Sermon! Luke 2:41-52

Following is a sermon I delivered to Millian Memorial United Methodist Church on New Year's Eve day titled "Did He Just Say That? A Story of Holy Boldness". Enjoy!

I.

Over the past couple of weeks we have been eagerly awaiting Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the King of Kings. We have decorated our homes and our church, stuffed our stockings and emptied our wallets. More importantly, we have read the Gospels and sung many carols describing the miracle of Jesus’ birth. We have imbedded in our mind the sight of a baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger as visitors come to worship. And for many of us, that image becomes stuck in our heads until around Easter when we start giving more attention to the Adult Jesus on his way to the Cross.

With Christmas ending a lot of us spend the week recovering from all the anticipation and work. We have reached a physical and spiritual peak and now must wind down as the days wind down to the end of the year. The time and energy that went into preparing for the holy days of Christmas are now spent in leisure and anticipation of the New Year. Top ten lists dominate the cultural landscape as we spend a few moments reflecting all that was good and bad in the past year and resolve to make the coming year better. It’s as if we are determined to slow down temporarily our spiritual awakenings as though we have become too indulged in our own faith during Advent.

Much like the discarded Christmas trees I saw in front of homes the day after Christmas, we to have an unconscious tendency to shed some of our Christmas spirit and cheer. We return unnecessary and unwanted gifts and seek out year-end savings. We aren’t helping bring joy to others but rather are trying to, to some degree, serve ourselves, because that is what society is telling us to do this time of year. In Church, once we have celebrated the birth of Christ it is time to give it a rest for awhile. We jump ahead nearly thirty years in the life of Jesus, not really knowing what happened in between his birth and the start of his ministry.

And frankly the Gospels really don’t help us out here. Though Matthew includes the birth of Jesus, virtually nothing is written about his growing up. The Gospels of Mark and John don’t even deal with the birth, opting to jump right into the start of Jesus’ ministry. That leaves us with one exception, of course. The author of Luke, perhaps feeling the need for some remarks regarding Jesus’ childhood, includes this brief, yet important, anecdote when Jesus was twelve.

II.

Luke describes the journey Mary, Joseph, and Jesus took every year to celebrate Passover. It is important to note that much of Luke is in fact a travel narrative. Of all the Gospels, Luke’s would most likely wind up in the travel section of a book store. And here Luke feels compelled to frame this little section as a travelogue. Coming from Nazareth to Jerusalem would have been a bit of an arduous trip. They would have traveled both ways in a large caravan for safety. Yet Jesus here takes a risk. He stays behind in the Temple after the Feast. Mary and Joseph, thinking Jesus was with the large group headed back to Nazareth, don’t become aware of Jesus’ absence until a day into the journey home.

The situation is truly frightening for any parent. I can only imagine what Mary and Joseph were feeling as they searched the group for their Son. The caravan would simply keep going, and no one would notice a child missing until it had stopped for the day. This incident reminded me of a scene in Lawrence of Arabia when a man gets left behind during a long trek across the desert. It isn’t until the caravan has stopped for rest that it is discovered that someone is missing. The caravan didn’t have the time or resources to go back for the man (though Lawrence does bravely do just that). It just keeps going. Given this reality, Mary and Joseph certainly feared the worse. I remember once when I was 12 or 13 and was at the mall with my parents. They let me go off by myself for a little while. However, my mom gave me explicit instructions as to when and where to meet up again. Of course I didn’t quite follow the directions and when I showed up fifteen minutes later than intended I was in trouble. My parents had been frantically searching for me. My mother was very angry and a little scared that I had been lost. And that was only because I was late fifteen minutes. Now imagine what Mary and Joseph were feeling after three days of searching.

Fortunately the text has a happy, if somewhat ambivalent, ending. They find Jesus in the Temple. And here Jesus responds to his parents’ worry and rebuke, quite frankly, as many near-teenagers would. He justifies what he has done. I think it’s even safe to say that Jesus here looks less than stellar because of the anxiety he has created. Jesus is very confident in his reply. He asks them pointblank “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” It’s an answer that doesn’t easily settle what the parents went through. So what is Luke trying to express here? Why this somewhat bizarre story from Jesus’ childhood?

Actually, compared to other stories of the young Jesus found in the various non-canonical writings, this one is rather tame. Because the Gospels lack incidents in Jesus’ childhood, other writers tried to fill in the gaps. In these other so-called Gnostic Gospels, gospels which were rejected from the writings we know as the New Testament, we have magical stories of a mischievous Jesus turning clay birds into real ones and striking down dead children who make him angry. Not really the Jesus we have come to know and love. So Luke here does present a more believable scenario. It is more about one’s emerging identity, about how Jesus is growing into his role as the Son of God. He is maturing in his faith, though somewhat to the dismay of his parents. No miracles are necessary to demonstrate this. In his boldness, after his parents have searched long and hard and endured three days of worry, Jesus simply proclaims his holy vocation. He says he “must be” in his Father’s house, Father here meaning God.

And Luke ends this section by stating in verse 52 that “Jesus continued to increase in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.” After all, Jesus and his family have been obedient Jews, following the prescribed customs as evidenced by this Passover journey. Luke is careful to show that what Jesus is doing is correct within the customs of his own identity as a Jew. Despite this incident, Jesus remains an obedient child. And in his holy boldness, as Jesus comes to accept who he is, this provides a foreshadowing of things to come. Luke shows that the boy Jesus is maturing in his faith and provides a model of discipleship for us, a model that we should strive for and seek. Admittedly this does not fully temper the anxiety Jesus has created, though Luke does his best to spin this in as positive manner as possible. Luke has other intentions to show us.

III.

I believe this text to be entirely appropriate for following our Christmas celebrations. Once the trees and decorations have been taken away and all the parties ended, our devotion can easily slip. For too many of us our faith reaches an emotional peak at Christmas. That’s not too surprising because our culture tends to gear our hearts and minds toward December 25 without much thought as to what should occur afterward. Yet here in Luke we are offered a glimpse of one’s faith maturing. Jesus’ faithfulness doesn’t peak with his birth, but is allowed to grow, just as our faith doesn’t simply peak when we decide to follow Jesus, but rather is the gateway to a lifelong journey.

This should be a time of continued growth, not stagnation. Yes, we as Christians do become exhausted this time of year and deserve a break. Yet that break should not come at the expense of our spiritual selves. As Christians, we are called to be counter-cultural, to break from those social trappings that inhibit our relationship with God and one another. As disciples we need to continue on our Christian journey, always seeking to become closer to God, even if it means challenging a culture that wishes to replace the sacred with the secular. We are too often tempted to give our faith a break. However, we need to be constantly maturing in our faith, to always be willing to grow.

We have experienced emotional highs as we have gathered with families and friends to remember the very miracles that often bind us as Christians in community. We begin to see God in the unlikeliest of places, despite our hectic schedules during the Holidays. We want to better ourselves as the year comes to a close because we once again are reminded of Christ’s transformative nature. Unfortunately we all too easily fall back into business as usual and the spirit of Christmas gets packed away with the rest of our decorations. Yet, here in Luke, we are given a demonstration of how to continue in our growth in the Spirit.

Jesus’ time in the temple demonstrates one model for growing in wisdom and stature. As he entered adulthood, Jesus found a home in the Temple for theological reflection. He chose to stay behind in order to gain in wisdom and holy boldness. He held on to the traditions of his faith in order to become a better reflection of God’s purposes. Also important to look at is Jesus’ age. These past few months I have had the privilege of working with the middle schoolers in Sunday School. There talents and gifts never cease to amaze me. We have much to learn from our children, but only if we allow them space to speak to us, to help us, and to guide us as we guide them in their faith journey. As a community we must strive to be in partnership with those who may not have the years or experience we have, but can offer wisdom that transcends their age. Only by encouraging them in Christ’s love can they grow and flourish in the Christian community.

We, too, must continue in growing in our faith. As Methodists, we affirm the practice and discipline of John Wesley. He understood the Christian journey to be a lifelong process of continued growth. Yes, in an instant we can and are converted to the faith, experiencing rebirth, but the journey doesn’t end there. We are continuing forward on the road to what Wesley called “Christian Perfection.” In other words our task as Christians is to continue to grow in our faith until we have achieved total love of God and neighbor. We don’t simply quit living and wait for the endtimes. Because of our faith we participate in the life of the church and seek to be servants of God in our daily lives.

Theologian Bruce Epperly, a former professor at Wesley Theological Seminary now teaching in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has a very clear understanding of our task. He insists that our growth “calls us to take our faith seriously enough to study scripture, wrestle with traditional theological doctrines, explore new images of God, Christ, and salvation, and spend time in prayer, meditation, and service. A growing faith is not accidental, but requires going to the “temple” regularly to listen, ask, and share.”

The church is a place to keep us spiritually strong and emotionally capable of maintaining and transforming our lives. Practicing our faith in isolation simply is not an option. It is within the community that our faith potential can be fully met. Here at Millian we have the capability of continued growth throughout the whole year, whether it is through bible study or community outreach, through the work of Stephen ministry, or on a mission trip in and outside the United States, or simply the interactions and support of each other in Christian love. Everyday is an opportunity to experience transformation or to reflect upon our role as Christian believers. So, I ask, how will you seek new ways for growth? What opportunities or tasks will you undertake so that you may participate more fully in the life of Christ, the life of discipleship? How are we serving God and neighbor? What can you and I do to better increase our Wisdom, our faith? How will be harbingers of your peace? The new year brings new opportunity.

I believe Luke is inviting us to be part of a movement that revels in Holy Boldness. The call to discipleship is an invitation to be part of something greater than ourselves. It is also a journey that requires the help and fellowship of others. To be a Christian is to be in community. If we are to take the Gospel story, the Good News, seriously, we must understand what is required of us as Christians. Now, I am not suggesting doing what Jesus did. Creating undue anxiety is not the point of Luke’s message. I think it is even safe to say that Jesus is an exception, though there is no doubt that he is obedient to his parents, Mary and Joseph. But our calling as disciples requires boldness in order for us to fully experience God’s love. Yes, we will experience the high moments of Church life, such as Christmas and Easter, yet more importantly, we must also be open to God’s transformative power the whole year. As a faith community, devoted to growing in love, we owe it to each other to be as bold and holy in our faith as possible.

Amen.