51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. Luke 2:51 English Standard Version
As an officer, and later a
teacher, one of the quickest ways to incur my wrath was to act in a fashion I
did not consider properly submissive to my authority. As one of my students
well put it, “Mr. Robinson, we know where the bright lines are. You’ve made
that abundantly clear, and we also know that when we cross those lines, it will
be very unpleasant.” I like to think I’m casual and easy going; however, I’m
much more volatile than I like to think or admit. I come by this honestly.
I remember when my kids were little,
and they were playing with their cousins in my parent’s backyard. They were all
young, early elementary. They got into something my father wanted left alone.
Being children, they went back to the off-limits thing. He redirected them.
After about the third time, he’d had enough. Shedding the easy-going-grandfather
persona, he snapped at them in anger, raising his voice, and making sure they
understood his boundaries. I can still see their shocked faces at his
instantaneous transformation. I stood there grinning thinking, “Yup kids, you
know the nice grandfather. That’s the Dad that I grew up with. A just and
properly functioning family, or society, requires submission to authority.
Whether in the Army, the
classroom, the workplace, or society, we need to understand and be willing to
submit to the proper authority. I’m not saying I always got it right as an
officer, teacher, or father; but, I did make the effort to ensure good order
and discipline. Jesus well understood this concept and was willing to live
within it.
Advent marks a radical change in
the life of Jesus, the son. Previously He lived in unity with the Father and
the Spirit. Now He had parents. Human parents. Fallible human parents. Think
about that for a moment. As a child, I endured parents that made mistakes. Oh,
they were good parents, but like all, they had their moments of failure. As a
parent, I know that I made mistakes. More than once, I had to summon the moral
courage to look at one, or all, of my children, swallow my pride, and admit to
failure. Fortunately, they never seemed to hold it against me. Imagine if you
were sinless. How would you feel about sinful parents?
As part of the incarnation, Jesus
had to put up with earthly human parents. Evidently, He did so without recorded
complaint. Even when they did not understand Him as a youth in the temple, he
submitted to their authority. I would have a hard time submitting to those who
would properly be under my authority. As an officer, I cannot imagine letting a
private tell me what to do. It just does not make sense; yet, Jesus did that in
the extreme. The scriptural record offers scant details regarding the childhood
of Jesus. What we do know paints the picture of a responsible and respectful
young man. Even as an adult, Jesus allowed His mother Mary to rearrange His
timetable. In an oddly comforting scene, He tells her that His time has not
come. She does not even respond to Him, simply telling the servants to do what
He says. When I think of Advent, I wonder how submitted am I? Would I willingly
submit?
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