What Pastor Thomas Strieter Preached on Sunday, December 27th, 2009

First Sunday after Christmas 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 • Psalm 148 • Colossians 3:12-17 • Luke 2:41-52 42434445464748495051"Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 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. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 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.' He said to them, 'Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?' But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. " My, wife, Doris and I, like all people who want to be good parents, tried to instill in our two daughters, as they were growing up, the reasonable concept that they should not go anywhere without our knowledge and permission. The idea worked pretty well when they were quite young. But when they entered their teens, they would often chafe at this rule, because they felt it restricted them too much. They would often express resentment. Like, “You’re always trying to check up on me.” Or accusations like, “You don’t trust us.”... Sound familiar?... Chances are, if you are parents you’ve heard that many times. And chances are when you were teenagers you thought and said the same things yourselves. And you younger folks, doesn’t that sound familiar?... Then sometimes we experienced the ironic situation where the tables we turned. Our children, Kris and Becky, are grown now for a long time. And although we still worry about them, we know we can’t be as demanding as we once were. Both daughters are now on their own. And one is married with a 6 year old daughter. And we’re delighted that they still love to spend their time with us. But we know we have to go easy on advice........ Back in the mid-eighties, when both of our daughters were out of college, but still lived at home, Doris was Midwest director of Amnesty International, the world-wide human rights organization. Doris was away on a business trip. And I was involved in a meeting at a friend’s home. About a quarter to twelve midnight I got a call from Kris, our older daughter, who had just gotten home from her job at a TV station, where she worked the evening shift. She had, on a long shot, called our friends to find out if they knew where I was. When I answered, she angrily informed me that if I was going to be out so late, at least I should leave a note saying where I was, so she wouldn’t worry. And then Kris and I both laughed. And she said, “I guess I sound just like Mom, don’t I?”..... Hopefully, I’m a more thoughtful father and husband than I used to be, and show more consideration for the family. Just as Doris and I insisted they should do for us. Through such experiences we learn that knowing where each other is is not so much wanting to show our authority, but more of an expression of love and concern. We learn from situations like that. They are real to us....... But somehow when we read biblical accounts, they don’t seem as real. Perhaps some people, and especially young people, may be reluctant to follow Jesus because he doesn’t seem real. This is a day in which reality is valued. And maybe our mistake has been in showing Jesus as too different from ourselves. But the gospels don’t show him that way. Today’s gospel, for instance, shows us a vision of Jesus and his parents that is not much different from our own in many ways. Situations may change, but the interplay is much the same... Jesus and his parents have been in Jerusalem for the high festival of the Passover. And on the way home with friends and neighbors, Mary and Joseph discover that Jesus is not among them. People traveled together on such occasions for safety and for company, as people do today. We may speculate on why Jesus got left behind. Perhaps he had asked, or his parents had assumed, that he was traveling with the family of someone his own age. Surely, Jesus’ parents would not simply have gone their way unconscious and uncaring of where they expected him to be. Had the arrangement been too casual, in simple childhood style? Had he perhaps become engrossed in something interesting and missed the appointed leaving time? We really don’t know. But there was nothing for him to do but wait and hope Mary and Joseph would find him.... But where does a pre-teen do that? He was only twelve. If one had no relatives in town, and presumably no money to buy food and lodging, where does a young person turn?....... The fact that the twelve year old Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem, or in the synagogue in his home town of Nazareth, was nothing new or out of the ordinary for Jesus. And he was comfortable with questioning and answering, even with the scholarly teachers of the law. It was the Jewish style of teaching the lessons of faith. Where better to test and develop a young intellect than in the temple?....... Questions of youth are disturbing at times. The new generation doesn’t always proceed on the same assumptions as we do. And I know this, kids, because I have been there. And I’ve done a lot of doubting, and a lot of rebelling... Your questions challenge us older folks. You ask us for reasons, and push us to come to grips with new ideas. And although at times we get impatient, your questioning is good! The youthful questing spirit may get some of us older members of the family of faith rather uncomfortable. You aren’t afraid to ask, “Why?” And you are doubtful if you don’t get answers that satisfy you. You may not accept at face value what you are told. And you may arrive at conclusions that are different from our own. And that’s okay!... When I was younger, I questioned Dad a lot about our Christian faith. And in response to my doubting, he did his homework. And he grew... And our daughters help Doris and me to grow....... So we value your views. And, believe it or not, your views might bring changes in the familiar and comfortable practices of our faith. You can teach us... If there is any place that young minds should be stimulated, it should be in church! If there is any encouragement to seek and question and reason, it should be found in church! No, we haven’t always been that way. But that openness is the model we find in the church of the New Testament. And in this gospel lesson for today. Questioning and discussing. In the temple!... Jesus probed with his mind. This was part of his faith. His family had seen to it from his earliest years that he had been present to worship. And to inquire into the meaning of the Scriptures. The synagogue - Jesus’ home town church - was part of his home life. For a lost young man, the church was the natural place to go. It was home!... And I am sure, if you ever want to talk seriously about what’s on your heart, you Pastor will take you seriously. And he’ll be a friend and counselor. And he won’t betray your confidence in him....... Many of us will identify with the attitude of Jesus’ parents when they returned to Jerusalem. They were fearful and worried and angry. We probably have a picture in our minds that the holy family was dreadfully pious and plastic. Always speaking in a bland serene voice. With no sound of emotion. Without joy or frustration. Let alone anger or exasperation... But Luke gives us a wonderful insight into this family. “Son, why have you done this to us?”... Surely, there was a sharpness in Mary’s voice. “Your father and I have been looking for you everywhere.”... That’s what you and I would have said. The words carry a load of relief. But also the fright and frustration they must have felt in their search for him. Mary and Joseph took it personally. And there is a note of reprimand... But there follows none of the nagging stridency with which some parents fill such moments. And in typical childlike fashion, Jesus does not fully understand the depth of their feeling. Nevertheless, in Jesus’ reply, Luke lets us know the place of family in Jesus’ life... “Why did you hunt for me? Didn’t you know that I would be in my Father’s house?”... Here was the word of a child. Not excusing himself, but essentially saying,” You should have known I’d be here. You taught me this.”....... The tendency for us is to quickly gloss over the last part of the story. Which says they went back to Nazareth. And that Jesus was obedient to them. Most parents find authority a problem in dealing with their children. And as young people or adults, we find it hard to see ourselves under someone’s authority. How we’d like to be free from authority! Yet at the end of the story, Jesus again placed himself under the discipline and guidance of his parents..... Jesus’ whole life reflects the fact that he understood the true nature of obedience and authority. As a man he spoke with an authority that was recognized by his hearers. But the gospels also make it very clear that he did not impose his teachings on people with external pressure. Jesus’ authority was not the authority of coercion and force. But of love and truth....... When I go shopping in supermarket, I sometime hear strange and sometimes cruel things that mother’s say to their kids. I remember one mother saying, “If you don’t shape up, I’ll put your legs in a pencil sharpener and pound you into the ground!” That’s dreadful!... But at least it was imaginative... I heard another mother say to her child that was misbehaving, “If you don’t stop that I won’t love you anymore!”... What a terrible thing to say to a child! What a way to exercise control and obedience!... It can’t be called love that is so capricious that it can be withdrawn if someone doesn’t do what we want. Rather, authority of parents must be rooted in the assurance that the parent’s love is unconditional. The love will be there in spite of anything that happens. Like God’s own love for us....... As the years go by and a child is weaned from the authority of its parents, there are still values that we have learned from them which we keep active, no matter how old we become. In this sense, we never outgrow the recognition of authority of loving and devoted parents. Nor the influence of home on our lives... The gospels indicate that it was through the means of that home and devout parents that Jesus came among us. The influence of that home, those parents, and the church were used by God to make known his love and truth in Jesus... Our own families, too, are used by God. And when our families are centered in Jesus, then they can produce a humanity that is the yeast which can change the world. It is in our families that we learn the nature of forgiveness and unconditional love. It is in the family that we are guided to be our better selves. It is there that the lessons of faith are taught, learned and practiced. And these serve as the guiding star for the rest of our lives.