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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
The Book of Acts Bible Studies
January 2009
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June 2009
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November 2009
December 2009
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1st Sunday of Christmas (C) Merry Christmas, everyone! A Merry and Blessed Christmas to you all! Yes, today is the third day of Christmas – but somehow it doesn’t seem quite the same. The focus of this Christmas day #3 is not longer upon Jesus as a newborn infant, but rather upon Jesus as a twelve year old boy. Today’s gospel is the only story about young Jesus in the four canonical gospels. This story is also found in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which is full of stories about Jesus as a young boy. Another story in that Gospel is: “Once again (Jesus) was going through the village, and a child who was running banged into his shoulder. Jesus was angered and said to him, “You shall go no further on your way.” And immediately the child fell down dead.”(4:1) That story might give an indication why the Infancy Gospel of Thomas was not included in the Bible – because it certainly does not present a picture of Jesus which is consistent with the Jesus whom his followers had come to know and love. In fact, today’s gospel text from Luke gives us enough “heartburn” as it is, especially if we are parents. It portrays Jesus as being a precocious pre-teenager, who gives a rather “rude” answer to his parents when they finally find him in the temple after three days of frantic searching. So why was this story included in Luke’s gospel? There are a number of possible reasons, but I believe that the most important reason was to illustrate that Jesus was GROWING – growing in years and also (most importantly) in his spiritual understanding of who and what he was. There is a tendency for us at Christmas to just want to see Jesus as a sweet little baby. I know how Carol and I felt just two and a half months ago when we went to see and hold our first grandson, Eli. He was so sweet, so tiny, and so innocent. But as we know, babies don’t stay that way forever. They grow up and become bigger. And they also start to “test their limits” as they enter the “terrible twos” and beyond. Jesus also was growing up. Luke stresses that point on both sides of today’s gospel text. In the verse immediately before today’s gospel he writes that “the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” (Lk. 2:40) And of course at the end of today’s gospel Luke again notes that “Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.” (Lk. 2:52) Part of growing up is discovering who and what you are – and what you are to be. So it was for Jesus as a boy. I am sure that he – contrary to stories like the one I mentioned from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas – for the most part was a rather ordinary child who probably enjoyed playing with other children – and they with him. But Jesus also – in large measure thanks to the example of his faithful and pious parents (as indicated by Luke’s statement that they went to Jerusalem every year for the festival of the Passover) – found himself becoming more and more aware of having a deep and personal relationship with God. God was becoming more and more real to the boy Jesus – so much so that was beginning to understand God as being his loving Father and that he in a very special way was God’s Son. And that is what led to the situation in today’s gospel. We do not know why Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. Most likely it was simply because he as a child got distracted – as children sometimes do. As a twelve year old boy, he had just completed his “Bar-Mitzvah” – which meant that for the first time he was now allowed to participate in religious discussions about the Torah at the synagogue and in the temple. We can easily imagine that this was such a wonderful and meaningful experience for Jesus that he completely forgot about everything else for awhile – including the fact that at a certain time he was supposed to rejoin his group of travelers to return to Nazareth. Needless to say, Jesus’ parents – after discovering that he was missing, were frantic with worry. And Jesus certainly deserved the rebuke that his mother gave him. Personally, I think that even though Luke does not mention it, Jesus was very sorry that he had caused his parents so much concern. But what Luke does record is a rather strange saying in which Jesus says to his parents: “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Jesus’ statement sounds harsher than it really is. Jesus is simply reminding his parents about something that they already knew. They knew how much he loved being at God’s house – at the synagogue each week and especially at the temple when they were in Jerusalem. And knowing that, the temple should have been the first place where his parents should come to look for him. Yes, Jesus was growing – not only physically but also in his understanding about who and what God was to him. Jesus was becoming conscious that he had a very special “Father – Son” kind of relationship with God – and that he loved spending time with him whenever possible. But in the meantime, Jesus was also still a child who needed parental guidance and protection. And Jesus, to his credit, knew that. As Luke tells us, he then went with his parents and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. And his mother treasured all these things in her heart. As I said at the beginning of this sermon, we do not know much about Jesus’ childhood – this is the only story of young Jesus in the four canonical gospels. But this does not mean that Jesus’ life before age 30 was wasted time. They were his formative years in which he grew in so many ways. And this did not happen in a vacuum. Jesus grew up to become the person that he was to be because he had loving and pious parents, and because he spent time (a LOT of time) with God and getting to know him better and better as his heavenly Father. Jesus eventually would become the person whose ministry would change the world and all history – and would also transform the lives of billions of people, including our own. We will mark the beginning of that ministry next week when we celebrate his baptism. But for now on this third day of Christmas, we simply remember and give thanks that during his “formative years” as a child and then as a young adult, Jesus “increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.” So may it be for us in our lives as well (no matter what age we are) – day by day GROWING in our life with God – and day by day getting to know him and love him more, just like Jesus did! Merry Christmas, everyone! A Merry and Blessed Christmas to you all! Amen! -------------------- Pastor George Karres 418 W. Main St. Sidney, MT 59270
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