Early life of Jesus

As part of the Ignatian retreat in daily life, i have been meditating on the early years of Jesus' life. It has been very enlightening, even though there are actually few passages in Scripture about those thirty years or so, before he entered his 'mission', which was only a short three years. As i tried to imagine what life was like for him, it was revealing. Though we can never be certain of the details, i grew to appreciate the fact that like us Jesus lived a very commonplace existence for thirty years! There is no evidence that his townspeople knew him to be special before then, and even after he began to minister, they refused to accept him as any more than a 'carpenter's son'.

What strikes me most is how for God, time is never an issue. He's never in a hurry, something that i need to appreciate again and again. To Him, there is a time and place for everything, and that gives me great comfort.

I learned the lesson last week as i waited a few days to have an ultrasound test because a cancer marker was raised. The results are generally ok, but there is one part of my pancreas that appears a bit 'bulky'....coupled with the fact that my ultrasound pictures are actually quite unique (due to the many cysts in my polycystic kidneys!!) To visualize the area more clearly, it was suggested that i have a contrast CT scan. But i am not rushing into this for now. Learning to sit on things and let myself 'wait' upon.....a God who is never in a hurry.

It is amazing that God would send his son to us, in such a way that he lived our humanity in a realistic way. He didn't come as a superboy who grows up instantly, then saves the world in an instant.....no, he truly clothed himself in our fleshly garments, he knows what it is to be human, to live within the constraints of sacred time, even though he is from eternity to eternity.