May 6, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Find out what pleases the Lord. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise) so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth’.” (Ephesians 5.10; Ephesians 6.1-4)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

It didn’t take great courage for Joseph of Bethlehem to be Jesus’ earthly father. It took great faith. if Joseph didn’t have great faith, then he wouldn’t have been included in the story of “…for God so loved the world.” Because of Joseph’s faith in God, he accepted Mary of Nazareth to be his betrothed. In the course of their betrothal, Joseph learned that Mary was with child. At first, he couldn’t imagine this could happen to him. He thought first of his own reputation and then in faith, he remembered Mary. The circumstance of their betrothal presented a unique opportunity for Joseph. Knowing the Law and how it had been used against women in “this situation,” he vowed to dissolve the contract quietly. This probably meant he would send her away to relatives until the child was born and with any hope “out of sight, out of mind” of everyone.

God had a different plan, however, Appearing to Joseph, God let him into the sphere of knowledge concerning the future of him and the child Mary was carrying in her virgin womb. The Law was clear about a woman “defiled” by a man not her husband. You have to admit this was not the case with Mary who, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, was bearing the Son of God in her womb. It would be quite difficult to explain this to his Rabbi, his Priest, his family, his community and to the stranger. This way different. Joseph was being called to parent God’s only begotten Son. He was to raise Him as his own. He was to teach Him the Law and the Prophets. He was to show Him how to walk by faith and not by sight. He was to raise Him as his own son to become a man of dignity in His work and with solemnity in His religion. Joseph was not called Jesus’ stepfather not even by Jesus.

At Passover, when Jesus was to participate in His bar mitzvah in Jerusalem, He demonstrated the kind of faith that would honor His father. When Mary and Joseph recognized three days later that Jesus was missing from the entourage heading back to Nazareth, they returned to Jerusalem. Retracing their steps, they found Him in the Temple where His bar mitzvah had taken place. There He continued to read and expound upon the scriptures with the Teachers of the Law who gathered there on a daily basis. They were all astonished. When Mary asked Jesus if He was aware of the burden He had placed on His parents’ heart, He replied, “Did you not know I would be in My Father’s House tending to My Father’s Business?” We might first consider that Jesus was not honoring “His Mother and Father” at the expense of His declared alliance with Yahweh Elohim. I have no doubt there was such meaning in His words to declare that God was His Father knowing only Mary and Joseph would understand. But, listening intently to Jesus’ love for God’s Word we can hear His declaration of love for His earthly parents. This was their “house,” too. Some traditions portray Joseph the Carpenter as also Joseph the Stonemason. It was well within the realm of possibility that Joseph had been conscripted to do work on the Temple in Jerusalem for repairs and renovations. He was a successful tradesman of great faith having houses in both Nazareth and Caesarea Philippi. Even without such “labor” connection to the Temple, it was their House because of the faith that had in God who was “their Father,” too. They had undoubtedly taught Jesus of their respect and honor for God believing it was the family tradition declared by the Law of Righteousness. They knew that in so doing, they would receive the promise of wellness in the days to come.

What are we teaching our children to honor these days? Are they sharing our faith? Are they walking by it and not by the vision of the world? Are they living by the promise of trusting God’s word in all things and at all times knowing they can call Him “my Father,” too? I believe this is another thing that God loves.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.