In the beginning, the baby was born. God chose Mary to be the Mother of God. Listen carefully! Listen to the words. God Chose Mary to be the Mother of God, and the word was born a wordless child.
When the baby looked up into the face of the Mother Mary, he already saw the cross. When he looked into the face of the Father Joseph, the cross was there too.
The Mother Mary and the Father Joseph held the baby close. They kept the baby warm. They gave the baby everything the baby needed to grow, and it began to grow.

I wonder how it felt to hold the baby close.

1. Jesus' Birth and Growth

The baby grew and became a boy. When he was about twelve years old, he went with the Mother Mary and the Father Joseph and with many other people from their village of Nazareth to the great city of Jerusalem to keep one of the high holy days. When the celebration was over the people from Nazareth went through the great high gate and started on the road towards home.
Suddenly, Mary and Joseph discovered that Jesus was not there! They thought he had been playing with the other children from their village as they walked together. They hurried back into the great city of Jerusalem to find him.
Mary and Joseph looked in the dark and narrow streets. They looked in the marketplace where they had bought their food. They looked where they had spent the night. They looked everywhere.
Finally, they even looked in the temple – and there he was. He was talking to the rabbis, the priests. When he spoke, they listened, because he knew so much. When they spoke, he listened because he wanted to learn more.
Mary and Joseph then asked the question most parents ask their children, the question you can never answer: “Why did you do this?” And Jesus said something very strange. He said, “Didn’t you know I would be in my Father’s house?”
Mary and Joseph did not understand. Their house was in Nazareth, where Joseph’s carpenter shop was. They did not understand, but they did not forget.

I wonder if you have ever felt or been lost. I wonder if you have ever lost something. I wonder if you have ever found something.

2. Jesus is Lost and Found

Jesus grew and became a man. When he was about thirty years old, he went to the River Jordan, where his cousin, John, was baptising people.
Jesus waded into the river until he was face to face with John. He said, “Baptise me.”
John looked at Jesus as if for the first time. Now he saw who Jesus really was. “how can I baptise you? You are the Messiah, the one we have been waiting for. You must baptise me.”
“No, it is written that you will come before me and prepare the way. Baptise me.”
Jesus went down into the darkness and chaos of the water. When John lifted him back up into the light, there were people there who said they saw a dove come down from heaven and come close to him.
There were also people there that day who heard a voice. The voice said, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.”
After Jesus was baptised, he went on across the river Jordan into the desert. He stayed there for forty days and forty nights to learn more about who he was and what his work was going to be.

I wonder if you have even been in darkness. I wonder how it feels to be in the light.

3. Jesus' Baptism and Blessing by God

Jesus went into the desert to discover more about who he was and what his work was going to be. He was there for forty days and forty nights. There was little to eat and drink.
One day he heard a voice. It said, “Why don’t you turn one of those stones into bread and have something to eat?”
Jesus said, “No. To be a real human being we need more than just bread to eat.”
Suddenly, it was like Jesus was on top of the great Temple in Jerusalem. The voice came back, “If you really are the Son of God, why don’t you jump and see if God sends the angels to catch you before you hit the stones below?
Jesus said, “No. We do not need to test God.”
Then, it was as if Jesus could see all the kingdoms of the world. The voice came back again: “If you will follow me, I will make you king over all these kingdoms.”
Jesus said, “No. I am to be king but not that kind of king.”
Then the voice went away.
Jesus went back across the Jordan and began to do his work. But what was his work?

I wonder if you have ever been tempted. I wonder if you have ever been in a desert.

4. Jesus’ Desert and Discovery Experience

Jesus came back across the Jordan River and began to do his work…..but what was his work? His work was to come close to people, especially the people no one else wanted to come close to.

When Jesus came close to people, they changed. They could see things they could never see before. They could do things they could never do before. They became well.
Jesus also told parables. Finally, he knew that he had to become a parable, so he turned towards Jerusalem for the last time.

I wonder if Jesus has ever come close to you. I wonder if you have ever been healed.

5. Jesus as Healer and Parable-Maker

Jesus went into Jerusalem for the last time. It was the time of the Passover and the city was full of people from many different lands. They thought Jesus was coming to be king, but they weren’t paying attention.
He wasn’t riding on a great white horse when he came into the city. He wasn’t being carried by soldiers. He was riding on a donkey, and it wasn’t even his. He had borrowed it.
Still that Sunday when Jesus came into Jerusalem, people waved palm branches, which were a sign of kings.
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Jesus went into the Temple to teach. Every night he went back to the Mount of Olives with the twelve. The people watched him and whispered that the Mount of Olives was where angels were supposed to come down to make an army to drive away the roman soldiers.
One day when Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he said, “Do you see that old woman over there? She’s going to put something in the money box. Listen. Did you hear anything? No. She put the smallest coin there is in the box. That was all the money she had.”
Now here comes a rich man. He has so much money to put into the money box that he had to have help to carry it. His money makes a huge clanging and ringing as they pour it into the box.
Now I wonder which one really gave the most, the old woman or the rich man.
Some said the rich man gave the most, some said the old woman.
The Temple guards said, “On Thursday we will take him” But on Thursday they could not find him. That evening Jesus and the twelve hurried through the dark streets to a house. They climbed up the stairs to an upper room and shared their last supper together.
After they had everything they wanted to eat, Jesus took some bread and gave thanks for it. Then he broke it and said something like,” Whenever you break the bread like this and share it, I’ll be there.” He also took a cup of wine, gave thanks to God for it and said, “Whenever you share a cup of wine like this, I will be there.
What was he talking about? He was always saying things like that. How could they know? Still, they did not forget, and later they would understand.
Suddenly Judas got up and left. The rest sang a hymn and then went to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. Jesus wanted to pray. When he was finished, he joined the Twelve, but Judas came out of the dark and greeted him. This was a signal for the temple guards to take him. They too came out of the shadows and took Jesus away with them into the night. The Twelve disappeared into the darkness as well.

I wonder how the people felt when they could see Jesus coming on Palm Sunday. I wonder what it’s like to share in the bread and the wine.

6. Jesus Offers the Bread and Wine

The night was a confusing one. The next day Jesus was taken outside the walls of the city and crucified.

That afternoon, Jesus died. The sky grew dark. Jesus was taken down from the cross and buried in a cave. A great stone was rolled into the opening of the cave to close it like a door. Saturday was so quiet; you could almost hear the earth breathing. On Sunday, it was the woman who had the courage to go to the tomb just to be close to Jesus. They wanted to remember, even if it was sad. When they came to the tomb they found that the stone had been rolled back and that the tomb was empty.
Jesus had died on the cross but somehow, he was still with them as he is with us, especially in the bread and the wine. 
When we think about the crucifixion, we are reminded that there is also Easter. When we remember Easter, we know that there is the crucifixion and you can’t separate them. This is the Mystery of Easter and that makes all the difference.
I wonder what part of the story you like the best. I wonder which part of the story is the most important part. I wonder where you are in the story. What part of the story is about you? 

I wonder if there is any part of the story we can leave out and still have all that we need.

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