childhood are the responsibility and trust that Mary and Joseph had for young Jesus. 12 years old was the age of “ bar mitzvah” a “son of the law”, who was responsible to God’s commandments. He was given unsupervised time and was trusted to be responsible. We also see the importance of the community surrounding the children and relatives of Jesus, and the centrality of worship in their lives. But here’s a theme that I want...

·          Special focus of our reading on the 4 th (& also 8 th ) commandment(s). Subject to every human institution—emperor, governors…honor everyone…honor the emperor. ·          Honor your father and your mother . What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them. ·          You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way. ·          Our reading takes the intersection of these two commandments to describe our Christian conduct with the outside world of soci...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. In today’s Gospel in Matthew 21, the chief priests and elders raise the question of authority. They asked Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” They were in a time and culture where authority commanded great power and respect, and the idea of “unauthorized activity” was a major source of contention. Questioning His authority, they wanted to silence Him unless He could justify His authority. Jesus’ teaching and other activities seemed to them to be “unauthorized”—without the proper authority. Our present culture comes from a quite opposite position as them, and we’re more inclined to be suspicious or distrusting of authority. We’re surrounded by messages and attitudes like “Question authority” or even “Question Everything.” Bumper stickers proudly declare “I do what I like”—implying “don’t expect any consideration from me.” Or T-shirts that read: “Get your laws off...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Following on the heels of the birth of Jesus, and then His naming and presentation in the Temple as an infant, the next big story in the life of Jesus is when He is 12 years old. The Gospels give very little biographical detail about Jesus’ early life, other than His birth in Matthew and Luke, and then this one account at age 12. People have always itched for more background, and speculated what the child Jesus would be like. From the centuries after the apostles, right up to the present day, various authors have tried to fill in those missing years with stories ranging from pious, misinformed legends to shameful lies and dreams. Some have made up stories about Jesus’ infancy and childhood to make it seem more miraculous and spectacular than the Bible records; others have made up stories to make it seem un-miraculous and ordinary. So what does this single story of Jesus’ childhood tell u...