Searching

This message was first delivered at Cove United Methodist Church in Coleman Falls, Virginia on December 30, 2018. It is based on the lectionary texts of Luke 2:41-52 and Colossians 3:12-17.  

Luke 2:41-52 Common English Bible (CEB)

Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. When he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to their custom. After the festival was over, they were returning home, but the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t know it. Supposing that he was among their band of travelers, they journeyed on for a full day while looking for him among their family and friends. When they didn’t find Jesus, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple. He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and putting questions to them. Everyone who heard him was amazed by his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were shocked.

His mother said, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Listen! Your father and I have been worried. We’ve been looking for you!”

Jesus replied, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” But they didn’t understand what he said to them.

Jesus went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. His mother cherished every word in her heart. Jesus matured in wisdom and years, and in favor with God and with people.

I have to admit, I found it a bit jarring when I began looking at the lectionary scriptures for this Sunday. So soon after Christmas, we are already leaping years ahead in the life of Jesus! I wanted to say “no, let's stay in Christmas for just a little longer! Let's sing some more carols and enjoy the baby. Is it already time to take down the lights and the tree?” Well, don't worry – my tree won't come down for at least another week. After all, it took about 10 days before I even got the lights on it! It seemed like the gospel lesson today was already screeching toward Easter with this Passover trip to Jerusalem. And I was just getting comfortable in front of the chestnuts roasting on that open fire. But with the new year upon us – this message of searching and seeking is actually the logical next step after welcoming the Messiah.

Scripture doesn't tell us very much about the life of Jesus between the time of his birth and the start of his public ministry. there are very few stories about the young Jesus in the Bible at all. In the three years cycle of the lectionary they are all read in worship on the First Sunday after Christmas. One year we read the story of Mary and Joseph’s presentation of their son at the Temple and the unusual responses from Simeon and Anna. The next year we read about the holy family fleeing to Egypt to escape genocide. And in the current year we read about Jesus’ decision to stay behind for a few days in Jerusalem to get to know his God a little better.

In my study I came across an interesting question that I had never pondered before: When did Jesus begin to realize that he was set apart and chosen by God to be the Messiah? Whoa...I had never considered that before. I had always assumed that Jesus always knew that he was divine – but then how could he be truly human? I'm sure that scholars could argue this much more adeptly and we could get a dozen opinions from only ten wise men...but I thought it an interesting question of Jesus' self-awareness. I know that when I was twelve years old, I didn't know much about myself and didn't even consider my place in the larger world. I was pretty much focused on starting Junior High and not flunking science. I'm not sure that I really starting asking myself who I was and how I fit into the world until I was twice that age.

The question reminded me of one of my favorite book series, Harry Potter. In the first book we meet Harry who is just living his life...and not a very happy life...when he turns eleven and things change very suddenly! A great big man breaks down a door and tells him that he is a wizard – understandably, it takes Harry a little while to adjust to the idea.

Did Jesus experience something like that in his life? Well, probably not a half-giant breaking down a door...but some increasing awareness that he is different... Did he always know that he was meant to do something important...someone who would change the world? Or did he grow into that knowledge? When? Was it when his mother became pregnant by the Holy Spirit? Was it when his parents presented him at the Temple?

Was it when Simeon and Anna recognized God’s very Spirit in him? Was it when he lingered behind in Jerusalem to ask questions for three days after his visit to the holy city for Passover at the age of twelve? What it when he was baptized and the heavens opened up and a dove descended and alighted on him and the voice of God was heard declaring, “this is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased?” Was it when he opened his public ministry by declaring “’The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him”.

Whenever and however it happened for Jesus, it must have in some ways been like it is for all of us. It must have been a gradual realization over time, brought about by a combination of gentle nudges, enlightening conversations, and radical reactions to the world we all inhabit and the role our divine creator God plays in it all. But in other ways, it must have been completely different. After all, none of us is the Messiah, the son of the living God, the one whom we call Christ.

But we are all seeking to know things. At our core, there are questions that we seek answers to. Who are we? Are we the person we are meant to be? What is our purpose? Will our lives make a difference? Why are we here?

Our gospel lesson today describes two searches – Mary and Joseph as they search for their lost child, Jesus. Sermons4Kids often provides me with material when I do the children's time at Centenary and today's lesson had this story for the kids: Has this ever happened to you? You are shopping when an announcement comes over the store's loudspeaker, "May I have your attention please? We are looking for a six-year-old child who is lost. His name is John and he is wearing blue jeans and a red shirt. If you find John, please bring him to the customer service center." How did this child become lost? Perhaps he just wandered off to look at the toys and his parents left him behind. Maybe the child's mother and father each thought he was with the other parent and went on about their shopping. You can imagine how concerned the parents were when they realized that the child was missing. How about John? How do you think he felt? If he was having a good time playing in the toy department, he probably never even knew that he was lost! Have you ever been lost? How did you feel? Were you afraid, or were you confident that your parents would find you and everything would be alright?

It's a sweet story that doesn't end with anyone kidnapped and nobody called child protective services. But it made me remember a time a few years back when several Centenary families were camping up at Jellystone near Natural Bridge. The great thing about camping with cartoon bears is that the kids can pretty much roam from pools to lake to campsites to the river without a whole lot of supervision. I was sitting near the lake when one of the moms came up asking if I'd seen her son Cooper. I hadn't but joined her in looking.

As the minutes passed the panic started to rise in my heart. We became more frantic in the search. It was one of the worst 30 minutes of my life and it wasn't even my kid. He was found but not before his mom grew another hundred gray hairs. I can't even imagine how Mary and Joseph felt when they discovered Jesus wasn't with the group.

At first, his parents did not miss Jesus. They assumed he was traveling with some of their friends. When evening came and Jesus still didn't show up, they became worried. They looked among their friends and relatives but Jesus was no where to be found. So they started retracing their steps. They returned to Jerusalem to search for him there. They searched for three days before they finally found him. And he didn't understand why they were so upset.

He was right where he was supposed to be...didn't they realize that? Why were you worried? No need to search, I'm right where I'm meant to be. And they didn't understand. Which, from a parent's point of view, makes sense. From the parent point of view the place he was meant to be was with them and the group on the trip back to Nazareth. He was not meant to wander off and worry them and cause them three days of heartache and concern. But from the divine point of view...Jesus has the right answer. He WAS right where he needed to be, because he was searching for answers. He was asking questions. He was seeking to know and understand his heavenly father, the one who had sent him on this mission. A mission he may have only begun to understand and embrace.

The second search in our gospel lesson today is Jesus' search for answers; he is developing into adulthood, and—above all— discovering his mission as Son of God. I know this presents serious questions for some people regarding Jesus’ nature as both human and divine. For some, the question is, “Didn’t he understand his own divinity?” For others, the question is, “If he understands his divinity, how authentic was his experience as a human being?” For me it came down to this question, if Jesus always knew he was divine, then how could he have truly had an authentic human experience? And to that question I have had at least a dozen answers in less than a week. The searching for me, continues. And isn't that actually a valuable part of faith building?

A friend of mine who is agnostic has spent many hours – often long into the night - asking me why I believe in God. From time to time he exasperatedly says something like “if there was really a God, why wouldn't he just reveal himself, like write it up in the sky so that there wouldn't be any question?”

He genuinely wants to throttle me when I say “then there would be no need for faith.” I love Gary, but he just doesn't get it. God wants us to choose to believe. The searching is part of the exercise. It is a part of the growth experience. God didn't want us to just pop out into the universe and grovel at his feet – he could have made beings like that...but then where would be the joy in that? He created all these unique and vibrant and intelligent and interesting beings and wants to have an individual and unique and vibrant relationship with each one. By choice. Something that we grow into.

Even when we do get a glimpse of Jesus as a young man, Luke doesn’t go into much detail. He simply says that Jesus was “increasing in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor”.

But isn’t that precisely the where journey of Jesus departs radically from ours? All human beings increase in wisdom and in years (if you are lucky, many years), but not all of us increase in divine and human favor. We have the ability – but do we have the will? Are we people that reflect the God that we say that we worship? The God that Psalm 148 we read earlier is talking about? The Lord whose name alone is exalted; whose glory is above earth and heaven. He who has raised up a horn for his people? When God looks upon our heart, is it aligned with his will? His desire to shower love upon all his creation – not just the ones whom we deem worthy? If it is...then you are living a life in divine favor. And probably in human favor – but if you had to pick...which one would you choose? If I had to offend all of my friends and family and coworkers in order to do what was just and right in the eyes of God...would I have the courage to do what I needed to do? Will I stand up to injustice even if it would cost me human favor? With God's help, I will strive to be sure that answer is yes.

Not one of us has increased in divine favor in the way that Jesus did. Jesus increased in divine favor so much that when his disciples tried to describe what it was like being with him, the only words that would suffice were to say that being with Jesus was so holy and so profound that for them it was the same as being in the presence of God! They could not differentiate, and so they began to use divine language to speak of their teacher, their rabbi, the one they called their messiah and Lord.

Certainly, Jesus must have known himself to be fully human; but did he know he was fully divine? Some passages of Scripture suggest he had an awareness of his own divinity. Could this be the reason that he wanted to stay behind and linger in the Temple for a while? Was it because it felt more like home to him than the home he shared with his earthly parents?

We know from the scripture that Jesus wasn't just a casual observer in this encounter in the temple. He was listening to the teachers but he was also asking questions. Though under the law, attendance at the feasts in Jerusalem was obligatory for boys from the age of thirteen, a birthday that was a milestone in the life of a Jewish boy, when they became a Son of the Commandment or Bar Mitzvah; in practice, this legal age was pushed forward by one or two years so that Jesus, after he had passed his twelfth year, came up to Jerusalem for the Passover with his family.

Jesus’ first view of the Temple must have filled him with a great sense of the purpose he had been developing during the quiet years in Nazareth. Attendance at the Temple was obligatory only for the first two days of Passover, after which many of the pilgrims would have returned home again. This is when Jesus stays behind – to continue his spiritual journey.

And that's all we really can know. Luke doesn’t give us any insight into the reasons behind Jesus’ choice. We don’t know how he felt about his understanding of his call. We do know that after this he does return with his family to Nazareth and then we begin to encounter the adult Jesus as he begins his ministry. What he felt and experienced during the intervening years are not recorded in scripture. But we know that when his ministry began, he was ready.

How about us? Where are we in our searching for God? In our development of this relationship? Are we where we want to be? Are we where we need to be? We know the mission – we've got the directions, now we need to continue on this journey of divine and human favor.

Which brings me to my final thought...Father Greg Boyle in his book Tattoos on the Heart addressed this particular concept in a way that I found incredibly comforting and true to my understanding of the heart of God. He suggests that instead of growing in favor with God...since God's love is boundless and unconditional...how could it “grow”? Instead he says that it is us who discovers our favor with God... Rather than growing in favor – we actually realize that we are favorable. Did Jesus become increasingly favorable to God, or did he just discover, over time, that he was wholly favorable?

Have we misplaced Jesus? Gotten so busy in our lives that we look around and discover that we need to find him? Then we should do what Mary and Joseph did...then we will discover him...at his Father's business.

And he is ready for us to join him in this world changing work. Seeing all that we encounter through the eyes of God so that we can share the good news … that Jesus Christ was born and fulfilled his mission of bringing a new connection between creation and Creator. That God so loved the world. That he gave his only son, to walk among us...to experience humanity...to die for our sins and create a new covenant.

Colossians 3:12-17 gives us our instruction: “Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Be tolerant with each other and, if someone has a complaint against anyone, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other. And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. The peace of Christ must control your hearts—a peace into which you were called in one body. And be thankful people. The word of Christ must live in you richly. Teach and warn each other with all wisdom by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him.” Amen

O Holy Night

This message was first delivered at Cove United Methodist Church in Coleman Falls, Virginia on December 27, 2015. It is based on the lectionary text of Colossians 3:12-17.

Colossians 3:12-17 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The weather this week has not been exactly conducive to gazing at the night sky...but one of my very favorite moments of the past few days was as I was leaving my house on Christmas Eve to head to Centenary for the evening service. I was running late and was still in the “harried and hassled” mode of Christmas Eve. As I was leaving the house, I happened to glance up at the sky...and I could see, through the cloud cover, the moon. My breath caught in my throat and I stared at the night sky...and it brought my impatience and hectic pace to an abrupt stop. I let go of the to-do list and took a full minute to stare into the sky and just be.

It reminded me of my favorite Christmas carol - "O Holy Night." This well-known carol was composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" (Midnight, Christians) by a wine merchant and poet, Placide Cappeau. In Roquemaure, the church organ was recently renovated. To celebrate the event, the parish priest asked Cappeau, to write a Christmas poem. Cappeau did it, although being a professed anticlerical and atheist. Soon after, Adam wrote the music. On Christmas Eve, at Midnight Mass, in an obscure French village...a choir celebrated Jesus' birth with O Holy Night.

Most didn’t think much of the song when it was written. Not because the song itself was without merit but because they didn’t much appreciate its author. Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure was a poet commissioned by a French Bishop. He was considered by many to be less-than-worthy of such a task. Some considered him profane – others thought of him as a trouble maker at best. He was indeed a social radical; known for his opposition to things like injustice, inequality, and oppression. He tended to be out spoken.

Adams, the one who wrote the music to the song, was just as unqualified … he was, after all, a Jew! When the Church Leaders in France learned these facts, they officially banned the song as “unfit for church services.” But it was too late! O Holy Night had already become one of the most beloved Christmas songs in France --- and no matter what the Church Leaders decreed --- the French people kept singing it. You see, even though the composers may not have believed what they wrote, they had produced a masterpiece that was true to the Gospel message.

In spite of the criticism of some, the song struck a nerve with the masses. It spoke to them. From the first verse:

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn ….

Here we see the birth of Christ from a Heavenly viewpoint … a birth that awakened the whole world … a birth that brought a new and glorious morn to everyone on earth.

The Nativity story teaches us to reflect not only on the birth of Jesus, but its universal message of peace and goodwill. The story begins with a census. All citizens, by order of Caesar Augustus, went to be registered in their place of family origin. Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem because of the census. Jesus was born in a cave stable set aside for shepherds’ flocks in time of storm. In a place of abandonment, Jesus was laid in a manger on this particular night, since there was no room for them at the inn. The story goes on to reveal that on this night, shepherds guarded their sheep in the fields and angels appeared to announce the birth of the new born king. Later on, perhaps weeks after, wise men appeared bearing gifts fit for a king. Finally, the young family fled into Egypt because King Herod sought the child to kill him after being informed of the birth.

At the heart of this story, as it unfolds in the cave stable, is the birth of a higher expression of love that had not been expressed up unto that point in time. That love brought to fulfillment in Jesus manifested itself as selfless love.

Father Greg Boyle, author of Tattoos on the Heart gives an interesting perspective to O Holy Night, (I read from the chapter in his book titled simply “Kinship”): “I grew up in an old large house. My five sisters and two brothers and I were told never to go to the attic. This is all we needed to hear. Before long, we were selling tickets to the attic. On one of our forays there, navigating the uncertain planks that kept you from falling through the ceiling below (I guess that explains my mom's prohibition), we found a box of old record albums. One thick, red-clay recording was labeled “O Holy Night – Kathleen Conway” (Conway was my mother's maiden name). We hurried downstairs, placed the record on our toy phonograph and encircled the speakers, lying on our stomachs, fists propping up our attentive heads. A glorious, though timeworn and scratchy voice came through the speakers. Our mom, it turns out, before she decided to have eight kids, was an opera singer. We could barely fathom that the voice that hollered at us to come to dinner belonged to this magic emerging from our toy phonograph. We played the grooves off of this record. Consequently, a line from the song found itself permanently etched in my brain – a mantra of sorts: “long lay the world in sin and error pining - 'til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.” Sure, it is a song about Jesus and Christmas, but how is it not the job description of human beings seeking kinship? It's about appearing,” remembering that we belong to one another, and letting souls feel their worth.

The scripture from Colossians that I read a few minutes ago speaks to this goal – Paul was writing to the church at Colossae from prison and he was concerned about reports that he had heard of them following false teachers. He wanted to bring them back to the basics. From The Message, verses 12-14 “So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.”

Compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. The basics – treat all humans with compassion and kindness. Be humble. Be strong but not boastful. Forgive quickly – and completely. But above all – Love. Let the souls feel their worth...because in this world, it is easy for people to feel devalued. To feel unworthy. To feel unloved and forgotten. To not be sure if God loves them. To not be sure if God loves us.

In his book, Father Greg tells about a homie named Bandit who came to Homeboy Industries after a lot of time “being at home in all things illegal.” He finally decided he was “tired of being tired” and left his old ways behind. The job developers located an entry level job – unskilled and low-paying, a first job. Fast forward 15 years and G got a phone call from Bandit, “G, ya gotta bless my daughter.” “Is she okay?” Father Greg asked. “Is she sick or in the hospital?” No, Bandit told him...Carolina was headed to college. The first in his family...and he was hoping that G could offer a send-off benediction. Bandit, his wife and three kids all arrive and the young Carolina is encircled and blessed. Not a dry eye in the office. In his own words, “I'm not entirely sure why we're all crying, except, I suppose for the fact that Bandit and his wife don't know anybody who has gone to college – except, I guess, me. Certainly no one in either one of their families. So we end the prayer and we laugh at how mushy we all just got. Wiping our tears, I turn to Carolina and ask, “So, what are you going to study at Humbolt?” She says, without missing a beat, “Forensic psychology.” Bandit chimes in, “Yeah, she wants to study the criminal mind.” after a few beats he says, “Yeah, I'm gonna be her first subject!” They walk out to the car together and as everyone piles in, Pastor G says to Bandit, “Can I tell you something, dog?” “I give you credit for the man you've chosen to become. I'm proud of you.” and Bandit answered, I'm proud of myself. All my life, people called me a lowlife, a bueno para nada. I guess I showed them.” I guess he did. And the soul feels its worth.

The message of Christmas remains as before, peace, love, and goodwill to all. This message of peace and love is timely for all ages and seasons. Without peace, there cannot be goodwill or love. Likewise, without love, there cannot be abiding peace. That love mentioned in the Bible is defined as loving your neighbor as well as yourself. Without this kind of compassionate love, there can be no harmony or peace that passes all understanding.

The poet Hafez wrote of this kinship in his poem With That Moon Language:

“Admit something:

Everyone you see, you say to them, “Love me”

Of course you do not do this out loud;

Otherwise, someone would call the cops.

Still though, think about this,

This great pull in us to connect.

Why not become the one

Who lives with a full moon in each eye

That is always saying

With that sweet moon language

What every other eye in this world

Is dying to

Hear.

We are tasked with being that one – who, like Jesus, sees in every human they encounter...a child of God. A person who is worthy of love. One clothed in God's goodness. And we have the opportunity to show them their worth. Help them to come to know the truth about themselves and like what they find there.

The second stanza of O Holy Night:

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O’er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wise men from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend …

A miracle of miracles. He was born to be our friend. He came down to Earth fully human. To connect to us on a whole new level. Christmas (the incarnation) is all about God disclosing to humankind what he is really like. The incarnation shows us what God is and what God’s priorities are … that is central to the Good News of Jesus Christ. John 1:14 says The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Hebrews 1:3 says: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…

He chose willingly to come to Earth in such a humble way. Fully divine and yet fully human. The scripture from Luke that told of his pre-teen escapade in Jerusalem is one example of what a delicate balance it was – the divine vs. the human. God becoming flesh meant Jesus entered this debate as soon as he could (age 12 was often considered the age of adulthood in these cultures) and would redefine the interpretation of the Bible for his first disciples and generations of disciples to come. While Luke does not tell us the specifics of his questions and answers here, we get a good clue from his sermon at Nazareth: God is now bringing good news of deliverance especially to the poor, the enemy and the marginalized. And much like the poet who gave us O Holy Night, “He was considered by many to be less-than-worthy of such a task. Some considered him profane – others thought of him as a trouble maker at best. He was indeed a social radical; known for his opposition to things like injustice, inequality, and oppression. He tended to be out spoken.” I think that God is a big fan of irony.

The third verse begins:

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Which brings us back to what Paul was saying to the church in Colossae: “Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense.

His law? Is love. His gospel? Peace. And if we keep these thoughts in the forefront of our lives, we'll be in tune with each other. Not just as church members or Christians, but as humans in our daily interactions with others. Let the Word of Christ have the run of the house. That word is love.

We have the opportunity every day to show others that they have worth. That they are loved. Not when they pull their act together and behave the way we think they should... they are loved right now, just as they are. You are loved right now, just the way that you are. God loves you and wants you to know it with every fiber of your being. You concede “God loves us.” and yet there is this lurking sense that perhaps you aren't fully part of the “us.” The arms of God reach to embrace, and somehow you feel yourself just outside God's fingertips. You have no choice but to consider “God loves me,” yet you spend much of your life unable to shake off what feels like God only embracing you begrudgingly and reluctantly. “I suppose, if you insist, God has to love me too.”

Experience the utter fullness of God. Completely know the One in whom “you move and live and have your being.” You will see then, that it has been God's JOY to love you all along. Then you won't be able to hold back. Then, as Paul wrote in Colossians: sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

One more story from Father Greg, “at 3 o'clock one morning, the phone rings. It's Cesar. He says what every homie says when they call in the middle of the night, “Did I wake you?” I always think, “why no, I was just waiting and hoping you'd call.” Cesar is sober and it's urgent he talk to me. “I gotta ask you a question. You know how I've always seen you as my father – ever since I was a little kid? Well, I hafta ask you a question.” Now Cesar pauses, and the gravity of it all makes his voice waver and crumble, “Have I...been...your son?” “oh hell yeah,” I say. “Whew,” Cesar exhales, “I thought so.” Now his voice becomes enmeshed in a cadence of gentle sobbing. “Then...I will be...your son. And you...will be my father. And nothing will separate us, right?” “That's right.” In this early morning call, Cesar did not discover he has a father, he discovered he was a son worth having.

And the soul feels its worth.