Second Sunday in Christmas, 01/05/2014

Sermon on Luke 2:40-52, by Nathan Howard Yoder

40 The child [Jesus] grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. 41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 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, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” 50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. (ESV)

One would be correct to say that when Mary agreed to bear the Son of the Most High, she didn't know what she was getting into. A popular anthem I've heard sung at more than one Christmas Eve service speaks to her beautiful ignorance and the great mystery of the Incarnation: "Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water? Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb? The sleeping child you're holding is the great I AM." There is much about her son that Mary didn't know. Simeon's prophecy in Luke 2 foreshadows Mary's understanding yet to come: "a sword will pierce your own soul, too." She did not expect to stand outside Jerusalem and watch the child she bore suffer and die. And she did not expect His glorious resurrection. Yes, there was much she didn't know. Nevertheless, when Mary answered Gabriel, "I am the Lord's servant; let it be with me according to your word," she knew she was in it for the long haul. She knew that her responsibility would be tremendous: to preserve and protect her little one, the Messiah to whom God would give the throne of David. To keep him safe, to keep him close. In a word, she knew that she would be His mother. And that is no small thing.

The fears of mothers (and fathers) are many, and they are timeless. Today's Gospel lesson conveys the urgency of a potential nightmare that plays out in public places every day. Mary's child was missing. Returning to Nazareth from Jerusalem, already a full day's hike into a 10-day journey, Joseph and Mary cannot find their son. And so a frantic 3-day search begins, culminating in a startling discovery at the temple: their 12-year-old is holding his own with the teachers of the law, "and all are amazed at his understanding." When Mary scolds Him for worrying them so, Jesus' answer points yet again to Mary's understandable ignorance regarding who her son really is. "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" There is no hint of sarcasm that would typically punctuate a preteen's repartee, no violation of the Fourth Commandment. The child returns with His parents, submissive to their authority. And for the second time in Luke 2, the blessed physician records that Mary "treasured up all these things in her heart." This is a hint that Luke's source may have been none other than Mary, herself. It is also consistent with her calling as a mother: to hold fast to her son, to treasure him, and to grow ever closer to Him, just as He grows in stature and wisdom.

Mary's specific vocation to be the mother of God, the Word Incarnate, is unique within history. But her calling to hold fast to her son and to treasure his story: this responsibility belongs to us, as well. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we have been joined to Christ in our baptism. Whether our parents carried us to the font or we came through our own power, we did so in response to God's command. From that singular moment of water and the Word, our Father's business became ours. (And that, brothers and sisters in Christ, is unidirectional. We cannot make what we stylize as our business God's by simply claiming that it is.) If our parents brought us in arms, their promise was not so different from that of the Virgin Mary. They are to bring us to the Lord's house, to learn the fundamentals of the faith, and to immerse us in Holy Scripture, so that as we grow in stature, we cling ever closer to our baptism, to the communion of saints and the forgiveness of sins. "We do," they said, in echo of Mary's simple pledge. I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. In affirming our baptism, we "hold fast to the hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:18), treasuring the mystery and the responsibility we've been given and pondering in our hearts the enormity of what it means to be a child of God for the sake of Christ. When we lose our grip and wander, the Word in the water calls us to turn around in repentance and to treasure our calling in the Lord, once again. And as we hold fast to our baptism, we hold tighter to our Lord's commandments. We grow in the Spirit who is Wisdom and understanding, council and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord, and boundless joy at His presence.

And where is He? We don't need to search frantically and anxiously to find Him, because He's precisely where he said He'd be. Jesus is in his Father's house: where two or more are gathered in His name, the Word in Law and Gospel is proclaimed, and Christ's body and blood are given and shed for the forgiveness of sins and growth in the Spirit. You and I need to come to this house and receive Jesus, as often as we can. We cling to our baptism and treasure the Word in preaching and the sacraments, so that we can be about our Father's business, our Lord's Great Commission. We hold fast to Christ, knowing as we do that He is holding us, and nothing in all creation can separate us from His love. That is enough to ponder and treasure in faith for eternity.

The Rev. Dr. Nathan Howard Yoder
Maiden, NC
E-Mail: yoder234@hotmail.com

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