Lael Murphy Sermon 21Jan01

The Old South Church in Boston

“Where’s Christ?”

Sermon by Lael P. Murphy

*Luke 2: 41-52

January 21, 2001

Just a few years ago a childhood development specialist collected some old, well-known proverbs.Conducting what might be considered an informal study on the development of cultural wisdom, she gave a group of children the first half of a proverb and asked them to come up with the rest.Here are some of the results:

As you shall make your bed…so shall you mess it up.

Two’s company, three’s…the musketeers.

Don’t bite the hand that…looks dirty.

A penny saved is…not much.

And finally one that’s indicative of our modern, techno-mentality:

If at first you don’t succeed…get new batteries.

As wise and winsome as these new proverbs might be, we can imagine that if the young man of our Scripture reading today were asked the same questions his responses would be radically different.The twelve-year-old Jesus we’re given a glimpse of this morning seems knowledgeable beyond his years, one who would either know the correct ending to these familiar clichés or who would come up with a better ending still.Sitting in the Temple in Jerusalem, giving even the learned Scribes a run for their money, this child is one a behavioral specialist would consider exceptional (though potentially problematic). On the one hand Jesus is clearly wise beyond his years and on the other he’s precocious and belligerent, striking out on his own, leaving that group of travelers without permission to do as he pleases.For those of us who work or live with children this age it’s easy to recognize that this scene depicts a clear-cut case of pre-teen trouble.

But scholars are quick to tell us this isn’t the point of the story.As tempting as it might be to focus on the surface incidents of this text they challenge us to look beyond those basic issues.As stated by biblical historian Joseph Fitzmyer, “One must avoid psychologizing explanations of the words of Jesus or Mary and of their actions [because] focusing on questions like, “How could Joseph and Mary have gone a whole day’s journey without realizing that Jesus was not with them?or How did Jesus spend the nights until he was found? is to miss the whole point of the episode.It was not meant to bear such weight.”Fitzmyer goes on to say that at its core this is a story that deals with the true identity and purpose of this little boy.

And so we have to turn away from our more modern inclination to find Jesus a therapist and report Mary and Joseph to the Department of Social Services.We need to look instead at the critical words uttered in this passage.They come with that young man’s reaction to his mother, as Jesus responds to her anxious concerns with such seeming calm conviction.Remember his statements?He says so coolly, “Why were you searching for me?Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?”

Writing to a community in which there was a lot of searching going on, where the hope of the Christian message was getting lost in some fundamental ways, Luke knows the importance of including these rhetorical questions in his gospel.Working to build up trust and morale at a time when Roman rule threatened peace on city streets and religious debate endangered faith at home, Luke’s aim was to offer an assurance of hope and healing.With this “pronouncement story” (as texts like these are called), Luke gives proof that the messianic promise has been fulfilled.In these verses believed by historians to have been added on the original gospel by the author himself, Luke identifies Jesus as the Christ even before the boy became a man.This is a story that provides the promise of God’s salvation through that holy child.

And so we see that Mary and Joseph’s frantic searching mirrors the seeking of those early converts.We realize the first disciples echo this mother’s anxious blame.Working to calm the growing fears around him Luke composes a gospel that delineates God’s presence in Jesus from the start:he describes the angel’s visitation to Mary and her devoted response; he includes the shepherds arrival and their glorious words of awe; he describes Simone’s declaration of devotion and Anna’s words of praise; and finally, he describes Jesus remaining in Jerusalem going back to the Temple.With each story Luke gives the members of that early church community the assurance that God has come in Christ.As illustrated in our reading this morning it’s as though Jesus were saying himself, “Why are you searching for me?You don’t have to be frantic.I’m right here with you, doing God’s work, beginning God’s mission.I am the Son of God, the One you can trust to lead you to mercy and salvation.”

What a proclamation from a twelve-year-old!Oh, from the mouths of babes, indeed!Reading this pronouncement story we can be touched by the history of our tradition in a miraculous way.Like those early converts hearing this story for the first time we’re given the chance to open ourselves to the wonder of our faith in Jesus as the Christ.Can we do it this cold and wintry morning?In a time when some of us might just be asking where’s Christ? ourselves, can we accept the inspiration Luke offers in this story of Jesus as a boy?

As Christians living in a world of such religious and cultural pluralism, we may certainly appreciate the importance of growing in the conviction that our God acts and speaks to us through this Messiah.Holding on to our Christian identity (even as we have utter respect for those coming from other faith traditions) we know how vital it is to embrace Christ as our Savior, as the One who comes to offer God’s love and mercy to this broken world.As captured so simply by the writer John Thorn, “Christ is the beacon of our hope,” and in this Epiphany season we celebrate the light that’s brought to our lives through this miraculous presence of God.

But then there’s another side to this story that’s just as powerfully relevant to us today.It’s the flip side of our belief in the divinity of Jesus.It’s the humanity of Christ.This passage reminds us of the mind-boggling reality of the incarnation:that in Christ God became human, came to live like and among us.Think about it:even God living on earth couldn’t escape what we call the pre-teen experience; even God, in flesh, didn’t get out of some moments of family tension.Ours is a God who lived through the day-to-day trials of earthly existence, as an infant, an adolescent, through years of working as a skilled laborer, right up till his painful death on the cross.One theologian describes it this way:“The Son of God became man in weakness, to help us to be fully human, giving us the power to become children of God.”

I was reminded of this profound truth several years ago in a moment of pastoral sharing.Reaching out to a friend’s brother who had tried to take his own life, I sat in the visiting room of a treatment center, listening as he talked about his feelings of shame and despair.Expressing surprise that his act of desperation was having such an impact on his friends and family he said to me, “I didn’t know so many people cared.I’m so ashamed to be dragging them all through this.”Looking around the room, he added, “None of them have ever been to a place like this before.”And then he asked me, “Is this your first time?”

As I told him it wasn’t and explained that I visit people in all kinds of hospitals all the time a visible sign of relief crept over his face.He realized he wasn’t dragging me through a new and overwhelming experience.He was assured that while I didn’t know him very well I wasn’t afraid of his situation.Sitting together in that place of healing, this young man and I were able to connect as two people sharing the depth of the human experience.

Walking back to the parking lot that afternoon I realized this is the assurance God offers us through the incarnation.In a moment of epiphany that nearly stopped me in my tracks I sensed God saying, “Don’t you see, Lael, that’s just what I say to you and all the world:I’ve been here before.I know what it’s like.You can share with me without fear; you don’t have to worry that I won’t understand.”That’s the incredible miracle of our Christian tradition.

And so we if we ever wonder Where is Christ? we can be assured that he is here, with us.Recognizing this most essential truth of our faith we know that if that developmental specialist came and asked us to re-write a well-known proverb we could say,

Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and…God weeps as well.

For Christ is in our broken places, telling us we’re not abandoned or alone.Christ is in our efforts of sharing, as we reach out to one another here and in places around the globe. Christ is in the Temple and in this very sanctuary, offering teaching, healing and hope.Our God is with us every step of the way in the person and Spirit of Christ.

Let us pray.

Eternal God, your mercy is beyond our comprehension and we’re so very grateful for your abiding care.Thank you for being with us.Thank you for coming to this earth to live among us.Thank you for giving us Christ, to know, to love, to serve.

Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

Luke 2: 41-51

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover.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.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.When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.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.”He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”But they did not understand what he said to them.Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to the.His mother treasured all these things in her heart.