CONTORTED PASTA

I have come to bring peace to the earth, that all may be united in following me, and enjoy the fellowship and unity of the Family of God. For just as the nuclear family is intended by God to be an indivisible unit of love and fellowship, so it models the greater Christian family which, united in love of the Father, enjoys the peace that the Father intends. Should one break away and, through his obstinacy, create a stumbling block to divide the family, he is counter to the will of the Father and thereby a tool of Satan! For indeed it is through the love of the family that we know the love of God, and strong nuclear families are the building blocks of a strong nation.

He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, "Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?" He answered, "An enemy has done this." The slaves said to him, "Then do you want us to go out and gather them?" He replied, "Yes, clear out every weed, and put down mulch so that no new weeds will sprout. If you find a stalk of wheat whose roots are so entangled with the weeds that pulling up the weeds will uproot the wheat also, then that wheat is no better than a weed and shall be cast into the fire with them. For the weeds will only choke the wheat, and clearing the field, even if some wheat is lost, will allow the rest of the crop to flourish."

While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." To the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, "What joy there is in my heart that my mother and brothers have come! For truly, family is the most important thing in this life, and I value my mother and my brothers above all others."

"Each person must have the freedom of their will, and thereby the freedom to suffer the consequences of poor judgment. If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, why should he leave the ninety-nine on the mountains to go in search of the one that went astray? These ninety-nine trust the shepherd to protect them from the wolves and lions. A shepherd who would endanger the greater wealth of his flock – the good sheep who have done nothing to deserve endangerment – to go search for the one wayward sheep, is a poor shepherd. Indeed, the wayward sheep's lifestyle choices will reap their reward; it is not the shepherd's job to save it from its own stupidity, but rather to ensure the wellbeing of the flock, which will be a stronger and more successful flock for losing its stupid, self-destructive members. When the shepherd and his flock later come across the carcass of the sheep, devoured by lions, the shepherd will say to his sheep, 'Look you, this is why we do not leave the flock.' The will of your Father in heaven is for the sheep to obey the shepherd, and the sheep which contradicts his will, disavows the Father, and casts itself into the outer darkness, from which it will not be saved."

Now after the Three Kings had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him, but fear not, for the grace of God is upon you and he will not permit his chosen to be endangered. Herod will rage but he shall not touch you; as God has said: 'A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you,' and 'Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.'¹ So hold fast to your faith and remain in this land, whatever may befall around you, and do not flee to a land of unbelievers, for this is the land God has promised to his faithful and 'they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them'.²" So Joseph and the child and his mother remained in the city of David, their inheritance, and Herod in his jealousy slew all the infants in Bethlehem, but the Lord hid his blessed family from the eyes of Herod and they came to no harm.

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first such imposition by a bloated overbearing government and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and the family of David. He went to be registered with his lawfully wedded wife, Mary, who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and laid him in a soft new cradle, because Joseph was a skilled professional who was proud to provide for his family.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will exalt him above other men. He will do everything right, and so will never die, and of his authority there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "God has made clear through the Law and the Prophets that for a woman to conceive out of wedlock is abhorrent, and God would not go against his own word. Therefore, after your marriage to Joseph has come to pass, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Thus the child to be born will carry no shame, and will be holy; he will be the son of Joseph under the law, but will be called the Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren, but who has been released to achieve her highest calling. For nothing will be impossible with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word. My soul delights that I have kept myself pure, to be a pleasing vessel for the Lord." Then the angel departed from her.

And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognised them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; should we give them some food so they do not go hungry?" But he answered them, "It would take two hundred denarii worth of bread to feed all these people. If they wanted to eat, they should have brought food. It is not for us to feed those who have failed to make adequate preparations, and thereby reward them for their folly; doing so would only encourage them to be foolish again. Is it not written, 'If you give a man a fish, he will eat for one day; if you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime'?* Indeed, a fisherman will supply himself with food and sell the surplus to buy what he cannot provide for himself. Thus everyone prospers. Send them away to purchase their meals in the nearby villages. Who are we to deny the vendors there the blessing of this multitude's custom?" So the disciples sent them away, and the people ate in the villages, and the local economy flourished.

Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus stood up and turned to them and said, "You are right that Moses commands adulterers to be stoned to death. Woman, you knew this, yet still you committed adultery, and were caught in the very act. Therefore go, and receive the punishment you have brought upon yourself, as the Law of the Lord commands." And the scribes and the Pharisees saw that Jesus loved the Law and obeyed it, and was righteous in the eyes of the Lord, and they took the woman away and stoned her in fulfilment of the Law.