Luke 2:41-52
41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” 49 He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.
Prayer : May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our minds be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord our God. Amen.
My message to you this morning may not be very theologically deep. You probably will not come away from this sermon feeling like you've been struck by a heavenly lightning bolt. More likely a shock from my finger as I shuffle my feet across the carpet on a crisp winter's day. What I would like to do is to give you some insights into today's gospel message and, in my way, try to relate it to our life and world today.
As I start, would you indulge me for just a minute, and do something with me. Please close your eyes. Take a deep breath and blow it out very slowly. Another deep breath and blow it out again, very slowly. One more time.
I have found that this simple exercise can sometimes slow us down and put you in a more relaxed, peaceful state of mind. After the last several months of planning for and anticipating the birth of the Christ Child, accompanied by the stress of decorating, shopping, wrapping, cooking and generally running ourselves ragged…oh and COVID fears, I am pleased to announce that the birth of our Savior came off as scheduled with only a few minor glitches. Still no room at the inn, delivery was in a stable, and the newborn had only a manger filled with straw for a bed. Yet, despite Madison Avenue's and Macy's best efforts to the contrary, God's plan was again fulfilled this year on that holiest of nights. The Christ Child was born to Mary and Joseph, the Angels again proclaimed the glory and the shepherds came to worship the baby.
Sorry though, it's time to move on. No rest for the weary. Christmas Eve services are over, the presents have been opened, wrapping paper that took so long to accomplish has been stuffed in the recycling bin, new clothing has already been worn, toys broken, batteries worn out. Only too soon, the nativity figures will be put back in the box to be hidden away in some remote storage area for another year. The decorations will come down. The ornaments will come off of the tree and, if you're like me with a live, although now dying and shedding tree, it will find its place at the curb, a forgotten ornament and a few strands of tinsel still blowing in the wind. Maybe you take that 7 1/2-foot artificial tree and try to figure how it ever fit in a four-foot box. It won't be long, after the Christmas sales are done and the unwanted tie or sweater returned, before the stores have replaced the Christmas decorations with hearts for Valentine's Day. That's our next big retail shopping holiday. Are you ready for that......?
But as we move on, what's ever happened to the baby? Oh yeh, so soon we almost forget about Jesus. Well let's jump forward just a little bit. After the shepherds leave, The Bible tells us that, according to Jewish custom, the eight-day old baby Jesus was then presented at the temple to be circumcised and named. Sometime in here, the Magi saw the star and followed it to the place where the baby lay. Joseph, Mary and the baby flee to Egypt to escape Herod's slaughter of the children. Herod dies and they return home.
So now let's talk a little about Jesus' growing years. Back to the Bible to read about Jesus playing in the streets, running with his pals, going to the store for his mother, getting caught playing hooky from Hebrew school, working long hours in his father's carpentry shop, learning the trade. You know, the formative years. Whoa, it's not there? All those years between his infancy and the beginnings of his ministry and the Bible is virtually silent. What gives? Luke stepped up to give us the only insight into a small but prophetically important event in Jesus' early life. So, let's move forward in time twelve years which brings us to our gospel reading and story for today. For those of you who missed it, the headline in the Nazareth Gazette that day read "Mary and Joseph lost the boy!" The Jerusalem Wailing Wall Street Journal read "Parents Accused of Neglecting Child".
Many years ago, as a small child, my mother took me to Quackenbush's Department Store in Paterson to see Santa and to stare in awe around the greatly expanded Christmas toy department. While mom looks at the newest kitchen gadgets, I wandered off. What I neglected to tell you was that more than once I found myself lost and separated from my mother. I learned that it was not necessarily a bad thing. Candy in the administrative office to calm the upset child comes to mind. And mom always responded to the announcement over the store loudspeaker and showed up to claim this poor lost child. I don't recall her usual reaction, but knowing my mother's temper, I'm pretty sure it wasn't always good.
Do any of you have similar recollections of being lost? How about a time when you lost a child or grandchild? My son Brett was a great one to wander away. It only took seconds to notice that he was not digging in the sand next to us at the beach and panic-mode would set in. Had he wandered away, only to stand neck-deep in the water? Actually, it wouldn't be the first time. "But lifeguard, he's about this tall, blond hair, blue eyes and has on a red bathing suit. Find him!" From a distance, he looked like a thousand other kids on the beach. Or the time when the friendly neighborhood policeman rang the doorbell and asked if he was ours. Locked doors were no deterrent to his escape plans and we had to sheepishly admit that he was ours. Or possibly the time we left Brenna strapped in her car seat as the family walked to see the fireworks on the 4th. Got half a block away before we realized that no one had her in tow.
In today's Gospel lesson, we are told that Jesus and his parents are in Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. This was an annual pilgrimage that they made every year with other family members, friends and likely a large group of similar pilgrims, as was customary. Nothing out of the ordinary. At the end of the festival, they pack up and head back to their home in Nazareth. Only this year is different. We're told that Jesus stays behind in Jerusalem. But he doesn't tell his parents and they believe that Jesus is probably in the company of other travelers; family or friends. Although difficult for us to imagine, a full day of travel passes. Finally, they decide to look for Jesus among their family and friends. Now try to imagine that scene. Maybe one traveler says "I think I saw him with the camel drivers". Another might say that Jesus was seen at the oasis filling the water bags. But they would all prove to be dead-end leads. He's just not there! So, they journey another day back to Jerusalem and spend the next three days searching for Jesus.
I'd like to move ahead a couple of millennia. This morning, after driving back from Florida after an annual Christmas visit to Disneyworld, you noticed that you haven't seen your 12-year-old child in the past 24 hours. You check around the house, in the closets, under the bed, maybe hiding in a suitcase? The search comes up empty. So, you drive back to Florida. Then you spend the next three days searching all the places and rides where you had been. At this point, I going to tell you that you'll be front page news. And you better believe Child Welfare Services will have an entire chapter devoted just to you in their next manual. By the time the media gets done with you, the world will have judged you as unfit parents, endangering the welfare of a minor, child abandonment, and who knows what else. And your prospects for keeping your child and staying out of jail are getting pretty slim. By the way, this year is the 21st anniversary of the movie “Home Alone”.
Now initially, the bible story is silent on the emotional state of Mary and Joseph. I would like to think that they were in a controlled state of panic. But there's no indication that they formed a search party or contacted the local sheriff. Although those were very different times from today, evil surely existed. Did Nomadic tribes sell children into slavery? Did thieves and murderers roam the cities? Dangers may have lurked around any corner. Although a twelve-year old was approaching manhood in the Jewish culture, possibly just through the bar mitzvah, no telling how street smart he would be in the big city. After all, at only twelve years of age, Jesus was still four years away from getting a learner's permit to drive the family camel.
We don't know why, but after three days of searching, his parents finally decide to look in the Temple and were astonished to find Jesus, apparently calmly sitting with the teachers, asking and answering questions. The passages tell us that all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and answers. And now we finally get some insight into Mary and Joseph's state of mind.
After five full days of thinking the worst about your beloved child's welfare, you finally find your missing child. Not in a ditch somewhere or unconscious in a dark alley. Not battered and bruised or maybe, heaven forbid, much worse. But not even lost? Apparently, on his own, the twelve-year old son had made the decision to stay behind. You know the old story? "I probably wouldn't be able to sit down for a week." Or maybe "Grounded until your twenty-first birthday...".
Are Joseph and Mary relieved, angry? I'm fairly certain that there would be an initial moment of relief. You haven't seen your son in five days. But then.... Well Mary asks the fateful question, "Why have you treated us like this? We have been searching for you with great anxiety." That Hebrew word is apparently better translated as anguish.
Together, we hold our breath... These will actually be the first words we ever hear Jesus speak in the Bible. The answer is succinct and to the point. Not arrogant nor belligerent, but very matter of fact. Setting the scene for his future ministry. "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Huh, what's he talking about Mary. I don't know, Joseph. But somehow, I don't think he's talking about your house. The passage ends with Jesus returning with them to Nazareth and being obedient to his parents. He increases in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.
"Did you not know that I must be in my Father's House." Did Jesus say this with surprise? Or was he scolding. We can wonder but we'll never know. Mary expects Jesus to behave in one way. Maybe to express remorse at his actions, to apologize, to be contrite. Jesus on the other hand expects his mother to understand why he isn't. Despite all of the signs we saw this past week leading up to and after the birth of Jesus, this is the first indication that we're given that Jesus has an understanding and knowledge of his place in the future of the world. Apparently, Jesus and his parents have two very different understandings of who Jesus is.
Regardless of the tone of the statement, it seems pretty clear that this is a game changer. Sure, Jesus is obedient to his parents, but his priorities have changed. His concern is no longer with the will of his parents but with the will of God. At this point, I'd like to defer my final comments to one of the experts, Dr. Craig Alan Satterlee, a Lutheran Bishop and professor at Lutheran Theology Seminary at Gettysburg. One commentary that he wrote said this: "The good news for us in this day after Christmas is that, like Mary and Joseph, our search has ended. Jesus shows us the way to God. The scary part, perhaps, is that our search doesn’t end where we expect. Mary and Joseph searched three days for Jesus, and on the third day found him alive and well. But they didn’t find him in the expected places -- the safe confines of his extended family or the familiar company of the pilgrims’ caravan. After three days, Mary and Joseph found Jesus alive and well in the Temple at Jerusalem among the teachers of the law, the very company where it will all end as Jesus is tried, convicted, and handed over to be crucified.”
Mary and Joseph find Jesus alive and well after three days in a place they didn’t expect. This sounds like Easter. Yes, Luke’s hint here is of resurrection. Jesus, dead and buried, is raised on the third day, and there is a new temple, Christ’s resurrected body. Our searching will come to an end in new life, meaningful life, the life God intends, but not the life we expect.
But that’s Easter. For now, Jesus returns to Nazareth. He disappears back into the fabric of his hometown. For almost two decades Jesus is in an out-of-the way place, far removed from the centers of religion and politics, in the company of ordinary people, just like us. Here Jesus continues to grow, as Luke says, “in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.” The good news is that this description of Jesus is the description of every child of God, no matter what our age. We all will grow as we respond to God’s love. In Christ we can expect nothing less.
Amen.