I was at my nephews first communion party, surrounded by family and friends, having a very nice time when I thought…did Jesus do this for 30 years. Did He celebrate his nephews and nieces bar mitzvahs, Passover, Hanukkah, birthdays, weddings, births, all the events of a normal life.
Before He started His ministry He must have had a normal life. He sat around at family events, surrounded by family and talked about….nothing and everything. Some of His family liked Him, some probably found Him annoying. His mother probably doted. He probably laughed at jokes, cried at funerals, looked concerned when their was the inevitable heartbreak. Maybe He got a cold, or stubbed His toe or burned himself . He was, after all, human. He had a family.
what do you think His family thought when word came back that He was healing people. When He raised up Lazarus do you think they told everyone…thats My cousin, with pride..or were they kind of puzzled and embarrassed.
When word came back that He had risen from the dead it must have been a lightening rod. Mary, at the next family event must have been a sight to be hold. My Son happens to be the Savior of the world, she could say with a mother’s pride. Or maybe she said nothing and was content with others just whispering opinions and gossip behind shaded lips.
What we do know, is that no one considered it to be important. No one sat with Mary and wrote down her recollections of Jesus as a young man or as a child. They didn’t matter. Who he was before, how He got to the wedding feast of Cana, His family life and His life with Mary and Joseph. All of that didn’t matter once He revealed Himself. None of that family history or interaction had any influence on whom He became.
Jesus was the Son of God, who came to earth to settle the question, once and for all, of who God was. He did that. He didn’t come to establish an earthly biologic line of rulers…He is eternal so He didn’t need heirs from a bloodline. He made us all His family so we could share in His life. So He could cone to our family celebrations, and listen to our life stories. Comforting us in hard times, rejoicing with us in good times. Jesus is a friendly God. A sharing God. A protective God. Let’s be clear…if my friend Jesus sees you trying to get me to choose He’ll, He will come to my defense. Plus He is proactive, so He will eliminate threats…for good…if He needs to. Cause that what family does.
The musings of Peter 