Episode:Jesus of Nazareth—Childhood Career (Part 2)
The first great shock of Jesus’ young life occurred when he was not quite six years old. It had seemed to the lad that his father—at least his father and mother together—knew everything. Imagine, therefore, the surprise and disillusionment of this inquiring child, when he asked his father the cause of a mild earthquake which had just occurred, to hear Joseph say, “My son, I really do not know.”
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Keywords: Urantia, Jesus, Scientific Curiosity, Prayer Life, Religious Education
Opening thought: All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely Players; they have their exits and their entrances....His Acts being seven ages, man at first is the infant, then the whining schoolboy, then the lover, then a soldier, then justice, then spectacles on the nose and pouch on the side. Last scene of all is second childishness. —Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II(rephrased)
Summary by Justin
Commentary after review
In truth, all humans that strike step with eternity, have a developmental path that in essence follows the trajectory of the path of the human Jesus. “The way, the truth and the life” is universal, regardless of the specificity of the facts of time.
There is a logical sequence to the truth of all human life because we are a product of creation. Everything that is manifesting, is a result of a creative will that is absolute and infinite. All of the parts in creation are contained within the transcendent purpose of the whole.
God’s creative act within each person has a sensitivity that has the potential to respond positively towards the purpose of eternity. We are designed to respond to the example of a loyalty towards God. There are many favorable conditions to religious growth. The economy of spiritual growth is based upon the laws of the house—the laws of God. In eternity, there is infinite and perfect order, because there is God.
Hunger and thirst for righteousness. Choose to establish a [[personal realization of divine fellowship]] with the source of reality. Consecrate your will, to the perfect will of the Universal Father.
123:2. The Fifth Year (2 B.C.)
Jesus was made happy shortly before his fifth birthday, upon the arrival of his sister Miriam. The mind of young Jesus was now spiritualized, and he developed a genuine scientific curiosity. The soil essential for religious growth begins with the sequential cultivation of the first cosmic intuition, the development of a scientific insight that can respond to reality prior to exploration or experimentation.
There is a logical sequence of achieving great religious heights. Cultivating the essential soil of the “scientific realms of logical uniformity” [16:6.6] allows for a budding religionist to eventually be cosmically grown into a religionist of philosophic attainment.
As a child Jesus was spiritually precocious and his unusual mental activity was predicated on well-founded genetics and a home life that provided fundamental intellectual, moral, and religious training.
Upon his fifth birthday, the responsibility of the education of Jesus transitioned from Mary to Joseph, in accordance with Galilean Jewish tradition.
There are innate stages in what constitutes a human. There is a complex system that has been designed. Reflect on the fact that the mind of Jesus literally transitioned from animal consciousness to self consciousness in these early years of life. The following passage from the preface of [92:0.2-4] details the specificity of this sequence:
- The adjutant of worship—the appearance in animal consciousness of superanimal potentials for reality perception. This might be termed the primordial human instinct for Deity.
- The adjutant of wisdom—the manifestation in a worshipful mind of the tendency to direct its adoration in higher channels of expression and toward ever-expanding concepts of Deity reality.
- The Holy Spirit—this is the initial supermind bestowal, and it unfailingly appears in all bona-fide human personalities. This ministry to a worship-craving and wisdom-desiring mind creates the capacity to self-realize the postulate of human survival, both in theologic concept and as an actual and factual personality experience.
123:3. Events of The Sixth Year (1 B.C.)
On his sixth birthday Jesus was told that the textbook for his study of the Greek language, the priceless Septuagint which brought many earnest students and sincere truth seekers to his home, was now in his custody. The young, earnest Jesus was in personal possession of a sacred wisdom that could temper the development of his religious impulse and lead it toward ever-expanding concepts of Deity reality.
During his sixth year of life Jesus experienced his first great shock upon realizing that his earthly father and mother were not all-wise and all-knowing. When the young Jesus asked his father the cause of a mild earthquake, Joseph replied, “My son, I really do not know.” This led to a disconcerting disillusionment forcing Jesus to take his ideals up to a more appropriate level. He started to seek a recognition to the complexities of reality by having “just a little talk with his Father in heaven.”
During this year Jesus and John (later the Baptist) had a memorable visit, playing with blocks in the sand on top of the house. Their parents talked over many things, including the future plans for these two young boys who would eventually influence the evolutionary trajectory of our world, and local universe in time and space.
Being responsible for the religious training of Jesus, Joseph explained to him the meaning of the Sabbath rites, the synagogue sermons, and the recurring feasts of commemoration. Jesus pondered them seriously yet his character was even at this young age symmetrical; he balanced his solemn nature with the joy of the feast of tabernacles.
This balance of reaching towards the higher ideals of eternity was further demonstrated when as a young boy, the creator of a universe, would lay on his back and gaze wonderingly up into the starry heavens long after his usual bedtime.
Brad's Notes
- How to consider this arc
- This whole arc is a sequence of sections. Jesus of Nazareth is created over time, not in the snap of God's finger.
- It helps us think about how God's creative acts manifest not only in the macro, but in the micro. Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.
- Recognize the hand, habit, laws of God that precisely unfold everything.
- Find the beauty of creation in the logic of a sequence.
- Study the logical sequence of Jesus life. Don't obsess over how fast all of this unfolded.
- Recall the Tortoise and the Hare: quality over speed.
- This whole arc is a sequence of sections. Jesus of Nazareth is created over time, not in the snap of God's finger.
- Jesus at age 3 "was thrilled," but at age 5 he was "made very happy."
- This precision of language indicates the arrival of a Thought Adjuster between these two events. Pre-Adjuster, "happiness" is not possible, only the simpler emotional "thrill."
- A home that allows for "religious habits of thinking" [100:1.8]
- Ensure the home demonstrates an "economy of spiritual growth" (where economy literally means "the rules of the house")
- Ensure lots of opportunities all around the home for the child to find God.
- David shared a moving story about how, as a young child, "infinity found me" through a television preacher. He begged his mom to let him call the number of the TV. He did, and the preacher prayed for him right there, live.
- Introduce a child to worship in nature, in outdoors.
- As a parent, you're parenting something that has been designed. A God-based design. So understand the systems of the design. The more you understand of this, the better you will parent. The 5th ER reveals more of these systematic designs than humans have ever known before.
- "Soil for religious growth" [100:1.5]
- We see in Jesus' home the favorable conditions very much at play.
- He is "loyal" to his young friend Jacob [123:1.4]
- Jesus' adventurous scientific-curiosity questions demonstrate the first cosmic intuition being cultivated.
- e.g., Jesus asking about individuals born into the world. "Acumen," point-like matters.
- Jesus gets "satisfaction" from answers to these questions.
- This is "most valuable" [123:2.3] in his early education.
- Jesus' first cosmic intuition is strong: "No, dad, devils and angels don't cause physical things to happen."
- A parent can take any "how" scientific question from a child and help guide them to "why" philosophic questions that are Godward-pointing.
- Jesus' father isn't teaching science as an end unto itself. It's "soil for religious growth," pointing Jesus Godward.
- Joseph explained not just the "how" of Jewish ceremony to Jesus, but also "the meaning" of them (as in thing, meaning, value).
- Seriousness versus levity
- Jesus was entrusted at age 6 with a priceless manuscript. That's a serious burden. Thankfully those serious tendencies were tempered with things like playtime with sand and blocks!
- We need not be "colorless ascetics" [178:1.14] just because God is in our household. Note how the family enjoys simply mammalian delight ooh-ing and ahh-ing the babies in the house.
- A father is "held responsible" for a boy's education
- Also strongly implied parents are accountable to the community for their parenting and any anti-social behavior of their children.
- The "disconcerting disillusionment" finding his parents were not God? Essential and appropriate.
- They were his first concept of God (father) and the universe (mother).
- Don't let this disillusionment in the child casue them to abandon ideals ("there is no God"). Guide them toward higher ideals ("God must be higher")
- Calendar science was discussed. No days of the week are ever mentioned for B.C. dates.
