My daughter, Paige, took her time learning to walk on her own. Most toddlers will walk a few steps, then a few more, and then a few more still. Paige, I guess, was too impatient for that. She wanted to figure out how it was done before even trying. But when she decided to walk, she didn’t stop.

One afternoon, I was doing what I had been doing a lot, holding her hands while she walked along in our living room. All of a sudden, she let go and started to walk on her own…, and she kept walking. Balance was an issue, and she staggered like a drunken sailor, but she kept walking into the dining room, took a left and went into the kitchen, took another left and went into the den, took another left and went into the entrance hallway, and then took another left back into the living room, lurching this way and that. I kept lunging to rescue her only to pull back when I saw she regained her unsteady balance. Without falling once, she went around our ranch house oval seven times. Only then did she plop down to rest. I was so glad; my back was killing me having jerked this way and that following her.

In honor of the beginning of the year, we are going to follow Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, but our backs may hurt as he keeps us unbalanced with his lurching in different directions.

Jesus’ ministry begins in his hometown of Nazareth, a town "so small and insignificant the Assyrians didn’t even bother to occupy it." Charles Page tells us that it is "likely that the residents of Nazareth are Hasidim… an inward-focused, isolationist people who think that the Messiah will come from within their clan. They… think that they are the sole possessors of the truth of God’s law and will and that all other groups are heretical."

Jesus has attended this synagogue for years. Now a young man, he accepts the assignment of reading a passage. He reads from the book of Isaiah, a passage his listeners understand to be about the messiah coming to restore Israel. This is a favorite passage of the Hasidim, for they look forward to the day when the Jews are liberated from Rome. In fact, they look forward to the day when their particular expression of Judaism is recognized as the true expression, and the nation of Israel will be governed again by the strict mandates of the Torah.

So, when Jesus says, "Today, this passage is fulfilled in your hearing," they are thrilled. Of course, one of their own will be the messiah, because the restored Kingdom of David will be rebuilt in their image. If the hometown boy, Jesus is the one, praise be to God!

So why, a few minutes later, are they trying to throw their hometown boy over a cliff? It is because after Jesus tells them the passage is fulfilled, he goes on to tell stories from the Torah about Gentiles being recipients of grace. In other words, Jesus makes it clear that the messiah comes for Gentiles as well as Jews. That is not a message that will win votes in Nazareth. In fact, that message very nearly gets him killed.

The next scene of Jesus ministry is in the town of Capernaum; a town nearby geographically but far away ideologically. The people of Capernaum are closely associated with the House of Hillel and thus their interpretation of the Torah is more open and inclusive. Hillel, the great Babylonian rabbi, beat Jesus to the punch in teaching the golden rule, and that the Torah, or Law, is to serve people, not enslave them.

No doubt, the people of Capernaum are anxious to hear what Jesus has to say when he visits their synagogue. If Jesus can interpret the Torah in a relevant way, they are ready to accept his authority as a wise teacher of the Law.

Only, the buzz in Capernaum does not end up being about what Jesus says, but about what he does. In the synagogue, the teaching center, Jesus encounters a man with an unclean spirit. He heals the man by commanding the spirit to come out of him. And it does come out! Whoa, what just happened? We expected to hear Jesus teach with authority, but what kind of authority is this that can cast out demons?

We don’t have time to think about this because Jesus has gone into a house; Simon’s house. We run and catch up. Simon later will respond to a call to follow Jesus as his disciple, but at this point Jesus is responding to a call to tend to Simon’s sick mother-in-law. Sure enough, he heals his mother-in-law and his fame spreads.

Let’s keep going, we have to keep up. Like Hillel, Jesus starts gathering his own school of disciples in calling Simon, James and John to leave their nets and start fishing for people. The healings continue as he heals a leper. Again, he is unpredictable because the Torah clearly declares that lepers are not to be touched. Jesus heals the untouchable by touch.

There is a lot to think about here, a lot to consider about what it means to live according to the Law of God. But, we don’t have time to think. We have to move on. If we don’t hurry, we won’t be able to see or hear because the crowd keeps growing. And within that crowd are Scribes and Pharisees who are checking Jesus out, to see if he is taking Hillel too far. Is he weakening the Law of God so that it looses its power to condemn, and by condemning, reform Israel?

We somehow squeeze our way into another house. Four friends have brought their paralyzed buddy to be healed by Jesus. When they can’t squeeze in the house, they climb on the roof, rip open a hole, and lower their friend to Jesus’ feet. We are surprised by this, but don’t expect to be surprised by Jesus. The man is paralyzed and Jesus will heal him.

But Jesus doesn’t heal him. He forgives him! Instead of healing a body, he heals a soul. Authority to teach is one thing. But what kind of authority is this? Only God can forgive? Sinners have to go through carefully detailed rites of penance as prescribed by the Law before being restored. Jesus knows this, but he forgives the man on the spot anyway.

The Scribes and Pharisees call Jesus’ hand on this. They may or may not know what this man has done to need forgiveness, but it doesn’t matter. Jesus is overreaching his authority here.

Jesus knows what they are thinking. "Which is easier? To forgive the man or to tell him to get up, pick up his pallet, and walk?" Before we can think through that one, Jesus commands the man to walk. And that he does?

Our backs are aching, our minds are spinning. But, we can’t stop to rest or even debate issues of divinity or heresy because Jesus moves on to the market. We find him at a booth where a tax collector is conducting his business. I’ve told you before about these tax collectors, how they have a free hand in charging taxes, giving the Romans their cut and keeping a cut for themselves. They are considered extortionists and collaborationists, and many synagogues won’t let them even come in the door.

At least we know what to expect now. Jesus is going to demonstrate his authority to forgive. Right here and right now, in front of those same Scribes and Pharisees, he is going to forgive the worst sort of sinner. Massive special interest groups in Israel are devoted to keeping people like Levi out, and Jesus is going to forgive him in.

But, no, that is not what Jesus does. He ignores Levi’s sins and calls him to join his disciples. This guy would be unwelcome not only in the synagogue in Nazareth, but possibly the synagogue in Capernaum as well, and Jesus tells him that he is welcome in his school, and he can join Simon, James and John in his inner circle.

"Jesus, would you please stand still long enough for us to catch up?

What is that on your bracelet? WWJD? "What Would Jesus Do?" Great question, but who can be sure of the answer? As of today, who are the insiders and who are the outsiders? We ask that question in the church about who is saved and who is damned, and who should be ordained and who should not. We ask that question in our nation about who are allies and who are enemies, who are patriots and who are not. Important questions, but these stories give us pause. Maybe rash judgments and rushed conclusions can get us in trouble.

The earliest church had a near split over what it meant to follow Jesus. The mainland churches of the Synoptic Gospels tended to emphasize church authority and structure, while the Johannine churches of the islands tended to emphasize the freedom of Spirit-led movements. Some scholars have said that a story was added on to John’s Gospel to explain how these church traditions stayed together. Peter crosses the ocean figuratively to the islands by getting in his boat with James and John and return to fishing in the Sea of Galilee. John’s resurrected Son of God, the Word made Flesh, the Light of the world, the one in whom we can behold God’s glory is standing on the shore. Peter, recognized as the leader of the early church of the Synoptics, recognizes the risen Christ and comes ashore where Jesus basically welcomes him to the Lord’s Table by inviting him to breakfast. Peter, of course, had betrayed Jesus three times. So, three times Jesus asks him, "Do you love me?" And three times, Peter answers the question in the same way the Johannine Christians would, "Yes, I love you." And three times, Jesus responds with this commandment: "Then feed my sheep." The mainline and island churches can find their common ground, not on in an agreement on the Law of God, but on the ground of compassion.

And, in the midst of polity debates within the church, and policy debates within the nation, compassion is the one consistent thread we can trace through these stories, and which we should not forget in our attempts to follow Jesus. It is compassion; compassion for Gentiles, for the sick, for the untouchable, for the sinner, and for those who have been ostracized by the community. Hillel and Jesus were right about this; treat others as you wish to be treated.

Set before us is a table of grace, where differences can be set aside, and we can rest our aching backs and confused minds. Let us eat together as brothers and sisters who are ourselves sinners who know that the broken Law is replaced by a broken body. When we leave this table as family, we can continue to try to figure out what it means to follow Christ, remembering this:

If compassion is not served, our Law means nothing.