LUKE 2:41-52

41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.

42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.

43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it,

44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances,

45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.

46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

48 And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”

49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”

50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.

51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Let’s see if you can connect some dots.  I’m going to give you a few names and we’ll see if you can figure out what all these people have in common.  Here’s a hint.  All of these people were in the news this past year.  First there was Nadya Suleman.  Then there was Richard Heene who was followed by Tareq and Michaele Salahi.  So what do those four people have in common.  They were all in the news this past year because they weren’t content to be ordinary every day people.  They wanted to be extraordinary.  They wanted to be special.  Let’s start with Nadya Suleman.   Most people know her better as Octomom.  She’s the woman who went to that fertility clinic and gave birth to those eight babies.  She did that even though she was on welfare and already had six other children.  She said she did it because she loves children.  Some of the evidence though suggests that what she really wanted was her own reality television show.  Then there was Richard Heene. He got his ten minutes of fame as the world famous father of the high flying Balloon Boy. He just went to prison this past week for that incredibly stupid stunt. Finally we come to Tareq and Michaele Salahi.  That’s the husband and wife who wanted to hobnob with President Obama and other very important people.  So, they crashed that State Dinner at the White House. 

Why is it that these days it’s unacceptable to ordinary.  You have to be extraordinary.  You have to be special.  It isn’t just a few people here and there either.  It’s everywhere.  Just look at some of the names that parents give their children.  Open your newspaper to the sports page later today and tell me if you can pronounce some of those names.  Maybe it’s my imagination but it seems like some parents want to make sure that no one else in the entire world has the same name that as their baby.  That’s because they don’t want their baby to be ordinary.  They want their baby to be special.  You can also see this disdain for being ordinary when it comes to birthday parties.  When I was growing up a birthday party meant that your mom baked a cake.  You had a few of your friends in the neighborhood over and after you blew out the candles you opened a couple of presents and then played pin the tail on the donkey.  Now birthday parties are big productions.  It isn’t okay to have an ordinary birthday party.  You have to have an extraordinary extravaganza.

By the way, what does that teach our children? It teaches them that ordinary isn’t acceptable.   Being ordinary is anathema in our success driven materialistic society. In fact you could argue that the Great Recession was due in large part to a fear of being ordinary.  Nobody wanted ordinary run of the mill cars and homes and jewelry.  Nobody wanted to go on ordinary run of the mill vacations. 

Nobody wants to be like the man who sat down one day and came up with some unusual New Year’s Eve realistic resolutions.  He decided to only make resolutions that he knew he would be able to keep. So as the clock was about to strike midnight he announced his resolutions to all of his friends. “This year,” he said, “I’m going to stop exercising and gain weight. I’m going to read less and watch more television.  I’m also going to procrastinate more and I’m not going to date any member of the cast of Baywatch or make any more New Year’s Eve resolutions.”

These days it’s almost a sin to be ordinary.  You look around and you see people who are rich and beautiful and successful.  It looks like they’ve got the perfect family and you feel that you have to be extraordinary too.

The next time you feel that way though just remember it might be an illusion.  Just look at Jesus.  When he was born there were angels singing in the heavens.   There were wise men who brought him gifts that no other baby in Bethlehem got.  All the Christmas cards that you get show a peaceful looking stable with a gentle mother and a proud father gazing into that crib with the holy child in it.  All that extraordinary perfection is reflected one of our favorite Christmas carols. 

“The cattle are lowing the baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.”

No crying he makes?  What do you mean no crying he makes?  I don’t know about you but I find that a little hard to swallow.  I don’t care if God was in that baby.  Jesus may have been fully divine but he was also fully human and human babies cry.  Human babies wake you up in the middle of the night because they want to be fed.  Sooner or later human babies end up with dirty diapers that need to be changed.

So, here’s what it all comes down to.  That sacred and serene image on your Christmas cards is an illusion.  It’s a myth. Things were far from perfect for Mary and Joseph and that tiny child.  Not only was that holy child born in a dingy stable but Mary and Joseph had to also take the child and flee to flee to Egypt shortly after he was born.  They went to Egypt because Herod wanted to kill their new little bundle of joy.

You can also see that things were far from perfect for Mary and Joseph by looking at that ugly little incident that took place in the Temple when Jesus was 12 years old.  That wasn’t exactly a Kodak moment.  Mary and Joseph were worried that something had happened to Jesus and when they finally found him in the Temple did Jesus apologize for making them worry?  No.  Jesus basically scolded them.  He made it look like it was all their fault.  Jesus asked them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my father’s house?”

So much for that illusion of perfection.  So much for the image of that perfect family.  I’m sure that Mary loved Joseph and Joseph loved Mary.  I’m sure that Mary and Joseph loved Jesus and that Jesus loved them but their life together wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  Their life together had its difficult and painful moments.  One of those moments came when Mary had to stand at the foot of the Cross and watch her son die a slow agonizing death.

If you’re driven by that desire to be extraordinary maybe God is sending you a message here. Maybe God is telling you to stop pushing yourself to be extraordinary and punishing yourself when you’re not.  That’s because when you’re driven by the desire to be extraordinary you end up taking yourself and life way too seriously.  God would rather you be more like Norman Cousins. Norman Cousins was a professor at UCLA’s medical school who believed in the healing power of laughter.  He used heavy doses of laughter to help himself recover from a serious heart attack.  While he was in the hospital he had a nurse who would always say “we” or “our.”  She say, “My, our blood pressure seems to be a little high this morning.”  Or, “Do you think we can try walking to the bathroom today?”  So, one day Norman Cousin decided to have a little fun.  After he finished his breakfast he took his apple juice and poured it into a specimen cup.  When the nurse came in that morning she looked at the specimen cup and said, “Oh dear.  We seem to be a little cloudy.”  Norman Cousins took the cup and looked at it.  “You’re right,” he said.  Then he said, “Maybe we better run it through again”  and he drank it.

I believe it was Voltaire who said that God is a comedian playing to an audience that’s afraid to laugh.  That happens when you’re always pushing yourself to be extraordinary. You end up taking yourself and life too seriously.

All of this is why I often tell people that more often than not happiness is found in mediocrity.  All of this is leads us to another person who was in the news this past year.  This person though captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of people all around the world. The person was Susan Boyle, that frumpy looking 49 year old woman with the voice of an angel.  She’s the very ordinary looking woman who sang “I Dreamed A Dream” on the television show “Britain’s Got Talent.”

Rev. James Martin, associate editor of the magazine “America” understood why Susan Boyle touched our hearts and minds.  He wrote: “The world generally looks askance at people like Susan Boyle, if it sees them at all…But God sees the real person, and understands the value of each individual’s gifts: rich or poor, young or old, single or married, matron or movie star, lucky or unlucky in life.  God knows us. And loves us.”

Maybe that’s why God put an extraordinary voice in such an ordinary woman.  (Play Susan Boyle singing “Amazing Grace.) That rendition of “Amazing Grace” comes from Susan Boyle’s new CD. People like Susan Boyle, Mary and Joseph make you realize that it’s not about us and our efforts to be extraordinary.  It’s all about God’s grace that is always there for ordinary people like you and me.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

January 17, 2010