Since I can remember, I've always enjoyed looking at maps. Watching my father pore over a AAA map on the kitchen table is a strong memory I still have of him when he was still in his 30s. And I like to think it's a trait he has passed down to me.
I like geography, but I like journeys even more. When Esther and I were still getting to know each other, one way I described myself to her is that when I get started on a path or a road, I want to follow it all the way to end. There's no turning back before the road ends, because then I might miss some remarkable view or nature spotting.
Having accumulated a perpetually long list of to-dos, I am not quite as adamant about finishing everything I start nowadays. But as we start this Bible reading journey, I hope this character trait compels me to finish what I started.
Today, in the reading of scripture, I was struck by all the geographical references. And the amount of movement, sojourning - let's use more germane vocabulary - immigration - that Abraham and Jesus experienced.
Abraham was born in Ur, but then at some point in his life, his father, Terah decided to move the family (Abraham, Lot and Sarah) to Canaan. But somehow along the way, the traveling caravan stopped in Haran and "they settled there."
I was struck how this one verse describes the state of many aspects of my own life and the lives of those around us. We are all from somewhere, on our way somewhere, but some how or at some point "settled" en route. The settling could mean a job, a level of marriage flourishing, a certain amount of energy dedicated to the kids' spiritual enrichment, or a certain lukewarm spiritual state.
But interestingly, even though Terah settled there (and died there), God didn't. He spoke into Abraham's life and eventually, Abraham and his family (after a detour to Egypt) did move to Canaan. But they ended up living out the rest of their lives as immigrants in Canaan.
I see some parallels in Jesus's life. Born in Bethlehem, Jesus's family moved when he was still an infant to Egypt where he lived for probably a decade or more. For some reason, this struck me as really interesting. In his formative years of childhood, Jesus lived in Egypt. He likely was exposed to many aspects of Egyptian culture. So much of who I am now was a result of culture seeping into me during the first 10-12 years of life.
How was Jesus affected by being raised in Egypt? Did it affect the ways he viewed culture, about being an outsider or an immigrant? Is the US sort of the modern-day equivalent of Egypt? A place of prosperity, safe harbor, and cultural influence that people come to - both the wealthy and ambitious, as well as those fleeing persecution?
But then Jesus' family settles in Nazareth, Galilee after being away from the region for essentially his whole life, where he lives for presumably the duration of his teens and twenties. And then his ministry starts with a mention of him moving to and living in Capernaum.
Jesus was an immigrant many times over. First, to the world. And then everywhere else he moved during his ministry. Jesus seemed to be willing to move when God spoke and live his whole life as an immigrant - both respecting the culture he was in, but not succumbing to it.
One loose definition of culture is the unconscious (and conscious) norms, attitudes, and values we have. How does Jesus's willingness to live as an immigrant his whole life affect how we live as Jesus followers here? It does make me wonder if I get too acclimated and even loyal to, or trained to think like, the culture around me.
That's one of the values of the immigrant! Immigrants can see the culture for what it is - a set of norms established by a group of people - and compare it to other cultures they have experienced. Hopefully, as believers, we can view this world and compare it to the heavenly culture. One that has not yet been fully experienced, but can be learned, in part, through reading of scripture.
I like geography, but I like journeys even more. When Esther and I were still getting to know each other, one way I described myself to her is that when I get started on a path or a road, I want to follow it all the way to end. There's no turning back before the road ends, because then I might miss some remarkable view or nature spotting.
Having accumulated a perpetually long list of to-dos, I am not quite as adamant about finishing everything I start nowadays. But as we start this Bible reading journey, I hope this character trait compels me to finish what I started.
Today, in the reading of scripture, I was struck by all the geographical references. And the amount of movement, sojourning - let's use more germane vocabulary - immigration - that Abraham and Jesus experienced.
Abraham was born in Ur, but then at some point in his life, his father, Terah decided to move the family (Abraham, Lot and Sarah) to Canaan. But somehow along the way, the traveling caravan stopped in Haran and "they settled there."
I was struck how this one verse describes the state of many aspects of my own life and the lives of those around us. We are all from somewhere, on our way somewhere, but some how or at some point "settled" en route. The settling could mean a job, a level of marriage flourishing, a certain amount of energy dedicated to the kids' spiritual enrichment, or a certain lukewarm spiritual state.
But interestingly, even though Terah settled there (and died there), God didn't. He spoke into Abraham's life and eventually, Abraham and his family (after a detour to Egypt) did move to Canaan. But they ended up living out the rest of their lives as immigrants in Canaan.
I see some parallels in Jesus's life. Born in Bethlehem, Jesus's family moved when he was still an infant to Egypt where he lived for probably a decade or more. For some reason, this struck me as really interesting. In his formative years of childhood, Jesus lived in Egypt. He likely was exposed to many aspects of Egyptian culture. So much of who I am now was a result of culture seeping into me during the first 10-12 years of life.
How was Jesus affected by being raised in Egypt? Did it affect the ways he viewed culture, about being an outsider or an immigrant? Is the US sort of the modern-day equivalent of Egypt? A place of prosperity, safe harbor, and cultural influence that people come to - both the wealthy and ambitious, as well as those fleeing persecution?
But then Jesus' family settles in Nazareth, Galilee after being away from the region for essentially his whole life, where he lives for presumably the duration of his teens and twenties. And then his ministry starts with a mention of him moving to and living in Capernaum.
Jesus was an immigrant many times over. First, to the world. And then everywhere else he moved during his ministry. Jesus seemed to be willing to move when God spoke and live his whole life as an immigrant - both respecting the culture he was in, but not succumbing to it.
One loose definition of culture is the unconscious (and conscious) norms, attitudes, and values we have. How does Jesus's willingness to live as an immigrant his whole life affect how we live as Jesus followers here? It does make me wonder if I get too acclimated and even loyal to, or trained to think like, the culture around me.
That's one of the values of the immigrant! Immigrants can see the culture for what it is - a set of norms established by a group of people - and compare it to other cultures they have experienced. Hopefully, as believers, we can view this world and compare it to the heavenly culture. One that has not yet been fully experienced, but can be learned, in part, through reading of scripture.
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