“Why didn’t you talk to me? How come you just didn’t ask?”
I recall exasperatingly saying these words to my children
when they were teenagers. When they were very young, however, they were always
talking to me, always asking me questions or asking me for something. Though
perhaps I was at times a bit annoyed with them as young children, I loved the
attention. I loved that they wanted to talk to me, that they wanted… me. But as teenagers they began to assert their
independence and autonomy, sometimes to my consternation and their misery.
Perhaps there are some parallels to our relationship with God.
Hebrews 5:8 mentions about Jesus “Though he was a son, he
learned obedience by what he suffered.”
What? No way. Jesus was perfect, He never sinned, how or why did He have to
learn obedience? Some have said this verse refers to Passion Week, the Via
Doloroso when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane “Not my will but yours
be done” and then obediently submitted to death on the Cross. But maybe it’s
more than that.
“Though he was a son” it says. Jesus became a son at birth.
Luke 3 tells of when Jesus was 12 years old and his parents lost him in the big
city of Jerusalem and for 3 days were frantically looking for him. “’Son,’” his
mother said to him ‘Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been
frantic, searching for you everywhere.’”(Luke 3:48 NLT). Many a parent has spoken similar words to
their teenagers. Oh the anger we feel, the fear, the desperation.
And Jesus replies to his mother, “But why did you need to
search… you should have known I would be in my Father’s house. The family then
returns home to Nazareth and it says Jesus “was obedient to them.”
So obedience is something Jesus learned not just in Passion
Week, but from boyhood, perhaps even infancy. And just what is obedience?
I have mostly thought of obedience as being something I am
required to do and I do, but I don’t want to do it. Something contrary to my will
but that I must submit to for my own good. Sometimes that’s the case for us but
that probably was not the case for Jesus.
“Obedience ” in Biblical Greek is ὑπακοή, a compound word
hypo which means “under” and akuoo, which means “to hear.” Literally it means
to listen and live under, i.e. to hear and live by what you are hearing. The Hebrew word is similar. Jewish people
recite what is called The Shemma- “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is One. You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and all
your strength.” שׁמע shemma
means “to hear” and “to hear” means “to obey.” They are synonyms.
So when Jesus “learned obedience” it doesn’t mean he was
forced to do something he didn’t want to do. No, quite the opposite. He
delighted in learning to hear, to listen to His Father in heaven. To spend time
in his Father’s house listening and learning. And suffering is often what we
have to experience to get us to “shut up” and listen, isn’t it? When we suffer,
and Jesus suffered greatly, not just in his passion on the Cross, but in his
incarnation, taking on human flesh with all its limitations. When we suffer,
when we hurt, it is then that we stop and begin to listen. And maybe even go
back to church.
And what a joy it is to hear our Father in heaven, to listen
to his voice, and to experience his delight in us. As a parent, I loved when my
children came to me and needed me. As Father in heaven, God loves when we
become like children and come to Him, listening, asking, seeking, knocking. He
loves to take us in his arms and bless us with the very things we need most life.
Things like love, meaning, joy, purpose, significance, and value.
In Isaiah 30:1-2, my reading for today, Isaiah prophecies
“Destruction is certain for my rebellious children,” says the Lord. “You make
plans that are contrary to my will. You weave a web of plans that are not from
my Spirit, thus piling up your sins. For without consulting me you”… (devise
your own bad plans).
You see, from the beginning of time God as Father has wanted his
children to listen to Him, to listen to his Holy Spirit, who now lives in each
of us. He loves us so much and longs for sweet intimacy with each of his
children- with you! Can we take time to stop our busyness, stop and talk to
him, stop and listen to him? Stop and ask him?
Come on kids. Sit in my lap. Let me read you a story.
