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JESUS Do
you remember that line in Monty Python's Life of Brian where
someone says: 'He's not the Messiah, he's just a naughty boy'?
DAVID
David is a great example of
lateral thinking. When he faced Goliath he had a problem, a
large one...
SALOME
Salome's
lurid image as an under-age seductress did not come from the
gospels, but from the fevered
imaginations of 19th century artists and writers.
MARY OF
NAZARETH Mary of Nazareth
was a young girl who found herself
pregnant in a society that demanded virginity in every unmarried
girl.
JOSEPH, SON
OF JACOB As a young man he
still made mistakes, and one of them was
his arrogant treatment of his brothers - for which he paid
dearly.
SAMUEL
One
night he heard a call from
God. The voice called him three times - and went on calling until
he responded and understood. JOHN THE
APOSTLE was quick-tempered and impulsive. Despite this, or maybe because of it,
Jesus loved and trusted him.
ISHMAEL
Ishmael succumbed first,
and Hagar dragged him
under the shade of a bush, and moved away. She did not want to
see his death agony.
RUTH
would
not budge. She had shared loneliness and grief with
Naomi, and now that the older woman was completely alone, Ruth
would not abandon her. JAIRUS' DAUGHTER
When
you read this story, don't miss the final sentence. It shows a side of Jesus that is
usually ignored - his good common sense. |
Do
you remember that line in Monty Python's Life of Brian where
someone says: 'He's not the Messiah, he's just a naughty boy'?
It's hard to imagine, but Mary and
Joseph may have thought
something like this when they lost their 12-year-old son Jesus. Though
he was now legally a man, he was still to them just their boy who
had gone missing in a crowded city. They must have been
distraught.
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Reconstruction
of the Temple in Jerusalem |
Jesus, however, knew that he was destined to be more than a carpenter in
Galilee. Not yet a grown man, he realized he had a mission that
would change the world.
That
sense of purpose is something we'd all like to have. If you can,
try to work out where you want to go with your own life.
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What do
you want to achieve?
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What should you do to achieve these
aims?
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How do you turn your ideals into solid, practical reality?
Look for opportunities, and don't throw them away.
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Finding the
Savior in the Temple, John Holman Hunt |
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'When they (Mary and Joseph) had finished everything required by
the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town
of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with
wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of
the Passover. And when he 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 he was in the group
of travelers, they went a day's journey. Then they started to
look for him among their relatives and friends.
When they did
not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.
After three days they found him in the Temple, sitting among the
teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all
who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother
said to him "Child, why have you treated us like this?
Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great
anxiety."
He said to them "Why were you searching for
me? Did you now know that I must be in my Father's house?"
But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he 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.'
Luke 2:39-52 |
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is a great example of
lateral thinking. When he faced Goliath he had a problem, a
large one. He was a young boy with a young boy's strength,
and he faced an enemy who was mightily strong, an experienced
fighting man. Goliath had a long
history of violence and intimidation, and David sensibly
realized he could not beat this ogre by fighting him in the
traditional manner.
What did he do?
What
were his advantages?
Lateral
thinking not only saved his life but made him a hero.
The lesson? Don't give up because you are outclassed in one
area. We are all outclassed at some time or another. Think about
the skills you do have, and adapt the situation to fit
your own abilities.
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David with the
head of Goliath, Caravaggio |
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'And Saul armed David with his armor,
and put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a
coat of mail. David strapped Saul's sword over the armor, but he
tried in vain to walk, because he was not used to armor.
So David removed it. Then he took his staff in his hand and
chose five smooth stones from the creek, and put them in his
shepherd's bad. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the
Philistine.
When the Philistine saw David, he scorned him, for he was only a
boy. He said to David: "Am I a dog, that you come to me
with a stick in your hand? I will feed your flesh to the birds
and wild animals."
But David ran quickly towards the Philistine. He put his hand in
his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine
on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell
face down on the ground.
There was no sword in David's hand. He ran forward and stood
over the Philistine's body, grasped his sword, drew it out of
its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it.'
1 Samuel 17:38-51
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Salome's
lurid image as an under-age seductress did not come from the
gospels. It was developed in the 19th century, from the fevered
imaginations of artists and writers like Aubrey Beardsley, Oscar
Wilde and Richard Strauss.
There was very little historical reality in their image
of this 1st century Jewish princess. So try to put that aside.
Look at the bare bones of her story. What was the aim of this
young girl? To save her mother Herodias, to protect her from
attack, from someone (John the Baptist) who Salome saw as a
frightening political
agitator. No child likes to see their parent being attacked,
especially by an outsider.
Salome sinned because she put her loyalty to her mother above her sense of
right and wrong. Family loyalty is worthwhile, but only when it does not clash
with real morality.
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Salome,
Surenyants, 1907 |
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'Herod
had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account
of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because John had been
telling him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."
Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd
because they regarded him as a prophet.
But when Herod's
birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the
company, and she pleased Herod so much that he promised on oath
to grant her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she
said "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a
platter."
The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his
oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; he sent
and had John beheaded in the prison. The head was brought on a
platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother.'
Matthew 14:3-11
BIBLE BAD WOMEN
has Salome's story
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Mary of Nazareth has become such a venerated figure that it is
hard to imagine her as a young girl who found herself
pregnant in a society that demanded virginity in every unmarried
girl.
As far as the people around her were concerned, Mary was pregnant
to some man who was not her promised husband, Joseph. Outrage and hostility
would have been directed at her from all sides.
Faced with this situation, she did two things:
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she
wholeheartedly accepted God's will, placing her faith in God's
ultimate wisdom
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she removed herself from the distressing
situation in her native town, and went instead to visit her
sympathetic older cousin, Elizabeth.
She accepted that God had a plan for her, even though she might
not be able to understand it, and placed herself under the
guidance of a sensible older person.
The lesson? God's plan is often difficult to fathom, but we
should accept it and trust in his ultimate wisdom - and not be
too proud to listen to the advice of a sensible, older person
who is willing to help.
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The
Annunciation, Howard Tanner |
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'In
the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in
Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name
was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was
Mary.
And he came to her and said "Greetings, favored one! The
Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said
to her "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor
with God. And now you will conceived in your womb and bear a
son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be
called the Son of the Most High."
Mary said to the angel "How can this be, since I am a
virgin?" The angel said to her "The Holy Spirit will
come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be
called Son of God. And now your relative Elizabeth in her old
age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for
her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible
with God."
Then Mary said "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it
be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed
from her.
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town
in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the
child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit and exclaimed with a out cry "Blessed are you among
women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned home.'
(Luke 1:26-42, 56)
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Joseph,
son of Jacob, became one of the
great heroes of the Old Testament. He was brilliant, subtle and
extraordinarily capable, able to adapt to any
situation and use it to his advantage. But that was later on.
As a young man he made some serious mistakes, and one of them was
his arrogant treatment of his brothers - for which he paid
dearly.
There are two motives for the crime that unfolded
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the deep hatred his own
brothers felt for him - all of them, even Reuben who tried to
save him. This hatred must have come from somewhere. It sounds
as if Joseph was one of those people who do nothing to hide
their contempt for lesser mortals.
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the famous long sleeved coat, often
incorrectly called the Coat of Many Colors. Long sleeves on a
coat at that time meant that the wearer did not do any manual
labor. He gave the orders to others, who carried them out.
If Jacob gave Joseph a coat like that, it meant he put Joseph,
the youngest, in charge of all his older brothers - which of
course they resented.
As it would later turn out, Joseph was indeed more capable than
his brothers - but he was also their junior.
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Could Joseph have handled the situation better?
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Could he
have been his very capable self, without giving offence to
his brothers?
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How do we use our
own gifts in a way that lets other
people shine too?
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Joseph's
blood-stained coat brought to Jacob, Velazquez |
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'Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock
with his brothers; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to
their father.
Now Jacob loved Joseph more than any other of his
children, because he was the son of his old age, and he had made
him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that
their father loved him more, they hated him, and could not speak
peaceably to him.
Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near
Shechem. And Jacob said to Joseph "Come, I will send you to
the. See if it is well with your brothers and with the flock;
and bring word back to me."
So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them. They saw him
from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired
to kill him. They said to one another "Here comes this
dreamer. Let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits;
then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him."
But
his brother Reuben said to them "Let us not take his life.
Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit here in the wilderness,
but lay no hand on him." He planned to rescue him and
restore Joseph to their father.
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his
robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him
and threw him into a pit. Then they sat down to eat.
Then they saw a caravan of camels on its way to Egypt, and Judah
said "Come, let us sell him instead of killing him. For he
is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers agreed.
They sold him to twenty pieces of silver, and Joseph was taken
to Egypt.
Then they took Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the
robe in the blood. They took the robe to their father; he
recognized it. Then Jacob tore his garments and put on sackcloth
and mourned for his son. He refused to be comforted.'
Genesis 37
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Samuel
lived in a time of social unrest when violence and contempt for law was
common. He was the bridge between this lawless period and the time when
Israel was governed by kings. He became a powerful and influential man -
but he was not always so. There was a time when he was just an
insignificant student in the Temple.
When he was just a baby his mother dedicated him to God, and he
lived in the Temple precincts, where he was educated.
Something
extraordinary happened to him. One night he heard a call from
God that made it clear he was to have an special destiny. People
around him could not hear the voice of God, but
he could - and it came to him in the still of the
night. It called him three times - went on calling until he
responded and understood.
What can we learn from the story?
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that God has a soft voice that can only be heard in
silence, that is when we are quiet and calm both inside and out
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that
God will keep on calling until we hear him
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that
we have an obligation to listen for the voice of God
The
best way to hear God's voice is when we are quiet and still. Try to put aside some time in your day when you can listen to what God is
saying to you.
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'Now the boy Samuel was
ministering to the Lord under Eli, the priest. At that time Eli,
whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see,
was lying down in his room, and Samuel was lying down in the
temple of the Lord.
Then the Lord called "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said
"Here I am!" and ran to Eli, and said "Here I am,
for you called me!" But he said "I did not call; lie
down again." So he went and lay down.
The Lord called again "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went
to Eli, and said "Here I am, for you called me." But
he said "I did not call, my son; lie down
again."
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord
had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again,
a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said "Here
I am, for you called me."
Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore
Eli said to Samuel "Go and lie down; and if he calls you, you
shall say 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'" So
Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before
"Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said "Speak, for
your servant is listening."
1 Samuel 3
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John came from an
ordinary background: his father and brothers were fishermen, and he expected
to go into the family business. But one day he met Jesus, and
that changed everything. John was just a young man, but the charismatic teacher from
Galilee called him to follow, and he downed tools and went
without a backwards glance.
According to tradition, he was hardly
more than a boy at the time. He was quick-tempered and impulsive - Jesus
called him and his older brother James the 'sons of thunder'
because of their tempers. Despite this, or maybe because of it,
Jesus loved and trusted him.
John was present at some of the key moments in
Jesus' life.
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he saw Jesus bring Jairus' daughter back to life
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he saw whatever it was that mysteriously happened at the
Transfiguration
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he was standing in the dark shadows when the soldiers
came for
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
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he stood near
the foot of the cross as Jesus died in
horrifying agony, the only one of Jesus' friends who did not
desert him
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in response, Jesus entrusted his young friend with
the care of Mary.
After Jesus died, John became one of the main leaders of the
early Christian church. He may have been the author of John's
Gospel; if so, he was a poet and a man of brilliant intellect.
What message can we take from his story? Knowledge of Jesus and his
teachings, and acceptance of them, can transform an ordinary
life into something quite extraordinary.
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'As he walked by the
sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, James son of Zebedee and
his brother John, in the boat with their father, mending their
nets, and he called them "Follow me, and I will make you
fish for people." Immediately they left the boat and their
father, and followed him.'
Matthew 4:18-22
'Meanwhile, standing near
the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his
mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he
said to his mother, "Woman here is your son." Then he
said to the disciple "Here is your mother." And from
that hour the disciple took her into his own home.'
John 19:25-27
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Ishmael was the eldest son of
Abraham, by his
wife's slave, Hagar. He grew up expecting to be the
next leader of his father's tribe. But this was not to happen.
His father's chief wife,
Sarah, unexpectedly gave birth to a son
when Ishmael was about fourteen years old - in tribal society this meant that he was already a
man.
There was an uneasy truce between the two women.
When it was time to wean Sarah's baby there was a great
tribal feast. Ishmael was playing with his
baby brother, and something that happened (we don't know what it
was) enraged Sarah.
She demanded that Ishmael and his mother be cast out of the
tribe. Since she had always been the main wife, she wanted to be
certain that her son would be the heir of Abraham - not Ishmael.
Abraham loved Ishmael, but he gave in to Sarah. The next morning
he sent Hagar and Ishmael out into the unforgiving desert. They were alone
and abandoned. Hagar had been born in Egypt so she headed south in
the general direction of Egypt, a desperate but futile choice.
There was no chance at all
they would make it. Before very long their small supply of water
was exhausted, and the pair began to die of thirst.
Ishmael succumbed first - he may have insisted that his
mother drink what little water there was. Hagar dragged him
under the shade of a bush, then moved away, so that she would
not have to watch his death agony. But Ishmael was not a boy to
give in easily. He prayed, as did his mother, and God heard
them. An angel appeared and told Hagar where to find water - and
the pair were saved.
The message of the story? Don't give up, even when things look hopeless. You never know
how things can change.
For the full story of Hagar and Ishmael, see
BIBLE
WOMEN: HAGAR
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'So Abraham rose early
in the morning and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it
to Hagar, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered
about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under
one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a
good way off, abut the distance of a bowshot; for she said
"Do not let me look on the death of the child." And as
she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.
And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called
to Hagar, and said to her "What troubles you, Hagar? Do not
be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy. Come, lift
him up, for I will make a great nation of him."
Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went,
and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.
God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the
wilderness, and became an expert with the boy. He lived in the
wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the
land of Egypt.'
Genesis 21:8-21
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Naomi was an Israelite woman
who, during a famine, went with her family to live in the
country of Moab. She had two sons, and one of them married a
young Moabite girl called Ruth. But he died, as did Naomi's
other son and her husband as well. She was left quite alone in a
foreign country - alone, that is, except for Ruth and her other
daughter-in-law, Orpah.
The girls were Moabites, not
Israelites, and so Naomi assumed they would want to return to
their families. Orpah decided to do just that, but Ruth could
not be budged. She had shared loneliness, anxiety and grief with
Naomi, and now that the older woman was completely alone, Ruth
would not abandon her. She made a speech (see
below), one of
the most famous passages in the Bible, telling Naomi that she
meant to stay with her.
Ruth realized that she was poor,
a foreigner, and young - and that life would be tough for them
in Bethlehem. But she was loyal to the older woman, and would
not leave her to face these difficulties alone.
When they
went back to
Bethlehem, Naomi decided to help the girl (and herself as well)
by setting up a match between Ruth and a rich young landowner.
Ruth had the good sense to listen
to Naomi's advice, and the love story had a happy ending - courage and loyalty
triumphed over
adverse circumstances.
Ruth has special significance for
Christians: In the gospel of Matthew, four women were included
in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:2-17), and Ruth was one of
the four.
The
message of her story? Try to recognize good advice when you hear it.
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But Ruth said,
'Do not press me to leave you
or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
Where you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die
There I will be buried.
May the Lord do thus and so to me
And more as well
If even death parts me from you!'
(Book of Ruth 1:16-17) |
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Whenever you look up a
Commentary on this miracle, the writer describes Jesus and
Jairus but hardly ever mentions the young girl in the story.
And yet surely this must have been the most extraordinary
experience for her. She was dead, and then she was alive again.
Was she an only child? Or were there brothers and sisters in the
background, praying for a miracle, seeing their sister die,
then watching as a miracle really did take place before their eyes?
The story encourages us to think about our own spiritual health - are we as good as dead in our hearts? Dead
without even realizing we have died? Do we need the message of
Jesus to restore us to life? Does Jesus extend the gift of
life to us, as he did to this girl? And do we accept it?
When you read the gospel story, don't miss the final sentence. It shows a side of Jesus that is
usually ignored - his good common sense. Even in the midst of
the hullabaloo, Jesus still
recognized that the now-healthy girl was probably hungry, and
needed something to eat.
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'Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and,
when he saw Jesus, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly
"My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay
your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live."
So he went with him.....
While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the
leader's house to say "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble
the teacher any further?" But overhearing what they said,
Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue "Do not fear,
only believe."
He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James and John,
the brother of James.
When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he
saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had
entered, he said to them "Why do you make a commotion and
weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed
at him.
Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and
mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child
was.
He took her by the hand and said to her "Talitha cum"
which means, "Little girl, get up!"
And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was
twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.
He told them to give her something to eat.'
(Mark 5:22-43)
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