Sermon - Christmas 1 - Dec 27, 2009

1st Sunday after Christmas - Year C
December 27, 2009
Luke 2:41-52

It is Time to Decide
It is difficult not to feel somewhat cheated this time of year. Some call it the post-Christmas blues. It is that feel¬ing that we spent so many weeks preparing and then there is so little time to savor the moment. Packages from out-of-town fami¬ly members began arriving months ago. We stacked them in the corner and wondered what was in them. Christmas morning rolls around and within a couple of hours everything is opened and put away. By New Year's Day you can hardly remember what is new and what has been in the closet for years.

I got a little of that same sort of feeling as I picked up the bulletin and read the lessons appointed for today. There were four weeks devoted to Advent, four Sundays on which we hear lessons preparing us for the arrival of Jesus. On Christmas Eve we finally get to read the story and sing the carols. We come to worship two days later and it all seems to be over. Here it is, the First Sunday after Christmas, and in our lessons Jesus is already twelve years old. What happened to that cute little baby, lying in a manger? Can't we have a few more stories associated with Jesus' birth before we have to deal with him as an emerging adult? It is difficult not to feel somewhat cheated.

The story of Jesus in the temple is a wonderful story. It is one of those stories with something for everyone. Children love imagining Jesus sitting with the wise teachers, receiving their full attention. Adolescents are encouraged by indications of Jesus' rebellion against his parents and identify with the universal struggle to be one's own self. And what parent among us has never felt the anxiousness associated with losing a child?

This is a wonderful story, with something for everyone. But I for one would have appreciated a few minutes to enjoy the baby Jesus before being jolted into acknowledging that Luke isn't writing cute stories. Luke is telling a story with a pur-pose. Luke is reminding us that attraction to a few cute stories won't cut it. Unless we move beyond the stories and consider what these things mean for our lives then his story telling has been in vain.

Luke drives home his point in two ways: First, by telling a story which occurs at a time in Jesus' live when he is faced with making an important decision. And second, through his descrip¬tion of Mary and Joseph, fumbling around in the darkness while the Light of the world was living in their home.

The stage is set by Luke's notation that every year (Jesus') parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. The Hebraic law required the observance of three events: The Festi¬val of Weeks, which marked the end of the grain harvest; Booths, commemorating the wandering in the wilderness; and Passover, the observance of their deliverance from Egypt. It was hotly debated whether women and young children were to observe the festivals, yet Luke makes sure to tell us that Joseph and Mary are involved. You could observe these festivals in your own home; there was nothing requiring a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. For the rest of the story to unfold it was necessary that Jesus' family travel. This may be Luke's way of underscoring the strength of Joseph and Mary's piety. They went the extra mile; they made the necessary sacrifices in order to offer their prayers of thanksgiving to God.

This year was no different from all the rest, with one ex¬ception. Jesus is now twelve years old. Any Hebrew reading this story would have realized the importance of one's twelfth year. It is the last year of childhood. At age thirteen, the young boy was to become a man, was to begin observing the Hebraic laws governing manhood. If we were reading this lesson in Greek, the impending shift would have been apparent. In verse 43 the ref¬erence is made to the boy Jesus. In verse 40, Jesus is referred to as a child. The Greek root for this word, "boy" is the same as that used for "servant", especially as Luke refers to one who is "the servant of the Lord."

The child has grown into the boy Jesus. He is no longer the cute little child of Mary and Joseph. He is the servant of God, come to accomplish God's purposes.

At twelve years of age, Jesus is free to play and enjoy life. There are no religious obligations placed upon him and he is not expected to act like an adult. But Jesus, even from time of his childhood, does not act in accordance with societal or reli-gious expectations. He acts in response to the directives of God.

It is quite possible that the original readers of Luke's gospel were anxiously awaiting the return of Christ. Christ had promised they would not taste death before his return. They were looking forward to the age which was about to dawn upon them. However, it is possible that they had become complacent in their wait. Many doubted that the Day of the Lord would come any time soon so they began to allow their minds to wander. Luke reminds them they are to be active in their waiting. The followers of Jesus live, not in response to societal or religious expectations but in accor¬dance with the directives of God.

How would you describe the age in which we live? What gives rise to our actions? Is it the societal and religious expecta¬tions placed upon us or the Word of God? Regardless of the year in which we live, Luke reminds us that we do not to passively wait. Luke instructs us that it is time for us act.

Inaction or indecision may result from any number of causes. Luke moves on in his story to address what he considers to be the most common. At the point of realization, Mary and Joseph have no clue where to turn. They become aware, but they have no idea where to begin to look.

Again the 43rd verse is the clue. In the Greek there is no object for the verb. Luke simply states, his parents did not know. Their ignorance is further reinforced by the amount of time it takes them to return to the temple. They look for three days before they even go to the temple. Those who already know the story will recall another three days in which Jesus was mis¬placed. His three day stay in the borrowed tomb of Joseph of Aramatheia ends with the same sort of question. The angel, wait¬ing in that tomb asks the two Mary’s who come to anoint the body of Jesus, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?"

In both instances, those who should have known have no clue as to where to begin looking. They go to all the wrong places and consider all the wrong options.

Luke's story, sandwiched between the boy lost in the temple and the man misplaced among the dead, contains numerous other references to those who would not understand. The disciples, Peter, Saul; these among others would look in the wrong places in order to find answers to their questions. All who heard (Je¬sus) were AMAZED at his understanding and his answers, but that did not mean they understood or accepted.

Luke is telling his readers not to be confused, not to be mislead, not to look in the wrong places. The answer is obvious, the solution is freely given.

We feel cheated this time of year because we look over all that we have been given and only recall that which we want. We miss the obvious. We ignore the grace. We look in the wrong places. The baby, born in Bethlehem, grows into the Servant of the Lord. Ours is not a sentimental story - it is a story with a purpose. It is intended to help us know where to look and to encourage us to do our looking now.


Amen.