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.
After three days they found him in the temple
· A missing child is usually a reason for panic, police action, and search
parties, and all with good reason. For Mary and Joseph to lose track of their
son must have been a frightening experience. Luke said they believed him to be
with other families in the group of pilgrims returning from celebrating the
Passover in Jerusalem that year. This may have been normal and not an unusual
thing. I could imagine families watching out for other’s children in such a
setting.
· This story is important for us to hear. It’s not an object lesson to
keep our children on a short leash. We need not suspect that we should call the
Children’s Aide Society on this appearently neglectful couple. It is not a case
of a practical lesson or a moral. It is good news in the best Gospel sense.
· Luke places Jesus in the Temple among the teachers and scholars, hearing
what they had to say and asking impressive questions. Even at the age of his
Bar Mitzvah, he is showing sign of becoming a rabbi. Such questions and
discussions are very common in rabbinical circles.
· Of course there is more to this passage than this. Some have taken it to
emphasize obedience to parents and to proper authority. Some take it as an
example of the humanity of Jesus.
· The passage does show both the humanity and divinity of Jesus. At his
age, the young Jesus shows a remarkable grasp of the Scriptures and he even
shows some inkling of his mission. This passage is the last we hear of the
child Jesus; Luke’s next passages deal with the start of Jesus’ mission. Still
as the young boy sits among the teachers of the Scriptures, he shows more
wisdom and understanding than they expected. He is coming into his own.
· At the same time, Mary and Joseph are desperately searching for Jesus in
the great city. They find him in the Temple. The human concern for the boy’s
where-abouts is coupled with his Scriptural knowledge and his realization that
he must
be in my Father's house?, something more than simple human
understanding or a mistake in setting out on a journey.
· The earthly and heavenly have met. The mundane and the miraculous are
present at the same time and in the same actions. It is nothing less than a
revelation of the Incarnation of Christ for those who are willing to see it.
· We are blessed to be present at a similar event today… the baptism of
Hayden here among us. The earthly and the heavenly, the human and the divine
have come together. Really, that is what sacraments are all about – earthly
elements bearing divine grace to the people. Whether is it water poured and
joined to the Word of God or bread and wine eaten and drunk “in
memory of me”, the reality of the created and the uncreated eternal
are together.
· The celebration of Christmas is called in the Church “The festival of
the Incarnation of Christ”, the taking on Flesh of Christ.
· Jesus did not refuse to take on the flesh of humanity, nor did he refuse
to take on all it means to be fully human – infancy, childhood, sickness,
weariness, learning, fear, disappointment, happiness, sadness, and even death.
All of these and more he embraced.
· This embrace continues today. God is with us in our daily lives and
every aspect of our lives. Nothing is outside of this embrace of Jesus Christ. There
is nothing on earth that is not the concern of God.
· If I may be permitted to do so, I’d like you to hear a text from the
Gospel of John, one that all of you might know by heart: For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish
but may have eternal life.
· We could add that God so loved the world, that God entered into creation
as a part of creation… and creation will never be the same again. Thanks be to
God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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