“When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.” (Luke 2:39)

How ordinary!  After the baby Jesus was presented in the temple, Luke reports that Mary and Joseph returned to their home in Nazareth.       

The Gospels give us few details about Jesus’ childhood other than the incident when he was 12 and stayed behind in the temple during the family’s annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  The likelihood is that Jesus’ early life was very ordinary with Jesus growing up as a young Jewish boy, experiencing all of the things any Jewish boy would have experienced with family and neighbors.  They would observe family traditions and the practice of Judaism in a small village.  Jesus likely learned his father’s trade of being a carpenter, for scripture says, “Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary…?” (Mark 6:3)

God inhabits the ordinary.  He did this with Jesus and he does it with us.  He inhabits the ordinary in preparation for the extraordinary.  We cannot expect to experience God in the extraordinary if we are not experiencing him in the ordinary.  The ordinary includes our daily work and contact with co-workers.  It includes taking out the trash and helping our children with homework; standing in line at the checkout counter, and the many choices we make each day, large and small. 

Jesus tells us in John 14:23, that if we love him, he and the Father will come and make their home in us. He is in us and with us as we choose to act on his presence.  As a result, instead of cursing the person who cuts us off on our way to work, we bless him.  We show patience to our children in helping them with their homework.  We listen to a co-worker who wants to share a problem.  We forbear in reacting negatively to an inattentive retail clerk.

Ninety-nine percent of life is ordinary.  If we are experiencing Jesus in the ordinary, we are experiencing the kingdom of God, which Jesus says is here and now.  When a need or crisis hits we can then experience Jesus in the extraordinary as we pray with a sick friend for healing, bring reconciling words to a troubled relationship or love to a forgotten stranger – anticipating that God will act in and through us.

Are you experiencing God in the ordinary events of your life, so that you can also experience him in the extraordinary?

“If you remain in my word,…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

These are Jesus’ words in response to the Pharisees who were challenging who he was and what he what he was saying. 

Truth, which is knowledge of God, his word and work, has divine power.  It demolishes lies, deception, and all manner of error.  Since truth is from God, it is eternal and never fades or dies, in contrast to lies and deception which may last for a while but are eventually discovered and proven false.   

Examples in our world today include such questions as when life begins, and what constitutes marriage.  If we discovered biological cells on another planet, the headlines would declare, “Life Exists on Another Planet!”  Yet, a human egg fertilized with a human sperm is not viewed as life for those advocating abortion.   

Genesis and all of nature declare that marriage is between a “male and female” who become one to be fruitful, increase in number, and fill the earth.  Yet, the wisdom of this world through our highest court says it is not. 

Is our culture exchanging the “truth of God for a lie,” as St. Paul exclaims in Romans 1:25?

History testifies to the power and lasting nature of truth. The Roman Empire oppressed and persecuted Christians for almost 300 years.  Yet historian Will Durant eloquently observes:

“There is no greater drama in human record than the sight of a few Christians, scorned or oppressed by a succession of emperors, bearing all trials with fierce tenacity, multiplying quietly, building order while their enemies generated chaos, fighting the sword with the word, brutality with hope, and at last defeating the strongest state that history has known.  Caesar and Christ had met in the arena, and Christ had won.” (Caesar and Christ, p. 652)

When Pilate was trying to determine who Jesus was and whether he was a king, Jesus said the reason he was born and came into the world was “to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth, listens to my voice.” (John 18:37) Pilate, like many of our leaders today, not recognizing the embodiment of truth standing right in front of him asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:38)

Where do you seek truth for your life?

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…” (Mt. 28:19)

Several years ago, our family traveled to Lee’s Summit, Missouri to celebrate the 100^th birthday of my wife’s mother, Mary Louise.  We had a wonderful celebration, with all her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren to honor her life.  From teaching eight grades in a one room country schoolhouse in the 1930’s to taking care of elderly parents and other relatives until she was in her 80’s, her life was a witness to a deep faith in God filled with love and service to others.

Although her later years were confined to an assisted living home, she had not forgotten the words of Jesus in the Great Commission in terms of reaching out to people and inviting them to church. 

During our many conversations she mentioned that she had invited her friends Millie and Dodie to start attending church services that were held every Sunday at the home.  “Dodie had not been to church in 50 years,” she said.  “And Millie had not been for a long time either, but I got them going with me each week now.”  “I try to help them understand what the Bible says and means when I get the chance.”

Isaiah 49:6 says, “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”  At age 100, Mary Louise was still being a light to the people God put in her life.  She was still being faithful to God’s plan of working through us to be his presence and bring his presence to the people and circumstances in her life.  At 103, Mary Louise passed on from this life, but she never stopped sharing her faith.

In these days of division and political correctness, it may be tempting to forgo opportunities to talk about our Christian faith with someone who is not Christian or a practicing Christian.  Yet, we are familiar with the Great Commission that Jesus gave to his disciples and followers stated above.

Are you sharing your faith with the people in your life?

“The Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.”  (Luke 10:1)

Jesus is sending out seventy-two of his disciples to places he intends to visit.  He asks them to stay with the people who welcome them, build relationships, heal the sick, and proclaim that the kingdom of God is at hand.

Like the seventy-two, Jesus sends you and me to people he desires to visit and impact.  He asks us through our presence to open the door to his presence for the people in our lives. 

Over the last few years, I have been asked to serve as the coordinator of an Alpha program in our parish for parents while their children attend Religious Education classes on Sunday mornings.  While the program provides wonderful content through various video presentations of the basic principles of Christianity and our Catholic faith, it also provides the opportunity to witness to various experiences in my own faith walk.  While I will never know the effect of what I share, perhaps the occasions may open the door for a subsequent visit by Jesus in a person’s life. 

Like the seventy-two, these occasions hopefully provide an opportunity to build relationships, proclaim the kingdom of God, and open the door for a subsequent visit by Jesus to those in attendance.

Who is Jesus asking you to share the kingdom of God with in preparation for a subsequent visit by him?