Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.
Do you like being told what you are and what you think? Perhaps not. What about the times when the person talking about your views is apparently equipped with about fifteen minutes' worth of looking at memes which create straw men who are supposed to look like you but fail utterly? Oh, or when the person is clearly projecting his worst fears onto you?
I personally try to walk away from such encounters, though sometimes I have to cringe and bear it. Correction will accomplish very little.
In Matthew 13:54-58, the people of Nazareth knew all about Jesus based on the fact that his mother and brothers were there, and they had known Joseph, whom they presumed to be his father. Their opinion was set. They didn't have to listen to his teaching. Any miracles he did could and would be chalked up to coincidence. He seemed wise, so maybe they wondered what learned book he might have read.
How do we judge Jesus? Do we accept him as he is portrayed by his first century eyewitnesses? Or do we try to correct the account so as to agree with our more current, enlightened perspective? Do we seek to understand him, or do we read our doubts, our fears, our cravings for power and prestige into him?
Jesus presents himself as the one who can do beyond our imagination. Maybe it's time we look at him fairly and receive him with joy.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.