It
has been an arduous journey through the labyrinth of human sin and love. I almost did not make it. Mother and father nearly separated when
betrothed as my dad found out that my mother was pregnant with me. The family was shamed. Sometimes I think that God called for the tax
census to get mom and dad out of town and off to Bethlehem. My mother groaned often on the trip. And, to top it off, my delivery ended up
during the night among some barn animals.
I remember the shepherds standing in awe of me. Shepherds were a good role model for my mission,
I thought. But, there was still time to
catch a nap cuddled up to my mother and listening to barn noises and the faint
sound of angel’s hymns.
I
labored under my dad’s carpentry tutelage for quite a while doing typical boy
stuff playing with my brothers and sisters and the neighborhood riffraff. I was
uncomfortable. I knew I was very
different but I could not quite define how.
Somehow those dreams of Bethlehem had become vague. Then, when I was in my early teenage years,
my family traveled to Jerusalem for Jewish holiday and remembrance. In the hubbub, I got separated from the
family and ended up at the Temple with a bunch of professors. They were pontificating about the
complexities of life, death, and duty under Jewish tradition. I had the temerity to ask some questions and
then words started flowing out of me about my Father in Heaven and what it
meant to be fully human with love and considerateness offered to all. I don’t know if they were stunned or really
interested in what I was saying. I was
not even sure what I was saying. It
seemed that God was speaking through me.
Eventually, my folks realized I was missing on their way out of town and
came back to find me. Mom was pretty
upset when she finally located me in the Temple. She lectured me about duty to my family. Being a typical teenager, I sassed her back
that my family was a lot bigger than just genetic bloodline. That set her back on her heals for some
reason. She mumbled something about my
birth and Martha.
