In the season of Epiphany, the season that comes after Christmas, we focus on events in Jesus’ life that led up to his “publicly” being the Messiah of the people of God. This morning, we reflect on one of the few episodes we know about Jesus’ life that occurs between his birth and his baptism as an adult – the visit he took as a 12-year-old to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. This story is found in Luke chapter two, verses 41 through 52. Listen to how it unfolded as we turn to the Gospel of Luke --
Scripture Luke 2:41-52
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.
42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom.
43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.
44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.
45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.
46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.
48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God.
Let us pray...
Message Boy in the Temple
In 1990, one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time was released. Macaulay Culkin became a star after he acted as the immature but wise character Kevin in the film. After a power outage that prevented his family’s alarm clocks from ringing, Kevin was left at home in Chicago after the rest of his family rushed to the airport and flew away to Paris for their Christmas vacation. Kevin was first delighted by his freedom – he had been angry with his family and enjoyed time alone. But, when burglars schemed to rob his home, and Kevin’s terror motivated him to thwart the robbers. Kevin’s mom, Kate, realized the family’s mistake midflight to Paris, and another series of obstacles prevented her quick journey back home to Kevin. They were reunited on Christmas day, and Kate and her husband never realized the extent of the danger Kevin had experienced.
Part of the joke in the Home Alone movie was the absurdity of Kevin’s parents forgetting him. We had trouble believing parents could be so distracted they left a child at home when they left for a major trip.
But, in our scripture lesson this morning, we focus an event when Jesus’ parents also started home from a pilgrimage without their son Jesus. The parents left their son “alone” in Jerusalem. The holy family journeyed to Jerusalem with their extended family, neighbors and thousands of other Jewish pilgrims to celebrate the Passover feast. Biblical scholars think Jerusalem at that time had about 180,000 year-round residents, but it’s population would swell to 3 million during the Passover festival. So, the city and Temple would have been full of worshippers – it would have been exciting and chaotic and busy, busy, busy.
When the festival was over, it was Mary and Joseph’s custom to return home with their “company” of friends and associates. They assumed Jesus was with them.... they expected him to be walking with his cousins or his friends or other people who were part of their group. And, they probably didn’t think they needed to closely supervise a 12-year-old – he had been on pilgrimages in the past and knew their routine way of returning home as part of a big group.
But, after a day’s journey, Mary and Joseph couldn’t find Jesus. They realized, probably with much anxiety and fear, they had left him behind in Jerusalem.
So, the parents rushed back to Jerusalem. And, after they arrived at the Holy City, Mary and Joseph searched for Jesus for 3 days before they found him teaching in the Temple. So, they travelled for a day before they missed him, had to travel a day back to Jerusalem, and then searched for him for 3 days – they didn’t see him for 5 days!
I can’t imagine how afraid Mary and Joseph were.
And, how relieved they were when they finally found Jesus.
Kevin in the Home Alone movie asked Santa to bring his family back to him. He realized he needed his family and wanted his parents to keep him safe from adult responsibilities and burglars.
But, when Joseph and Mary found Jesus, Jesus was nonchalant – he scolded his parents and said they should have known all along he would be in his “Father’s” home...In the Temple of God.
As a momma, my heart breaks for Mary and Joseph....5 days with their child missing is 5 too many. But, as a Christian, I understand Jesus’ words....of course he would be in the Temple, in the symbolic home of God.
Jesus’ earthly parents expected Jesus to follow their rules – to follow their routines. But, Jesus didn’t always act the way they expected because he wasn’t only their child, he was also God’s representative on earth. He was the messiah.
Sometimes, we are also guilty of expecting Jesus to follow our routines – we get into a rut where we compartmentalize our practice of our faith – prayers before meals and bedtime, worship on Sunday morning, and doing acts of service that we have done a certain way for a long, long time. But, God is full of surprises. We need to remember to be watching for God to interrupt us, to invite us to break into prayers when we are at work or brushing our teeth or watching tv. We need to remember that there is no set formula for worshipping – we can sing hymns in the car and pray at the grocery store and praise God at the dog park. And, we are called to be on watch and our guard for ways we can help other people all the time....we may need to step in to drive someone to the doctor or make a soup for a hungry neighbor or unload a pallet of food at the Daily Bread food pantry. Sometimes, our practice of our faith will be anything but routine.
God calls us to look for God in unexpected places....sometimes we have to turn around and look for him in the last place we think God will be. But, remember, our relationship with Jesus will bless our lives in infinite ways, even when we connect with him where we least expect to find him.
May we always be on the hunt for Jesus and live faithfully knowing God loves us and wants to be in relationship with us.
Amen.
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