by Fr. Bill Garrison
Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.
The parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem every year 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.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.
—Luke 2:41-52 (NRSV)
Good morning. The gospel chosen this morning leads us to chat about children. As a result, I went looking for something fun to share with you about the process of parenting in a pandemic. I ran across an article that carried real messages on twitter from parents. Here are my favorites of those I read.
From the mother of a 16- year-old: “I tracked 16’s phone to see if he was where he was supposed to be. He was not. So, I called 16 and asked where he was. He named the place he was supposed to be. I said oh REALLY? And the sound of his sighing realization that technology can be a dangerous issue for you literally made my whole day.”
From the mother of a younger child: “At my daughter’s 4-year checkup, the doctor said she should be eating a varied diet and to make sure she’s eating a good amount from each food group and I think she said a bit about trying new foods but not sure cause I got distracted wondering if she’d ever actually met a 4yo.”
From the mother of more than one child doing school online: “You can be a calm, rational person who doesn’t rage-eat potato chips before 10am, or you can be a parent of children doing online school. You cannot be both.”
Finally, the words of a parent who is about to become childless: “Thoughts and prayers for my son who thought it would be funny to tell me “I’ll get to it when I get to it, woman.”
Before we begin, I want to acknowledge something incredibly important. The drive to have children is overwhelming for almost everybody. Most of us have children easily and often. Unfortunately, there are people who struggle to have children, and some that are never successful. Their loss and pain is awful and overwhelming. I share their sorrow. All I can say is that every person that loves children makes the world a better place. Every child needs adults that care about them. And the more adults they have in their lives that love them the better. We must recognize that all the world’s children are all of our concern. We are all caretakers of children.
Today’s gospel story is the only story we have in scripture regarding Jesus as a child other than the birth stories. To me it’s an odd one, but on the other hand I think it is an instructive one. Some of the very same issues that are raised in the story are dealt with every day in the service of our children twenty centuries later.
As the gospel begins Jesus is about twelve and his family has gone to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. According to the story this is something they did every year and through that fact we know they were strictly observant Jews. In addition, we learn that the trip they were making to Jerusalem started in Nazareth so one more time we are reminded that Jesus grew up in Nazareth.
During the family’s time in Jerusalem the Passover observance came and went and Joseph and Mary started home, a journey that would take a few days. After traveling the first day’s journey they realized that Jesus wasn’t with them. The text tells us that Jesus had stayed behind.
So, let’s think about this. First of all, a twelve-year-old is making decisions for himself, and second his parents have gone an entire day without realizing he is missing. What’s wrong with this picture? First Jesus was apparently unaware of the stress that he would be putting on his family, and second his parents are apparently too busy with his brothers and sisters to realize he is missing.
Can you imagine the consternation and fear for his safety his parents must have felt on the one hand, and the embarrassment over having lost their child on the other? How many of us have been there? I know I have.
I cannot imagine anything more personally devastating than not knowing where your child is. I don’t care how old the child is, when you don’t know where they are it fills your veins with ice water. The fear for their safety is overwhelming and all consuming. It can also be embarrassing as you imagine people are thinking horrible things about you as a parent, never realizing or remembering you are far from alone. Almost everybody who has raised a child has been through it.
And then there is young Jesus. Fully human and fully divine. He has made a terrible decision. He has stayed behind without concern for what this would do to his family. His reaction to them, when they finally discover he is in the Temple, tells us he hasn’t given their welfare a thought. He is acting like a child. The son of God is doing the very thing our own children do. If Jesus is susceptible to making this sort of error how can we be too critical of our own kids?
So, they headed back to find him, a day’s journey back and then three days hunting for him in Jerusalem. That’s four days with their hearts in their mouths, worried sick.
Now the author tells us how amazed everybody was by the incredible insight Jesus was displaying, and the questions he was asking of the teachers in the Temple. Well, isn’t that nice? Big smile.
But come on. Let’s put ourselves in their shoes. I imagine pride for their child was not the first emotion his parents had. The first emotion after four days of searching for him would have been overwhelming relief, and then I am sure they would have liked to ring his neck. I know that would have been my reaction.
And so, they asked him some questions which I will paraphrase. “What were you thinking? We have been in great anxiety. Why would you do this to us?” I guess complex theology was more readily understood by him than was the idea that his parents had suffered as a result of his actions because his first words to them were, “you were looking for me?” Duh!
I am constantly amazed at the emphasis on the idea that Jesus would be “in his father’s house” and shouldn’t they have known that, rather than the fact he hadn’t given his parent’s feelings two thoughts. Again, if Jesus was in need of a little love and guidance and discipline then how can we not understand that our own kids need the same thing? This story underlines and emphasizes the universal need for the proper care and feeding of children. The good news in the gospel story is that apparently Jesus finally got the message because the story also says he went with them back to Nazareth and was obedient.
Now I am struck by the next to last line of the gospel. I quote it here. “His mother treasured all these things in her heart.” She treasured “all these things” in her heart. Really? You just spent a few days trying to find him, worried sick.
I guess I have to admit as I think about it that I get it. I have raised children, boys and girls, and I don’t have a single bad memory in regards to their behavior. And they each did some pretty interesting things. I won’t recount them here but just take it from me, they were pretty inventive. My thoughts of killing them in the moment have somehow evaporated and been replaced with pleasant thoughts about the same events. Sometimes I laugh out loud as I think about their capers. I find that fascinating and revealing about parenthood.
Do you suppose God feels the same way about each of us? After all God is the ultimate parent. As an example, God showers us with grace every day, even when we don’t deserve it. On top of that God must love us a lot because God made us eternal beings. God is stuck with us for all time. Imagine that. It’s incredible to think about isn’t it?
So, finally our invitation today is to think about God as the best parent ever. God wanted us desperately, created us, and loves us even when we are unlovable. God treasures all these things in God’s heart just like Mary it seems. Isn’t that great? Chew on that for a bit.
