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.
Luke 2:42-43
“On the Third Day of Christmas my true love gave to me” a highly condensed version of a sermon I gave yesterday at the Community Church in Bennet, NE. Try as I might, I couldn’t locate any French Hens...
Today’s scripture is for parents who have ever traveled with children, or have ever questioned their own parenting skills. I say that because Mary and Joseph, perhaps the two most famous and admired parents in all of history, have lost the Son of God! I have to say that makes me feel better about my parenting.
The good news is they found him…three days later…in the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus is 12-years old and I guess that would make him a ‘tween;’ he certainly seems to have a 12-year old’s attitude. When Mary, who had been sick with worry, asks him the perennial parent question: “Why have you treated [your father and me] like this?” Jesus doesn’t see the problem. What’s the big deal? Why are you looking everywhere for me when you know I must be in my Father’s house?
And, as Luke puts it, “[Mary & Joseph] did not understand what he said to them.” I think most parents can relate.
The story concludes with the family journeying back to Nazareth. What do you suppose that trip back to Nazareth was like? Did Mary give Jesus a good talking to? Did she put him in timeout? In any event, Luke writes that Jesus “increased in wisdom, as well as divine and human favor.”
This is a rare glimpse into Jesus’ life before his public ministry; we know almost nothing about his childhood. The next time we encounter Jesus in Luke’s gospel will be at his baptism. That’s almost 20 years later. A lot must have happened in the intervening years. So, you have to wonder: out of all the things he could have chosen to share about Jesus’s childhood, why does Luke include this particular episode from Jesus’ youth? There has to be a lesson for us here, something important that he wants us to pay attention to.
I think Luke included it for two reasons.
First, it tells us something important about Jesus. In Jesus’ society, this is the age when boys joined the male world. Up until this time, they were primarily cared for, not to mention spoiled, by their mothers. Now, that he has reached puberty, Jesus must claim his identity. But, he does not merely claim his identity within his own community, he also claims his identity as God’s son.
The second reason Luke includes this episode is to show us how we can claim our own identities, which can be a tricky thing. At one time or another we have all questioned our place in the world, where we fit, who we are, and who we should be. It’s easy to feel lost at times.
I believe that we are all searching for meaning, for a place where we feel that we belong. Whether we realize it or not, that place is in the love of God. St. Augustine famously wrote that our hearts are restless in our search for God and won’t cease to be restless until we find God.
Unfortunately, we don’t always realize that what we’re searching for is God. So, our search can cause us to look in the wrong places. We see the effects of this every day as people become lost in substance abuse, promiscuous sex, materialism…well you get the point.
Finding your place in the world can be difficult and it’s all too easy to lose your way. For Jesus it must have been especially difficult because he faced a double challenge: he was fully divine, but at the same time he was also fully human. That could certainly create an identity crisis.
No wonder he was in the temple, asking questions. One thing I love about this text is that Luke makes it clear that Jesus didn’t come into the world with all the answers. Luke writes that Jesus “increased in wisdom.”
These three words tell us something important: Jesus had to learn, to find his way, just as we do. And if he had to find his way, then this episode in his young life might help point us in the right direction in our search.
So, how did Jesus find his way? He went to his heavenly Father for answers and direction. Jesus spent time in conversation with God; he learned the scriptures; he attended worship; he listened to the religious teachers; he asked questions. Those are all things that we are able to do. And as followers of Jesus, we need to find not only our personal identities, but also our identities in Christ. What exactly would that look like?
One of the best descriptions of Christian identity is found in the third chapter of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, which is the epistle appointed for today. Paul writes:
12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:12-17 (NRSV)
What Paul is talking about is the transformation of our identities – not into something different, but into our true selves. Let me explain.
The fundamental question in life has to be “who am I?” I am currently training to become a certified spiritual director. Spiritual directors, unlike counselors, don’t give advice; they ask questions designed to help directees find their true selves. You see, we all wear masks of one kind or another. These masks help protect us, or so we think, as we navigate through life. But, these masks are false and take us farther and farther away from the people God created us to be. We lose who we truly are. We lose our identities.
Since I started seeing my own spiritual director several years ago, I’ve had a lot of masks stripped away. It’s intense work and sometimes painful because you have to take an honest look at who you truly are, both the good and the bad. It is not easy but, it is transformative. I am certainly not the same person who entered spiritual direction. As I work to claim my identity in Christ I have been able to catch glimpses of the real person that God created.
Becoming who God intended you to be, allowing God to transform you into that person, is a life-long process. But, in the end it can lead to profound personal changes that can change how we interact with one another. As I look at my own faults and short-comings, I find it easier to tolerate the short-comings of others…except when I’m driving. I am definitely more forgiving…except when I’m driving. (As I said, it’s a process). So, if we want the world to be a better place we first have to allow ourselves to be changed, to claim and live out the identity God has given us.
Think again about the passage from Colossians. Paul has described what a transformed life looks like. This is the kind of life to which we are called: peaceful, thankful, and loving. This is the identity we share as followers of Christ.
The world desperately needs us to claim our identity. In our fractured society no one seems to agree on anything. But, our shared identity in Christ can overcome divisions of every kind. Racial, economic, political…it doesn’t matter when we recognize one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
We may not be able to change the world, but if we claim our identity as the hands and feet and voice of Christ, then God can change the world through us. As I was preparing for this week’s sermon, I ran across this insight:
‘As God’s freed and redeemed people, we have the opportunity this Christmas season to make the choice to bear the light of incarnate love into this dark world. How would this world change if instead of trying to be right all the time …we were to focus on loving our neighbor, forgiving each other and bearing with one another?’
How would this world change if we lived our identities as followers of the Prince of Peace? It’s a question worth considering.
After claiming his identity, “Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.” We too have the opportunity to “increase in wisdom and in divine and human favor” by claiming our identities as beloved sons and daughters of God. We too can “bear the light of incarnate love into this dark world.”
What a gift that would be. It beats French Hens hands down.
Divine Overtones 