In His Father’s House…

 January 3 2021

Luke 2:41-52

         Well, for most of us the celebration of Christmas is over even though the season of Christmas officially doesn’t end until the sixth of January. For us this means that all of decorations, the many different manger scenes, and the multitude of Christmas paraphernalia must be gathered up, wrapped up and put away for another year. The ornaments and the lights on the three week old Christmas tree must be taken off and wrapped up and put away as well and the tree unceremoniously hauled off to the woods. So, at last the house goes back to its normal state and Christmas for another year becomes just memories to ponder and to cherish. Yet as we put away the outer trappings of Christmas for another year I believe that we have to be careful to, in our haste to get back to normal, put away the very essential meaning of Christmas that in the birth of Jesus God at last has begun the new creation, Jesus being the new Adam who is born from above. You see, it is easy to say, yes, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus but so what? Let’s just get on with life and leave that manger scene behind but in doing so we would fail to follow how this new life, a life born from above grows up and transforms the world into which it was born.

         This is what Luke is getting at in what seems to be a somewhat strange story of Jesus going on what appears to be quite an eventful family vacation. To make sense of just why Luke has even told this story and to figure out just what is meant by this story we have to make sure that we have not packed the birth of Jesus away with our Christmas decorations. Luke wants us to remember that because the conception of Jesus was different, that Jesus was born from above through a creative act of the Holy Spirit that this meant that Jesus was different from this moment on. Even though he appeared to be just like any other baby wrapped up in swaddling clothes, Jesus had a holy difference about him right from the start. Here in the story of Jesus and his strange family vacation Luke is reporting just when those around Jesus started to become aware that this kid was definitely not like the others.

         The story begins with Luke telling us that Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus were preparing to go up to Jerusalem for the Passover. Now, right here we must pause to consider that Lukes gospel is a story that has as its bookends, the feast of Passover. It was when Jesus was twelve when his family went to Jerusalem that those around him began to see that Jesus was unique and it was at another Passover celebration that those around Jesus began to understand on a much deeper level the vital importance of that unique nature of Jesus. There at that later celebration of Passover some twenty years after the first, Jesus would become known as the very Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. So it is this last celebration of Passover that gives this first celebration of Passover by Jesus and his family its true significance.

         The family of Jesus went to Jerusalem to observe Passover because they were devout Jews who adhered to the Law of Moses. As it is written in the sixteenth chapter of Deuteronomy, in the month of Abib on the Israel calendar all of the people of Israel were to offer a Passover sacrifice to God at the place where the Lord chose to make his name dwell which at the time of Jesus was the city of Jerusalem. Passover was a feast of remembrance, a time to recall how God brought his people out of Egypt by night, the night when the angel of death came upon the households of Egypt taking their firstborn but spared the households of Israel because of the blood of the lamb placed upon the door posts of their houses. As the people of Israel ate the sacrificed lamb as a family on that night of their freedom so through the ages Passover was always a family celebration, a time for younger generations to hear again and again of how God rescued his people from the slavery of Egypt.

         So, this is the reason for this family adventure. They were heading to Jerusalem to stay with their extended family who lived there, to sacrifice the required lamb and to celebrate Passover just as they had done so many times before. But this year was going to be different because when Mary and Joseph left to go back to Nazareth, Jesus stayed behind. Now it sounds kind of bad that Mary and Joseph wasn’t aware that Jesus had been gone for three days but in their defense we must remember that for safety sake they would have been traveling with a large group of friends or family. So it was easy for them to assume that Jesus was hanging out with his cousins or the neighbor kids. What we have to ask ourselves is why would Luke record that the time that elapsed until Jesus was found was three days? For those of us who know the rest of the story we know that three days points to the resurrection, and we have to wonder if Luke wasn’t giving his readers a few breadcrumbs to help them to get the meaning of his story. If three days points to the resurrection and the resurrection revealed that Jesus was truly born from above in the power of the Holy Spirit then, yes, Luke has given us a very important clue to help us figure out our story. 

         Well, when Mary and Joseph finally caught up with Jesus they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Luke goes on to tell us that all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. Now there is a lot to unwrap in these few short sentences. First, we have to remember that Jesus is twelve. This means that according to our schooling he would have been in sixth grade. Do you remember what you were like in sixth grade? Does any sixth grader have any interest at all in hanging out in the teachers lounge during recess? Probably not. I mean, just how in the world would any kid hold up their end of the conversation they would have with not just an adult but a teacher, somebody who is supposed to know what they’re talking about. It goes without saying that there is a certain level of intimidation for kids when they decide to try and talk to teachers. So, this expected fear that is quite normal doesn’t seem to show up in the life of Jesus.

         Secondly, most kids know that if they do something without asking their parents for permission that its not going to end well. I mean Jesus had to know sneaking off to hang out with the teachers and priests was probably going to upset his parents just a little. I can only imagine the conversation Mary and Joseph had as they turned around and headed back to Jerusalem. They were probably torn between thoughts of worry and a desire to bring wrath down upon their disobedient child. I suspect that Jesus had to know this yet for some reason he proceeded with his plans. So, in knowing this then we know that there was something greater, something that was worth the expected pain that would come with his disobedience that motivated Jesus to do what he did. This something was worth so much to Jesus that he was willing to, if not break one of the commandments, strain it awfully hard.

         The third strange thing about this scenario of Jesus in the Temple hanging out with the learned folk was that he had anything to say at all. I mean we have to wonder just why was it that when these people who studied the scriptures extensively, why were they amazed at what Jesus had to say? I believe that the answer Luke wants us to come up with was that Jesus was born from above. It wasn’t that Jesus was some kind of child prodigy; no, it was that Jesus was a very different child all together. What this encounter Jesus had with the teachers in the Temples reveals is something that Isaiah wrote hundreds of years before Jesus came upon the scene. In the fifty fourth chapter of Isaiah, we read an astonishing prophecy that reads, “All your children shall be taught by the Lord and great shall be the peace of your children.” Isaiah wrote that this is what would be the result of the arrival of the promised Servant-King that Isaiah speaks of throughout his book. So, when we know of this prophecy, then it helps us make sense of why Jesus had answers that amazed people. What Luke is telling us is that Jesus, as one born from above is also one who is taught from above. It wasn’t the great homeschooling that Mary and Joseph had given him; no, it was that the Heavenly Father had been teaching him all along. This explains why his answers were so mind blowing to these teachers in the Temple. And as Isaiah also records, this teaching of Jesus by his Heavenly Father was also why Jesus was so at peace with his decision. Jesus had peace because he was at peace with his Heavenly Father, trusting him and following his call even if it meant that it meant not heeding the call of his parents to head home.

         Now when Mary and Joseph finally catch up with Jesus they of course were a little weirded out, seeing their twelve year old hanging out out the big wigs of the Temple. Not only that, their twelve year old was holding his own with them, understanding more than anyone expected. Yet being the good parents that they were, they laid into him demanding to know just why he had treated them like he did. Didn’t Jesus know that his parents were worried sick over his wandering off? Now, again most kids know that in moments like these it’s a good thing just to shut your trap and go with your parents in silence. Yet once again though Jesus demonstrates that he is not your normal kid because his reply is, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house? Maybe Mary had forgotten the strange way that Jesus had come into this world or perhaps it was that she just did not know all the ramifications that went along with the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus. It is hard to say if she or Joseph could have put all the pieces together and knew that yes, Jesus was the son of the Heavenly Father and yes since this was true, of course Jesus would want to hang out in the Temple because as everyone knew the Temple was God’s house. But I think the reason for Jesus stating that he had to be in the Temple because the Temple was his Father’s house was more about who he knew he was than whether his parents knew who he was. Here in this answer of Jesus, it is clear.that he knew that he was born from above, that he had a Heavenly Father and this Heavenly Father’s house was the Temple. It was this knowledge that was the seeds of the contention the people of Israel would have with Jesus. For the people of Israel, people who had not been born from above, the Temple for them was a means for them to manipulate God so that they could get what they demanded of him. You can imagine how unseemly it would be for any child to watch as people would try and manipulate their parent to give in to their demands. So it was for Jesus, who loved his Heavenly Father. You see, Jesus was not only born from above but he was also taught from above and because he was taught from above he had peace. You see, what the people of Israel demanded from God was to bless their warring madness. How could this be so when as Jesus proved, what God desired was to teach them in order that they might be people of peace? This is the peace that Jesus demonstrated as the Lamb of God willing to lay down his life and shed his blood upon the cross a perfect once for all sacrifice as God’s Servant-King. This Jesus did so that we also by faith in what he has done for us might be like him, born from above. Now we too can know God as our Heavenly Father because the Holy Spirit in us cries out Abba, Father. And like Jesus we too can be taught by God. The result of letting God teach us is that like Jesus we too can have peace.  We can have peace because at long last we are no longer at war with God. We can have peace because we are no longer at war with ourselves and others. When we yield to the teaching of God then we no longer have to tear others down to make ourselves appear bigger. No, when God teaches us then we will learn the ways of love because God is love and all his ways are love.

         This is all of the out growth of that strange incident that Luke records about the early days of Jesus. Luke also goes on to say that Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. It seems kind of vague to say that Jesus grew in wisdom and we are left wondering just what does this mean. We know that wisdom is the opposite of foolishness and since most of us don’t really have a desire to be a fool we try to make wise choices. I mean who really wants to look back on this year and say wow, I did a whole lot of foolish stuff this past year, way to go. Yet because we know Jesus grew in wisdom we can look on his life and discover what wisdom looks like. James, the brother of Jesus writes in the third chapter of his letter, that the wisdom from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. This wisdom from above is the characteristic of a life that is born from above , a life that is taught from above by God. But as the life of Jesus demonstrates this life of wisdom is something that is a living thing, a growing thing that must be nurtured and looked after.

         So as we ponder on this young life of Jesus on this the first Sunday of this year we can see that it is a fitting scripture to begin the year with.This is a good time to ask ourselves if we know with certainty that we have been born from above by faith in Jesus Christ? Does the Spirit of God in us make is cry out Abba, Father? This is a good time to ask ourselves are we being taught by God? Are we listening to the teachings of Jesus and obeying what Jesus taught? Perhaps this is the time to re-read the gospels to hear the words of the Son of God once again. We must not forget that the way that we know that we are being taught by God is that we have peace in our life, that we are known as peaceful people. Can you say that you are at peace with God, at peace with the people in your life and at peace with yourself? Finally, if you are honest can you say that you like Jesus are growing in wisdom, the wisdom from above? Is your life becoming more pure, kinder, gentler in your dealings with others? Are you known as being a reasonable person, a person of mercy and a person whose life is one that brings glory to God? These are important for us to consider because the days we are given, days that grow into months and years, are one of the most precious gifts that God gives to us. We show appreciation to God for the gift of life and of time by bringing heaven on earth by being born from above, by being taught from above and by living a life that bears the wisdom from above. To God be the glory! Amen!