The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him (Luke 2:40)
The texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary offer some tension on the role of life in the world for the believer. The advice in the first letter of John not to love the world or the things of the world is wisdom which appreciates that the passions and desires which cause believers to put self satisfaction, wealth and privilege ahead of the relationship with the Divine are addictions to the attractions of the world and worldly living. The psalmist reminds us to ascribe to the Lord the glory that is due God. The traditional first commandment and the reason for our being in the Baltimore Catechism place God as the object of all our knowledge, love and service. The Gospel of Luke tells of the prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, who confirms her revelation that the child, Jesus was the one to save Jerusalem. Luke concludes today with “the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him”. This passage invites a second look at living in the world. It is the path chosen for the Child by the Father to bring the Word to Flesh amid the temptations cited by John and to set the Child on a development path with human parents in a human community for the purpose and growth and increase in strength. The area of process theology looks at the development of Jesus into a mature human as an important model of spiritual development for all believers.
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