Text: Luke 2:40-52
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40 And the child [Jesus] grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
Last Sunday, our gospel told of the Father’s protection of Jesus and his family in Egypt and how God continues to protect us as his beloved children.
Today in our gospel reading, Jesus is now twelve years of age.
40 And the child [Jesus] grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
Last Sunday, our gospel told of the Father’s protection of Jesus and his family in Egypt and how God continues to protect us as his beloved children.
Today in our gospel reading, Jesus is now twelve years of age.
My dad used to say to me as my own children were growing up:
“Little children, little problems, big children, big problems.”
43 … as they were returning [home], the [12-year-old] Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.
Though not an ordinary youth, Jesus needs to be about his Father’s business. This causes some concern and hardship for those given into his care.
For any of you who have been on a trip and misplaced a child … it can be a very difficult and tenuous time to say the least.
Losing sight of my own children, even for a few seconds in a store, brought concern and some panic.
44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, [Mary and Joseph] returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.
You can understand as a parent, Mary’s frustration at Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem.
I can think of how I might have reacted if my son or daughter had done this to me. I would have not been happy to say the least, and here they find Jesus,
46 … sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
And we’re told:
47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Of course they were amazed … Jesus was not your ordinary 12-year-old.
Though I remember being amazed at children in my life, guitar and piano students who excelled come to mind. Some quite young and playing beyond their years. Some would blossom into adult stars and others fade into memory, hopefully to achieve peace and joy in their lives in other ways.
At this moment Mary did not remember who she had carried and who she had given birth to. At this moment, she was only a mother concerned for her lost 12-year-old son and his safety.
A few years ago I remember watching another 12-year-old doing some remarkable things on the golf course. Charlie Woods, at the time the 12-year-old son of his father, Tiger.
At the PNC championship scramble, Tiger and Charlie also combined to shoot a 15-under par 57, making 13 birdies, an eagle and four pars, to finish second.
" … Charlie was hitting the ball unbelievable,'' said Woods, who acknowledged that the intensity ramped up as the day wore on. [Winning] would have had a special meaning in my heart for sure.”
That’s amazing play for a 12-year-old!
But this Jesus was a different 12-year-old where:
The wisdom of God is found!
Those who heard him were amazed. It is something we all need to be reminded of.
This child, born of Mary on Christmas day, is God in the flesh.
This coming Tuesday, January 6th, is the day of Epiphany. It is the day that Jesus is made known and recognized as the savior of all people.
It is why the wise men came to worship this child, Jesus and to bring him gifts. He is now manifest or made know to a world in need.
This young boy who was recognized as the savior and who was brought gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh as a young child, is now listening and teaching at the feet of the teachers, not as one who simply learned skills, copied what he heard, and used those talents to impress his teachers.
Or, like Charlie Woods, gifted as he is, but this Jesus, this 12-year-old, is the one who was and is the source of all wisdom and knowledge given from God on high.
The house of God, the Temple where Jesus sat and taught, is also here at Peace Lutheran church where the true word of God is made known through word and sacrament. And you also, are His Temple where God himself indwells all believers by His Spirit, pointing you and me to the finished work of Christ Jesus that by his Spirit, you see him for who he is …
… the savior of the world … and that by faith you trust his word of promise, so elegantly proclaimed in John Chapter 14:
14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Jesus is the wisdom and power of God!
Jesus is the one who makes a way for you and for me!
Jesus is the one that the Magi came to bring gifts to!
Jesus is the one revealed as the savior of the nation’s come!
Jesus is the one who at twelve years of age was, as the writer of the book of Hebrews put it:
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
And the next time we encounter Jesus on his trip to the cross, he will be Baptized by John as the Holy Spirit descends on him like a dove.
Being marked as the chief of sinners for you and me, Jesus will then go to Jerusalem taking your sins and mine to the cross and nailing them there, and proclaiming God’s finished work through him for our redemption!
It is true!
This is no ordinary boy sitting among the teachers, teaching with wisdom and power and gently reminding his mother that he needed to be in His Father’s house.
50 And [his parents] did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.
But, in submission, this God who made the world and all things obeyed his parents …
51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother [the Blessed Virgin Mary] treasured up all these things in her heart.
She, knowing who he is and what he was appointed to do, to be the consolation of Israel and the savior of the world as Simeon once held in his hands the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel - God with us!
52 And Jesus [as he continued to grow], increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
Friends, the wisdom of God is found in Christ!
God in Christ has been made know to you. May his peace and joy fill you each day of this New Year with hope and peace in the salvation that is yours in him.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
“Little children, little problems, big children, big problems.”
43 … as they were returning [home], the [12-year-old] Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.
Though not an ordinary youth, Jesus needs to be about his Father’s business. This causes some concern and hardship for those given into his care.
For any of you who have been on a trip and misplaced a child … it can be a very difficult and tenuous time to say the least.
Losing sight of my own children, even for a few seconds in a store, brought concern and some panic.
44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, [Mary and Joseph] returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.
You can understand as a parent, Mary’s frustration at Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem.
I can think of how I might have reacted if my son or daughter had done this to me. I would have not been happy to say the least, and here they find Jesus,
46 … sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
And we’re told:
47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Of course they were amazed … Jesus was not your ordinary 12-year-old.
Though I remember being amazed at children in my life, guitar and piano students who excelled come to mind. Some quite young and playing beyond their years. Some would blossom into adult stars and others fade into memory, hopefully to achieve peace and joy in their lives in other ways.
At this moment Mary did not remember who she had carried and who she had given birth to. At this moment, she was only a mother concerned for her lost 12-year-old son and his safety.
A few years ago I remember watching another 12-year-old doing some remarkable things on the golf course. Charlie Woods, at the time the 12-year-old son of his father, Tiger.
At the PNC championship scramble, Tiger and Charlie also combined to shoot a 15-under par 57, making 13 birdies, an eagle and four pars, to finish second.
" … Charlie was hitting the ball unbelievable,'' said Woods, who acknowledged that the intensity ramped up as the day wore on. [Winning] would have had a special meaning in my heart for sure.”
That’s amazing play for a 12-year-old!
But this Jesus was a different 12-year-old where:
The wisdom of God is found!
Those who heard him were amazed. It is something we all need to be reminded of.
This child, born of Mary on Christmas day, is God in the flesh.
This coming Tuesday, January 6th, is the day of Epiphany. It is the day that Jesus is made known and recognized as the savior of all people.
It is why the wise men came to worship this child, Jesus and to bring him gifts. He is now manifest or made know to a world in need.
This young boy who was recognized as the savior and who was brought gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh as a young child, is now listening and teaching at the feet of the teachers, not as one who simply learned skills, copied what he heard, and used those talents to impress his teachers.
Or, like Charlie Woods, gifted as he is, but this Jesus, this 12-year-old, is the one who was and is the source of all wisdom and knowledge given from God on high.
The house of God, the Temple where Jesus sat and taught, is also here at Peace Lutheran church where the true word of God is made known through word and sacrament. And you also, are His Temple where God himself indwells all believers by His Spirit, pointing you and me to the finished work of Christ Jesus that by his Spirit, you see him for who he is …
… the savior of the world … and that by faith you trust his word of promise, so elegantly proclaimed in John Chapter 14:
14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Jesus is the wisdom and power of God!
Jesus is the one who makes a way for you and for me!
Jesus is the one that the Magi came to bring gifts to!
Jesus is the one revealed as the savior of the nation’s come!
Jesus is the one who at twelve years of age was, as the writer of the book of Hebrews put it:
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
And the next time we encounter Jesus on his trip to the cross, he will be Baptized by John as the Holy Spirit descends on him like a dove.
Being marked as the chief of sinners for you and me, Jesus will then go to Jerusalem taking your sins and mine to the cross and nailing them there, and proclaiming God’s finished work through him for our redemption!
It is true!
This is no ordinary boy sitting among the teachers, teaching with wisdom and power and gently reminding his mother that he needed to be in His Father’s house.
50 And [his parents] did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.
But, in submission, this God who made the world and all things obeyed his parents …
51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother [the Blessed Virgin Mary] treasured up all these things in her heart.
She, knowing who he is and what he was appointed to do, to be the consolation of Israel and the savior of the world as Simeon once held in his hands the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel - God with us!
52 And Jesus [as he continued to grow], increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
Friends, the wisdom of God is found in Christ!
God in Christ has been made know to you. May his peace and joy fill you each day of this New Year with hope and peace in the salvation that is yours in him.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
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