Don't leave Jesus Behind!

SCRIPTURE

Luke 2:41-52

2:41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover.

2:42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival.

2:43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.

2:44 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.

2:45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.

2:46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

2:47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

2:48 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."

2:49 He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

2:50 But they did not understand what he said to them.

2:51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.


SERMON

In today’s scripture we encounter Jesus, as a twelve-year-old boy, making a pilgrimage with his parents—and other family members--to Jerusalem for the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. This was no ordinary journey as they had to travel approximately sixty miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, on foot, over unpaved paths, taking a circuitous route in order to avoid traveling through Samaria.

Can you imagine? Jesus, his parents, his family members, friends, and townspeople, all journeying to Bethlehem to observe the Passover Celebration together? Well, when they got to Jerusalem, my what a sight to behold…History teaches us that Passover was a week long celebration where thousands of Jews from all over the known world came together in Jerusalem to eternally remember the time when God delivered them out of slavery in Egypt.

For the entire week, they visited the Temple, gathered with family, and slaughtered hundred of thousands of Passover Lambs to atone for the sins of the year. They also ate bread with no yeast to remind them of the special bread eaten by their ancestors in the wilderness as they journeyed toward the Promised Land. It must have been an awesome experience for Jesus, for he was only a boy, and the sites and sounds of the “big city” must have been very different from the humble ones of his own hometown.

When the week was over, Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ family, and townsfolk, packed things up and headed home. You can imagine that a sixty mile journey would probably take approximately fifteen to twenty hours at a good clip. Perhaps they broke that up over 2-3 days, camping on the sides of the paths, or finding whatever modest shelter they could at night.

Well, you can just imagine the entourage…right? After all every good Jewish person was required to observe the Passover in Jerusalem. The paths must have been crowded with pilgrims. It might have looked like a parade without all the pomp and circumstance. Voices raised in laughter and conversation, babies gurgling or crying, women walking together, men walking together, children of every size and shape and age running ahead and behind. And since they were among trusted family and friends, no one feared for the safety of the children, because all would care for any child in need.

So, it is no wonder that Mary and Joseph got a days journey up the road before they even noticed that they hadn’t seen their son, Jesus in a while. They must have stopped and looked around. Asked the other children, talked to the adults around them…At first they wouldn’t have been too worried, but after an hour—or two—with no word from anyone, they must have come to the frantic realization that they had left Jesus behind in Jerusalem.

Can you imagine? As a mother, I cannot imagine the horror Mary must have felt as she thought about her first born child, alone in the big city, maybe lost, confused, scared, potentially hurt, abused, or victimized, and perhaps even crying for his mama.

Well, Joseph and Mary turned around quick fast and in a hurry! It took a days journey to return to Jerusalem and then two days scouring the city, looking everywhere before they finally located their son sitting in the temple, listening to the teaching of Torah, asking and answering questions.

Well, Mary did what every good Mama would in that situation. She stormed up to Jesus and asked him, “"Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." Now, that sounds pretty nice compared to what my mother would have said in similar situations…We may need to assume it has been cleaned up a little for modern ears. (smile)

Now, Jesus, being Jesus answered her question in such an interesting way. He actually seemed surprised that they had had to look for him. Indeed, Jesus looked at her with what I imagine must have been very big, brown and innocent eyes and said, “"Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know that I would be in my Father’s house? Isn’t that an amazing answer? It was amazing then, and it is amazing now. Let me tell you why…

Later this week many of us will make our New Year’s resolutions. We all pull out our journals, or at least a little scrap of paper or a napkin and we make a list of all the things we know we ought to do in the new year. For some us, we will want to be better parents. For others of us we will want to get a more lucrative job. Still others may want to eat better and lose weight. I don’t know what your resolution is, but I know what mine are.

And do you know the most startling thing? Every year, year after year, my resolutions are more or less the same. And when I started asking myself why, the answer came to me in a flash. Very often I leave Jesus behind as I enter the new year.

See, it’s fashionable to walk with Jesus during the Advent Season. We love to anticipate his birth in the stable, we love to imagine the angels heralding his birth; we love to recreate the quest of the shepherds and the wise folks as they followed the risen star in the East. We love to have Christmas programs where our children dress up as cows, and sheep, and Mary and Joseph, and ultimately we love to smile as baby Jesus is laid in the manager at the moment of his birth.

But, all too soon Christmas comes and Christmas goes. The Advent wreath is completely lit. The carols are all sung and the Christmas tree dries out. The presents are opened. Our children are satisfied and the candlelight rendition of “Silent Night” fades into the distance as we all return to work. And all of a sudden we find ourselves headed up the road fast, because we’ve got things to do and people to see--and we leave Jesus behind…We fail to be mindful of his presence. We forget to look for Jesus, anticipate Jesus, listen for Jesus as we journey on the paths of life we have chosen for ourselves.

My friends, if you are anything like me, you are undoubtedly already beginning to experience the stresses and strains of post-holy-day life. Let me encourage us to return for Jesus, just as Mary and Joseph did so many years ago. Let me invite us to become mindful of the Spirit of Christ within us, giving us year round access to joy and peace in the midst of the anxieties and worries of every day life. Jesus is Immanuel. God with us. Not just on Christmas and Easter, but all year round—God is with us!

We don’t need to approach the New Year looking for Jesus with great anxiety. God is in the house! God is right where God has always been--above us, beneath us, around us, and most importantly in us—giving us unlimited access to God’s light, love, joy, and peace. God is in the house and we are God’s chosen house—for we are temple’s of the Holy Spirit!

Further, as we become mindful that God is always in the house, we will realize that we have access to God’s unlimited wisdom. When Jesus became lost in Jerusalem at Passover, he was just 12 years old; but, even then Jesus was so wise. He was not even considered a Bar Mitzvah yet. He had not yet been allowed to read Torah on his 13th birthday in the temple, but today’s lectionary scripture teaches us that as he sat in the temple even the elders were impressed with his wisdom and with his knowledge.

Let’s not abandon the Spirit of CHRST-mas as we go into the New Year. We must take Christ into the New Year with us because God is good and wise today. We don’t have to worry and fuss over resolutions we know we have no intention of keeping; instead we can—and should—be free to consult our all wise God on every aspect of our lives and trust God to steer us aright.

As we go into the new year, let us invite God to help us to frame our New Year’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Let us invite God to chart our journey. Let us invite Jesus to walk and talk with us, to lead and guide us along the way.

Look! If we make it our business to walk with Jesus, we won’t leave him behind. We won’t have to go about “searching for God with great anxiety when the road gets rough and the journey gets tough and the hills of life become hard to climb…No, as we walk with Jesus God’s wisdom and understanding will illumine the decisions of our lives and we will experience great joy and peace, victory and valor in the New Year as we live out our God ordained purposes upon the earth by bringing the living hope of the Gospel to the world by knowing and serving Jesus Christ.

Let’s us all take Jesus with us into the New Year. We’ll be glad we did!


Please pray with me:

Holy God, thank you for the potential and possible of 2010. I can’t wait to see what things you have in store for me! Please help to faithfully walk with you and never leave you behind in my haste to do things my way! Please forgive me of my sin and fill me with the Holy Spirit. I am so grateful that your love gave Jesus to die on the cross to save me from my sin and gift me with eternal life! I believe that he did not stay dead, but was resurrected, just as he promised that he would. My Lord! You are a promise keeper and I worship you today. Please help me to share your good news everywhere that I go. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.



SPECIAL NOTE

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! Let me encourage you to tell a Christian friend that you just put all of your hope in Jesus. Ask him or her to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand and to find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make new friends who will walk with you on your Christian journey!

I would be honored if you would let me know about your decision today by clicking "YES" in the poll located in the upper-right hand corner of the good news blog in answer to the question, "Did God save you today?"

Congratulations and Happy Re-birthday! Your salvation is our GOOD NEWS, please go and share the GOOD NEWS with others!