Episode 782
Embracing Youthful Wisdom: Lessons from Jesus in the Temple | Ep 782
In this enlightening episode of "Daily Bible Refresh" host Rev. Dr. Brad Miller takes us through a profound biblical passage from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, verses 39-52. Using the Message translation, Dr. Miller vividly unpacks the story of young Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem, engaging with the temple teachers, and causing his parents, Mary and Joseph, great concern.
As we embark on this spiritual journey, Dr. Miller draws our attention to a few key themes that resonate deeply with contemporary issues and personal growth. His narration is punctuated with actionable steps and thought-provoking insights designed to make these ancient scriptures come alive in today's world.
1. The Power of Youth Leadership: Dr. Miller emphasizes that wisdom is not reserved solely for the elders. Through the story of 12-year-old Jesus in the temple, we are reminded of the invaluable contributions of young people. Just as Jesus was commended for his incisive questions, today's youth are at the forefront of movements for climate justice, racial equality, and social change. This episode encourages us to support and elevate young voices rather than dismiss them due to age.
2. Navigating Family Dynamics: The episode explores how Jesus' behavior introduced tension in his family dynamics, challenging conventional expectations. This scenario mirrors the experiences of many who struggle with family structures, especially marginalized individuals such as those in the LGBTQ+ community. Dr. Miller’s insights foster a sense of understanding and compassion, urging listeners to navigate these dynamics with grace and empathy.
3. Sacred Questioning as a Path to Growth: Dr. Miller underscores the importance of asking questions as a spiritual practice. Jesus’ example of engaging in dialogue with temple teachers reinforces the idea that faith is strengthened through inquiry and critical engagement, rather than passive acceptance. This episode invites listeners to embrace doubt as a companion to faith and to cultivate a mindset open to growth and learning.
4. Intergenerational Wisdom Circles: One of the actionable steps proposed is creating intergenerational wisdom circles. By bringing together people from different age groups to discuss spiritual and social issues, we foster a community where all voices are heard and valued. This practice not only enriches our understanding but also helps bridge generational divides, promoting a more inclusive and cohesive community.
At the heart of this episode is a call to listen actively, challenge norms, and embrace a spirit of inquiry. Dr. Miller’s concluding prayer encapsulates the essence of the teachings, asking for divine courage to seek authentic paths and create sacred spaces for honest questioning.
Listeners are encouraged to visit voiceofgoddaily.com for further resources, including the ABC 123 Bible study guide, to deepen their biblical studies and spiritual journey.
Join us tomorrow for another episode of Daily Bible Refresh, where we continue to explore scriptures that are relatable, applicable, and pertinent to your life.
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The "Daily Bible Refresh" is presented each day by Rev. Dr. Brad Miller who has a goal of speaking a bit of the bible into two million ears (one million people) in three years (2025-2028).
He is the author of "The A, B, C-1,2,3 Bible Study Guide" Free to you by clicking HERE.
Brad served as a local church pastor for forty years and has a background in radio and podcasting. Moreover, he is a life-long student of The Bible.
He believes in the words of Jesus that “scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21)
The "Daily Bible Refresh" is available seven days a week by 6:00 am ET. The episodes are no longer than ten minutes long and are...
- Understandable: A reading from the New Testament (usually the Gospel) selected from the Revised Common Lectionary using "The Message" translation.
- Relatable: You will have a couple of "points to ponder" from the text which will relate to your life
- Applicable: Every episode includes a way you can take action based on the reading
- A recommended resource to help you go deeper in biblical study and spiritual direction.
- A prayer for your day.
A companion resource to the Voice of God Daily Podcast is the “ABC Bible Study Guide” available by clicking HERE.
The "Daily Bible Refresh" is available every day at VoiceofGodDaily.com on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcast directories.
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Remember… “All scripture is God-breathed and useful”(2 Timothy 3:16)
Transcript
Hello, good people. And welcome to daily bible
Speaker:refresh with doctor Brad Miller brought to you by voice
Speaker:of god daily.com. This
Speaker:is the podcast where we look to give you a fresh expression on
Speaker:a daily reading of the bible. We
Speaker:use the revised common lectionary
Speaker:to read the bible for the particular verse for this particular day.
Speaker:We're in yeast year c of the of the revised
Speaker:common lectionary in the epiphany season, and we offer you a
Speaker:re reading for this day, which is understandable,
Speaker:relatable, and applicable. We do
Speaker:that by giving you the just a new testament reading only for this
Speaker:day from the message translation of the bible. So
Speaker:that's what makes it understandable. We make it relatable by offering you a couple of
Speaker:points to ponder, some points to think about, teaching points
Speaker:if you will. We make it applicable by offering you an action step
Speaker:to take to apply the gospel or to to apply the reading
Speaker:to your life. We have a prayer. We do it all
Speaker:in under 10 minutes or so. Today's reading
Speaker:is indeed from the gospel of Luke chapter
Speaker:2 verses 39 through 52, reading from The
Speaker:Message. When they finished everything required by God in
Speaker:the law, they returned to Galilee and their own town, Nazareth.
Speaker:There, the child grew strong in body and wise in spirit, and the
Speaker:grace of God was on him. They found him in the temple. Every
Speaker:year, Jesus' parents traveled to Jerusalem for the
Speaker:feast of Passover. When he was 12 years old, they went up as
Speaker:they had always did for the feast. When it was over and they left for
Speaker:a home, the child, Jesus, stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his
Speaker:parents didn't know it, thinking he was somewhere in the company of
Speaker:pilgrims. They journeyed for a whole day and they began
Speaker:and then began looking for him among relatives and neighbors. When
Speaker:they didn't find him, they went back to Jerusalem looking
Speaker:for him. The next day, they found him in the temple, seated among the
Speaker:teachers, listening to them and asking questions.
Speaker:The teachers were all quite taken with him, impressed
Speaker:with the sharpness of his answers, but his parents were not
Speaker:impressed. They were upset and hurt. His mother said,
Speaker:young man, why have you done this to us? Your father and I had
Speaker:been half out of our minds looking for you. And he said,
Speaker:why were you looking for me? Didn't you know that I had to
Speaker:be here dealing with the things of my father? But
Speaker:they had no idea what he was talking about. So he
Speaker:went back to Nazareth with them and lived obediently
Speaker:with them. His mother held these things
Speaker:deeply and dearly within herself.
Speaker:And Jesus matured, growing up both in body
Speaker:and spirit, blessed by both God and
Speaker:people. Wow, a wonderful story about
Speaker:Jesus's family life and about how he
Speaker:dealt with authority and some family structure type
Speaker:of situations.
Speaker:And it's really about his courage
Speaker:to in be engaging with religious teachers of the temple
Speaker:and even with his own family. Here are some points
Speaker:to ponder. One of them is the celebration of
Speaker:youth leadership and and liberation.
Speaker:In this story, Jesus, at 12, is
Speaker:asking great questions of the religious authorities,
Speaker:and I think it just reminds us that wisdom is not limited
Speaker:by age. In our time of youth led movements for
Speaker:climate justice and racial equality and social change, I think the
Speaker:story affirms that young people have not only the
Speaker:right and the capacity, but the capability
Speaker:to challenge established systems and
Speaker:ask the difficult questions. The second
Speaker:point to ponder is about a disruption to family systems.
Speaker:Jesus, at age 12, is has an assortation
Speaker:of some autonomy, growing up, if you will, in the family.
Speaker:He says, didn't you know I had to be here? I mean, meaning in the
Speaker:temple, and he's really challenging the family dynamic, the family
Speaker:power dynamics, and and this speaks to the tension that many
Speaker:people face in their biological families with
Speaker:expectations and having to do
Speaker:with chosen family and community commitments.
Speaker:Sometimes these are particularly evident with LGBTQ
Speaker:plus individuals and other people who are marginalized by
Speaker:traditional family structures. Something to think about.
Speaker:3rd point to ponder has to do with sacred questioning.
Speaker:The image of Jesus listening and asking questions
Speaker:presents an alternative model for spiritual growth,
Speaker:one based on inquiry rather than passive
Speaker:acceptance. Progressive Christianity values
Speaker:questioning, doubt and critical engagement
Speaker:with tradition as essential parts
Speaker:of developing your faith. Here's your action
Speaker:step. It has to do with reimagining
Speaker:an intergenerational wisdom circle.
Speaker:That has to do with gathering people of different ages or situations
Speaker:in life, especially young people, and engage with
Speaker:them to discuss issues of spirituality, issues of
Speaker:peace and justice, things that impact your very community.
Speaker:And I invite you to practice deep listening
Speaker:across generations. If you're an older
Speaker:person like me, listen to the young and
Speaker:embrace and accept younger
Speaker:voices and and we're ensuring that they have
Speaker:equal space to question and challenge.
Speaker:You may want to even document this, write it down or record it, and so
Speaker:that these action plans can be incorporated
Speaker:for future actions Intergenerationally
Speaker:is an important part of this action step. We're gonna
Speaker:pray in just a moment, but did want to share with you, we do have
Speaker:a resource for you. It's free.
Speaker:It's free to help you read your Bible on a regular basis
Speaker:and study the scriptures in a simple manner that will help you go deeper.
Speaker:We call it the ABC 123 Bible
Speaker:study guide. You can find it at voice of
Speaker:god daily.com. That's where we have all of
Speaker:our show notes and our transcripts and all our back catalog
Speaker:of episodes of daily bible refresh over 700.
Speaker:And, it's also where you can find the ABC 123 Bible study
Speaker:guide that can help you make Bible study
Speaker:have really relevant and applicable to your
Speaker:life. Let's pray. Oh god, you
Speaker:are a divine source of wisdom. Give us courage to ask difficult questions
Speaker:even when they make others uncomfortable. Help us to listen to
Speaker:voices often dismissed as too young,
Speaker:too inexperienced, or too challenging.
Speaker:And when family systems and traditions constrain
Speaker:us, grant us strength to choose an
Speaker:authentic path. May we find sacred community
Speaker:in spaces of honest questioning, where doubt is welcome
Speaker:as faith's companion, and wisdom flows freely
Speaker:across generations. Guide us in creating
Speaker:space where all seekers, regardless of age,
Speaker:can wrestle with truth and find new
Speaker:beginnings. Amen.
Speaker:Well, thank you for being with me here on Daily Bible Refresh to to
Speaker:today. Be back with you tomorrow with Daily Bible
Speaker:Refresh with another reading of the scriptures that
Speaker:is relatable and applicable and pertinent to your
Speaker:life. We drop our episodes before 6 AM EST
Speaker:every single day. We hope that you will join us and ask others to
Speaker:join us as well. You can always find us at voice of god
Speaker:daily.com. Until next time, this is doctor
Speaker:Brad Miller inviting you to know that god's loyal love
Speaker:doesn't run out. His merciful love hasn't dried
Speaker:up. It's created new every
Speaker:morning.
