Thought for Today
Exodus 2:11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsfolk.
1 Kings 12:6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the older men who had attended his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, "How do you advise me to answer this people?" . . . 8 But he disregarded the advice that the older men gave him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and now attended him.
Luke 3:23 Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son (as was thought) of Joseph son of Heli,
1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways
The September Jobs Report was recently released by the federal government. It indicated that 150,000 new jobs were created last month. I do not carefully follow the Jobs Report and only tangentially look at news about it because of its effect on Wall Street. Recently, in addition to this news, we have read and heard a great deal about AI and STEM. I cannot help but wonder about the effect they both have on job creation. How many of those newly created jobs are in service industries and how many are in high technology industries?
Yesterday, our daughter visited and we were talking about colleges. Our 2 youngest grandchildren are entering freshmen at college this year. Our other grandchild is in graduate school. As we talked yesterday, in passing, our daughter mentioned that one of the newly-acquired friends of her daughter is the first in her family to attend college. That phenomenon is not unusual today, even in this age of AI and STEM. In our parents’ generation it was common. My own father was the first to attend and graduate from college in his family. My mother was the first in her family to attend college.
Are we seeing a paradigm shift in our society? Has advanced education become a new gateway to adulthood, promising a brighter, more affluent future for those who choose to pursue college? Are college degrees in STEM majors a new gold standard? How does AI figure into our pursuit of advanced education?
Many Christian denominations have long demanded advanced education for their clergy. Both the denominations I serve require a seminary degree. Most seminaries require a Baccalaureate Degree. I may have casually mentioned once or a thousand times that mine was in Mechanical Engineering.
Jesus did not have a Master of Divinity degree or a Doctor of Theology or Ministry degree. The Bible tells us little or nothing about any formal training Jesus may have had. I believe it is fair to assume that Jesus apprenticed in Joseph’s carpentry business. Tomorrow I will repeat as part of the Words of Institution during communion Jesus’ own words, “Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Crafting a light yoke, a yoke easy to bear would take great skill and ability, knowledge of materials and of ergonomics.
Jesus did not use ChatGPT “ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI.” [en.wikipedia.org] Jesus never heard about AI. Jesus would only have known about STEM from his knowledge about farming and agriculture. Might Jesus have known about science, technology, engineering and mathematics? Certainly the ability to craft an easy, light yoke would require practical knowledge of all four.
We know that Jesus was trained in the tenets of his faith. We know that Jesus knew God. Jesus also knew and understood God’s Creation. The gospel of John captures the subject very well in the first chapter, “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.”
Jesus’ DI (Divine Intelligence) and HI (Human Intelligence) transformed the world and continues to transform our world today. Paul understood, “1 Corinthians 13:13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”
Stay safe, take on Jesus’ yoke, trust God,
Pastor Ray