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SERMONS

The Second Sunday After Christmas
January 5 , 2003

By David Christian

It has been said that rearing children is the most difficult job on earth-and it is always done by amateurs. All parents know the challenges of child rearing. It can be at times wonderful and exciting. It can be at times difficult and frustrating. But it is always an adventure.

If this fact is true for us parents of mortal children, imagine how much more it must have been true for the parents of the Son of God. Now there's a responsibility for you-to rear the child whose birth was heralded by angels and travelers from the East. Today's gospel suggests what a challenge it must have been.

The gospel story that we read today, from Luke's account, is the only story that we have recorded in Scripture from Jesus' childhood; the only story we have between the infancy stories of Matthew and Luke and Jesus' baptism by John when he was probably about thirty. The story takes place when Jesus is twelve. He and his family have made the pilgrimage to the Jerusalem Temple to celebrate the Passover. Luke makes a point of telling us that, as faithful, observant Jews, this was their yearly custom. The journey would have taken about four or five days on foot, and the pilgrims apparently traveled in large groups.

As they begin the trip home, Joseph and Mary assume that Jesus is somewhere in the group. But after a day or so, when they are unable to find him, they become worried and return to Jerusalem to look for him. There they find him, sitting in the Temple, listening to the teachers and asking them questions.

His mother, her concern giving way to relief and, I suspect, more than a little exasperation, speaks to him as countless mothers and fathers have addressed their children in similar situations through the ages: "Jesus, what did you think you were doing? Don't you know that your father and I have been beside ourselves with worry, looking for you and thinking of all the horrible things that might have happened to you? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Here we have the climax of the story in Jesus reply to her: "Why were you searching for me?" he asks. "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

Jesus is unrepentant. It is necessary, he says, that he be here; he must be here, seeking to learn more about God. Jesus' response underscores the special relationship that he has with God. It underscores the centrality of that relationship in his life. It underscores that fact that nothing, not even his responsibility to his parents, is more important. His parents, Luke tells us, don't have a clue. They do not understand his response.

The story ends with Jesus returning with them to Nazareth. Luke makes a point of stressing that he was obedient to them. This episode is not about teen-age rebellion. Rather, it is about priorities in Jesus' life.

Much has been said recently about the importance of families. The term "family values" has been tossed around. Sometimes we even hear the phrase "biblical family values." This story, as well as several other incidents in the life of Jesus, might force us to ask just what that term means.

This is not to say that family is not important. In fact, family is very important. It is precisely in the fact of its importance that the danger lies. Family can become too important. It can become the most important thing in our lives. When it does that, it can become an idol. It can stand between us and God. Ultimate meaning cannot be found in family or in nationality or in religion or in race. Ultimate meaning can be found only in the source of al meaning. Ultimate meaning can be found only in the source of all meaning. Ultimate meaning can be found only in our relationship to God, the source of all meaning and the source of all life.

Today's story of Jesus in the temple reminds us that, just as for him, we must be in the Father's house. It is necessary that our lives be centered in God. Only here can we find true life and true joy. The task is not an easy one. But if, like Jesus, we claim to be son and daughters of God, then it is necessary.

David Christian
The Chapel of the Cross
Madison, Mississippi

Luke 2:41-52