An extraordinary life

Jesus never had it easy. Even before he was born, the neighbors (no doubt) whispered about his parentage. His mother worked from home, washing, cleaning, and providing meals, while his foster-father was laboring as a tekton, an all-around handyman. Mary and Joseph used their hands in different ways, but always working – and praying. Jesus grew up in a hamlet called Nazareth and learned much from his parents, like how to build a home and how to craft a prayer. He lived an ordinary life in one way, and an extraordinary one in another, as the son of the Father and the adopted son of a man. He was both the same as us, fully human as born of a woman (Gal 4:5), yet light years different from us, fully divine as conceived by the Holy Spirit (John 1:14). He spent 30 years waiting, learning, praying, pondering, and living a seemingly ordinary life. Yet different than all the rest. And I imagine that made his life a bit uncomfortable. A little harder than most, trying to be in the world without being of the world, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

It's in these ordinary times, in these long days of summer, where life is lived. Where habits are developed, where boundaries are tested, and where friendships are forged. It’s a time for building relationships, a time for family. A time for thinking, reading, and pondering. A time for rest and relaxation. For introspection. But it doesn’t seem that way, sometimes. It seems as though we bring work wherever we go and scheduling kid lessons and practices dominate the day. We want to be where the action is, whether it’s at the soccer fields or the local ‘watering hole.’ Those aren’t necessarily bad things, unless we’ve lost our focus and are trying to be of the world instead of in the world… if we neglect the rhythm of church and the safety of prayer. For this life, this little meandering around on planet earth, it’s really just a short journey to eternity. The ordinary sandwiched between the extraordinary in the exitus-reditus cycle of life.

This summer, let’s make our life a little uncomfortable, a little different, perhaps a little harder. Slow it down, be counter-cultural: plan less and ponder and pray more. Let’s spend more time hanging out with family, friends, and God. Be with the people that matter. Let’s build a home and craft a prayer, in our hearts as well as our lives. Let’s be in the world, not of the world. Let’s make an ordinary life, well, extraordinary. It will be worth the effort. And that, my friends, is a little good news.