Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 22575 – 888
Here’s the haps:
We have two artificial Christmas trees, one is very large and stored in three large plastic totes and the other claims to be six feet tall but it’s shorter than me and I’m only 5′ 7″ or 5′ 8″. The advantage is that the scrawny one is significantly lighter and easier to get down from the attic and easier and quicker to assemble. We are trying to be more festive and upbeat this year because it was last year in December that Daughter TNT received her diagnosis of Primary Progressive MS and was in physical therapy rehab until the evening of December 24th. Since she found the neurologist last year who comes with a high reputation and who worked with her and took her seriously and discovered the severity of her disease she has been having a better time of it than she had been. Last year was also the year Mrs. Herb and I were hit by a semi-truck while driving our little PT Cruiser. The issues from both of those along with many others are better this year. Not perfect and not done with, but better. Last year was also the first Christmas without Grandma Pike.
This year we still need to take things easy like we did for Givethanksing day but we’re working on it and after last year anything will likely be better. Anyway, I was sitting and listening to Christmas music. I have a wide and varied taste and enjoy the secular songs along with a couple of novelty songs just as much as the real songs about Christmas. My tastes don’t always sit well with everyone and I try to be sensitive to that. I don’t go out of my way to offend someone but it does happen occasionally. I am probably the way I am about Christmas and other holidays because I grew up in a religion (Jehovah’s Witnesses) that did NOT acknowledge that Jesus Christ was Jehovah God come in the flesh and we never celebrated Christmas (or most other holidays, including birthdays) in any way.
That has nothing to do with my simple question, really, except to partly explain why one very obvious choice of a Christmas carol of mine is Hark the Herald Angels Sing. I was listening to the words:
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies,
With th’angelic host proclaim:
“Christ is born in Bethlehem.”
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Christ by highest heav’n adored,
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a Virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Well, when I got to the part where he says, “veiled in flesh the Godhead see/Hail the incarnate Deity” I got to thinking. Jesus was unique in that he was both 100% God and 100% man at any given moment. We see him fatigued and sleeping in the boat only to be woken up and telling the wind and waves to be still and give Him some peace. There is almost nothing in the Scriptures about Jesus’ boyhood and young adulthood except the one incident where he was obedient to his mother and Joseph. Even though He never sinned he still had to be brought up. He had to be raised and taught about things. Just because you have to be corrected or taught something doesn’t automatically make it a sin it just means you needed to be taught about that. He experienced everything in life that we have but He didn’t sin as a result of being tempted.
These thoughts led me to my Theilogical question: Did a youthful Jesus run outside to play with His friends, and did His mother ever yell after Him, “Jesus! Close the door! Were you born in a barn?”
Comments
25 responses to “NaBloPoMo – Day 27 – A Thielogical Question About Christmas”
Great last line, Herb! I’ve always wondered, did Jesus ever have a pet puppy. If He did, then pets are in Heaven!
My short answer, which I give to my Sunday School kids, is yes. I have a lengthy spiel about it but basically, animals have a spirit and a spirit goes back to God, who made it.
It’s good to be able to reflect that things are better this year for you than they were a year ago.
I imagine a youthful Jesus was probably a quiet Jesus. He didn’t have much to say, he was always thinking. If he was going around spouting off about all his brilliant insights all along, that would be a very different story. The point of the wedding at Cana is that at one point his mom is like, “Jesus, stop hiding!” So he turns water into wine. I imagine he was a good friends. The Gospels don’t fill themselves with that part because it’s kind of beside the point. I just got several members of my family the Ted Dekker A.D. books. The one thing I would quibble about them is how Dekker portrays Jesus as inherently magnetic, like it’s almost not even what he says or does or IS but how he makes you feel. That’s not really Jesus because it IS what he says, what he does, what he IS, and all that is fed by knowing he’s a decent person first and foremost. He was the guy who did thoughtful things just because it was the right thing to do, the nice thing. He was the embodiment of “is this real? is it just an act?” where most of the time you find out it IS just an act to get you to like them. He wasn’t out to impress people. His more difficult teachings (…all of them?) prove that. But he didn’t just attract people because of the miracles, because of expectations, because he seemed like he had answers. He was the complete package.
What you say could very well be. We know he grew up learning the family trade and took over the business because at one point the people say, “Isn’t this the carpenter? How does he have such beautiful words?” (I paraphrase). The Bible does say he would have no physical attractiveness.
I had to look Dekker up. I might look at him further sometime but I’m way behind on my reading.
I felt like being a rebel and jumping ahead in my blog reading today, so here I am, not commenting a month late!
I have the same Christmas tree dilemma, the big traditional tree or the smaller one that comes out of the box in 3 pieces. I guess there’s time. And it is good that you have more blessings this year.
I love your ending. I have always wondered about poor Joseph. His wife was specially chosen by God, and his son actually was God. Was the poor man ever right in a family disagreement?
Hahahaha! Poor Joe! That’s a good question.
Good question. I’ve never thought about it before.
It seems like it could happen that way.
Love the last line. I am pretty sure Jesus had a stable childhood. 😊
Hahahahaha!
Good question!
I have often imagined Jesus with a torn toga saying “But Moooommmmmm…” I Mary could eye-roll with the best of them.
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Laugh and Give Thanks
I can see it.
Or there in Joseph’s shop saying “oops” 😂🤣😂
Lol. He was human…
Yes 🤣😂🤣
I’ll pray for you
Thanks! You should have been all along. But can you really deny that it could have happened that way?
Hahaha. Actually there’s a rather irreverent, satirical book about Jesus’s childhood called Evangelion according to Biff, his childhood best friend, that goes into the adventures of young Jesus, but in a very funny, specific way. It’s a great read
I am just hoping Jesus has a sense of humor because I do not read much about that anywhere. Maybe that is covered in Theilogical writings.
Oh, Herb, you keep this up and you’ll be dodging lightening bolts, despite the fact, or I guess because of it, the ending was really funny!
Thank you!
I’m happy that this year has been better than last – 2020 sounded like a tough year!
Thanks. Yeah, it was rough in a lot of ways…
here’s to an even better 2022…