Why, if Jesus came as the fulfillment of prophecy about God’s peace and justice, are so many of his followers so violent and have been throughout much of history?
Why did Jesus pray that his followers would be one with him and the Father and one with each other only to have millions of people claiming to follow him yet divide themselves into smaller groups in order to argue and fight with other groups of people claiming his name?
We have a few stories about Jesus entering the world. What was it really like?
Why did I accept certain teachings only to grow up and discover that they really were not in the Bible after all?
Walter Issacson has written a biography of Leonardo Da Vinci. This follows previous biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and Steve Jobs. He discovered his curiosity leading to the research and books was about these unconventional, yet highly creative, men. I’ve heard Issacson speak twice in the last month. These men were all curious–about many things.
He relates how Da Vinci wrote in a journal one morning about thinking about woodpecker’s tongues. He was curious.
How much of these stories about Jesus have I just accepted, placed in a safe memory spot, and then just dusted off each December along with the Christmas tree ornaments?
Where did my curiosity about what it was really like, what did it really mean, how did people really react go?
We are in the season of Advent. The idea is that we are to prepare for the celebration of Jesus coming into our world.
Maybe part of preparation is to ask lots of questions. And seek the deeper answers.
Faith Venture 
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