Friday, February 23

How can a "hick" like Jesus really be the One?

Narrative Lectionary Daily Devotions written by Kace Leetch from Clergy Stuff.

I was born in Ames, Iowa and I grew up in the suburban Minneapolis hamlet of Anoka (which is ostensibly also the Halloween capitol of the world). Often, people judge another by the place and the situation they grew up in. I have frequently wondered what people think of me, that i haven't lived in too many exotic places and that I also studied in a dinky Minnesota college.

Jesus apparently received such judgment as well. We hear multiple times in scripture when the people weren't trusting of him because "can anything good come from Nazareth?" (John 1:46).

Honestly, it makes me happy that Jesus didn't grow up in a royal setting. It makes him more real. More down to earth. If God would take time to come even to a small town, I think that makes God more accessible, more real. What do you think?

Narrative Lectionary Text: John 7:40-44

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.