December 26, 2021 – Luke 2:41-52
Luke 2:41-52
Looking for Jesus
First Sunday of Christmas – December 26, 2021
First Lutheran Church – Winnipeg, MB
This story is about looking for Jesus.
And it’s about where to find him.
Where do we find grace? And unconditional love? And loving purpose?
The story is the only one we have of Jesus’ youth.
It’s familiar enough.
Mary, Joseph, and Jesus come to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.
It lasts about a week.
When they are ready to go, Mary and Joseph assume Jesus is with their travelling party.
People travelled in large groups in the ancient world because
it protected them against thieves along the way.
After a day’s travelling, Mary and Joseph realize Jesus is not with them!
He must be back in Jerusalem!
Now this is the point most people get stuck on, and rightly so:
how could Mary and Joseph not know he was with them?
I mean, really?
Yes: the group was composed of people who likely all knew each other,
extended family, kinspeople, people from the same town.
Okay. Fine. But still: a whole day? Really?
To me, this is yet another indication that Jesus was likely not the easiest child to raise.
I have no doubt that he was a challenging child, just as he would be a challenging adult.
I am sure that Jesus was precocious and curious and always asking questions.
What I think is that Mary and Joseph were probably relieved
not to have to look after Jesus for a bit!
I’m sure’s he fine, they probably said to one another.
Aunt Judith and Uncle Bob will take good care of him.
Well, when they realize he is missing they are of course frantic.
They run back to Jerusalem and look for him for three days!
Three days? Really????? Yes!
On the third day they find him, in the temple, with the people learned in the Bible,
asking questions, listening to answers, offering his views, learning all he can about
God’s story and the story of God’s people and the purpose of it all.
Mary asks him, “Child! Why have you treated us like this???
Do you not know your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety?”
Now pay attention to Jesus’ response,
because these are the first words we hear him speak in Luke’s Gospel.
And the first words Jesus speaks in any Gospel are always super important.
What does he say?
“Why were you searching for me? Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?”
Okay: the first thing to notice is that Jesus annoyingly answers a question with a question –
It’s kinda cheeky!
And this is the first of many times he will do this! It’s a favourite technique of his!
It’s a technique designed not just to annoy people, but to get people to think more deeply,
beyond the surface appearance of things.
The second thing to notice is what, exactly, he says.
Literally it says, “Did you not know I must be about the things of my Father?”
Probably it is better translated, “Did you not know I must be about my Father’s business?”
Or, “Did you not know I must be about my Father’s interests?”
Hmmmm.
Mary and Joseph are told exactly where to find Jesus: wherever his Father’s interests are.
He will always be about his Father’s business: look for him there.
The Father’s business is God’s mission to love, bless, heal and set free
this whole world and every person in it.
That is what Jesus is discovering in his conversations with the Bible experts.
And in his very first sermon in Luke, he will very clearly state
what exactly is God’s mission and what exactly are God’s interests:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, [the year of Jubilee].”
Where these things are happening, there Jesus is to be found.
Where the poor are lifted up. Where the hungry are filled with good things.
Where strangers are welcomed. Where are all treated with dignity.
Where there is hospitality for all and mercy for all.
There we can find Jesus.
This is especially helpful for us at Christmas.
Because the story is not just about Mary and Joseph looking for the teenage Jesus.
The story is for all of us who continue to look for Jesus,
for all of us who ask, “Where are you, Jesus?”
There have always been those who have asked that question,
but maybe there are more who are asking that question in the past two years.
Where are you, Jesus?
The clue is in that whole “three days” business.
Mary and Joseph found Jesus on the third day, right?
What else happened on the third day? Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day.
Where is the risen Jesus to be found?
That is the real question being asked by the story.
And that is the question that was asked by Luke’s community
50 years after Jesus’ resurrection.
And the answer is: wherever God’s interests are being served, there is Jesus.
Wherever the poor are lifted up, there is the risen Jesus.
Wherever the hungry are fed, there is the risen Jesus.
This is helpful at Christmas because we – all of us –
would very much like to find Jesus at Christmas time.
Many would like to find Jesus in the nostalgia of Christmases past,
or under the tree on Christmas morning,
or maybe in our own security, or wherever.
And while there is nothing wrong with those things, Luke is telling us this morning that
that is not where the living risen Jesus is to be found.
The risen living Jesus is to be found in serving our neighbours in need.
The risen living Jesus is to be found right here in this community when it feeds the hungry,
when it delivers beautiful hampers to the poor at Christmas,
when it welcomes all who come through its doors,
when it ensures the safety and
well-being of refugees from war-torn countries.
In Luke’s way of thinking – as you can see from the Book of Acts – the risen body of Jesus,
the physical body of Jesus on earth now is actually the church.
And so when people look at the church, which should be about God’s interests,
they should be able to see the risen Jesus pretty clearly.
That is where we should be looking for – and finding Jesus.
It is gracious of Jesus to take up residence among us in this way.
In all his difficulty, in all his wonder, in all his love – Jesus can be found.
When people’s instincts at Christmas are to be generous,
and help serve food to the hungry, and volunteer at a shelter,
you can be pretty sure those instincts are right:
For those are the places Jesus can always be found.
With Mary, ponder these things for the next 10 days of Christmas.
Yes: with Mary and Joseph we still look for Jesus.
The good news is that Jesus can be – and wants to be – found, going about his Father’s business.
So together, let us say, “Amen.”
Pastor Michael Kurtz
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