First Sunday after Christmas Day
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Scripture |
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.
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Devotional |
Jesus is left behind in Jerusalem. They were traveling with extended family but the extended family did not include a grandmother. No way, that Jesus could have been left behind if granny was present. When our twin grandsons Ben and Brian were playing soccer for Central High, Joy always worried about them not being aboard the bus on out of town games. We usually left the stadium before the team bus and Joy was always looking back to see that the boys were aboard the bus. We never convinced her that someone on the coaching staff would make sure no one was left behind. Jesus’ grandmother was not present when he was left behind. Now that Christmas is over, and just when we are tempted to set our spiritual lives on cruise control until Easter, we are confronted with questions about Jesus. “ We leave this major subsection of Lukan Gospel (1:5-2:52) with many questions waiting to be answered, and Mary’s reaction(2:51b) encourages further contemplation on our part too.” 1This is a time to turn off the cruise control in order to focus on the many questions calling for answers. This is a time for spiritual growth and discovery, not a time to stay on cruise control until Easter. Luke’s birth narrative reaches its finale on a positive note, but even this cannot mask the brooding questions that remain. On the one hand are question related to God’s purpose. What shape will this redemption take? How will it be accomplished? On the other are questions of human intentions and response. What relation has God’s salvation to the sifting of Israel, raised to the fore in Simon’s words to Mary? How it is that God’s own people will oppose God’s instrument of salvation? What are the repercussions of Jesus’ careless alignment with God’s design? 2 Mary and Joseph return to Jerusalem to find Jesus in the Temple sitting with the teachers. They were at wits end until they find Jesus safe. Mary says to him,”Child, why have you treated us like this?” In a culture of honor and shame, when a child was disobedient, it was seen as a shame to the parents. So we are left with the question of why did Jesus behave as he did? Many of these questions we will never know the answer but for us today the question is, “When, where and how will we find Jesus? Just as Mary and Joseph searched for some time before they found Jesus, it could take us considerable time to find Jesus. The first place we might look may be in Church but what if he is not there? I do not know where we may find Jesus but a place to begin looking is in the faith community, Scriptures and contemplation. It is time to turn off the cruise control and GPS begin a serious search for Jesus. 1 Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997. p.153
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