At my house, there are three major places I set down my keys and 15 minor places. How many times a week do I want to get in my van and have to go back and forth looking in all the likely places for my keys. A few weeks ago I spent five minutes wearing a path in the house searching ~ at last I brushed up against the corner of the hallway, heard a familiar tinkle of the key sound, and found them/// on my belt loop!
A few weeks ago in Sunday School, the idea was brought up in the lesson, “You long for what you already have…” like the keys on a beltloop. You already have what you need! You are discontent, wanting more, wear a path searching for that elusive something to make your life complete, and not realizing that what you are longing for is already within your grasp. “You long for what you already have”. We ask for God to make our lives complete, to rearrange our lives, add or take away, and the answer is simply to accept and appreciate and take advantage of what is already within our grasp.
A few weeks ago in Sunday School, the idea was brought up in the lesson, “You long for what you already have…” like the keys on a beltloop. You already have what you need! You are discontent, wanting more, wear a path searching for that elusive something to make your life complete, and not realizing that what you are longing for is already within your grasp. “You long for what you already have”. We ask for God to make our lives complete, to rearrange our lives, add or take away, and the answer is simply to accept and appreciate and take advantage of what is already within our grasp.
Something like that is happening in our scripture today. This is a story with a purpose. The only story in all four gospels from Jesus’ boyhood, Jesus is showing us how to enlarge our view of God in our lives, at the young age of 12 years, he shows us he is at home with God. (btw, a sidenote, Jesus first concern is for his own family!)
This explains the person that gives their heart to the Lord, embraces Christ, yet still makes poor judgments, bad decisions ~ something is missing. When at last they find a deeper level of peace with Christ, they cannot explain what is different. At every level of spiritual maturity, we think this is it, we have made it, but then you take another step and wonder why you did not get it before… You long for what you already have… awareness of Christ takes time, takes listening, asking questions, patience… and the irony, we long for what we already have…God is waiting…
It must have been tough being Jesus parents, to realize your son is more mature than you are! A smart parent, of course, is willing to learn from their children. I hope we are always willing to learn from those that are younger than us… last week I heard from so many people that were greatly inspired by the row of boys in the front that were visiting for the day….
The reality of being a parent comes into the story. Do you know what the job of a parent is? To get rid of your kids! As soon as your children are born, the goal is to help them grow, aid in their maturity, so they can leave home.
As parents, foster parents, relatives, teachers, friends of children we are concerned for their well being. We are to teach them, ensure their health and safety. Yet our children must discover for themselves a relationship with God. No parent can force children to be Christians, but what a joy when that happens. In the case of Jesus, the child outpaces the parents.// Joseph and Mary are raising their children in a devout God-fearing home, but Jesus finds a depth beyond what they have experienced.
I love it when a young person comes into our circle that has fully embraced Jesus Christ, and his or her parents are not Christians. What a wonderful testimony and opportunity. It’s so fascinating to see non-Christian parents amazed by their child, but not really understanding why. In the case of Jesus, it’s not that his parents don’t believe in God, but they have not reached a level of understanding Jesus has reached. Jesus is growing beyond what he sees in his parents.
Growing up means establishing our identity and figuring out our place in this world. It involves creating relationships, setting priorities, making decisions. And the most important decision of all: your relationship with God. We must choose values and beliefs that structure our lives. Along the way we make mistakes, get lost, backtrack, and sometimes just need to start over. Ultimately, growing up means moving out and finding a new home. Be at home with God. I love the way the scripture highlights being at home with God: “Did you not know I had to be in my father’s house?”
The scripture begins, Luke 2:41 with an announcement that the family of Jesus went to Jerusalem Passover. Passover is the big celebration of the Jews, even today. The feast/holiday commemorates the time the Jews were in captivity of the Egyptians in the time of Moses. Time after time Pharaoh changed his mind about letting the people go, and time after time a plague was sent, the 10th and final plague was the death angel killing the first born male. The Jews were told to sacrifice a lamb, and paint blood on the doorway, and the angel of death would Passover those homes ~ God allowed a substitute. Jesus is a boy at the time of this particular Passover celebration, later, as a man, Jesus would become the ultimate Passover lamb, shedding his own blood, so that whoever accepts him will be spared.
Jesus is twelve years old (Luke 2:42). Twelve is significant because he is not yet 13. // What happens in the Jewish culture at age 13? Coming of age, bar mitzvah. In our own culture we see 13, the start of the teen years, as a significant stage of development, 12 is a child, 13 is a teenager, with a foot in two worlds of child and adult. Jesus is 12, a child by almost all standards of all cultures.
The age of 12 highlights the extraordinary nature, understanding, and wisdom of Jesus. Another lesson: you cannot live by formulas…it’s your heart that matters. The patterns of celebrating Passover, reading the Bible, going to church, prayer are awesome, as long as we never forget it is the attitude of the heart that matters most. A person could get baptized as a formality, but it’s your heart that is of most importance.
In the book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster says, “Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant gratification is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.” In talking of the disciplines Foster says, “By themselves the spiritual disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done.”
Going to celebrate Passover by itself is a good party, a time to enjoy friends, but Jesus, at the young age of 12, understands there is more, more depth, and he goes to the temple to find out what it all means, the purpose, he goes to the temple to experience God. He wants God to do something. The fact Jesus is 12 clearly shows us that while 13 is a formal time of transition, that which is really important is what happens in your heart when you are ready… I grew up in this church when the world was a bit different… not nearly as much coming and going… families raising children together, the Sunday School program saw several generations of children go through each of the grades step by step so that I graduated with half a dozen friends that started in the early years of Sunday School. I was baptized at 16, a form of silent rebellion or maybe uncertainty, because I did not want to be baptized at a younger age afraid that I was doing it just to do it… I wanted it to mean something beyond the act of baptism…
Jesus is 12, and he shows as a child he gets it, he gets that a relationship with God the father is more important than anything else… it’s your heart that matters, we long for what we already have, not realizing how very close the answer is… Where does this longing come from? Ps. 42:1-2 says, “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” The longing comes from within, a need for God to fill the spiritual thirst. desire God, do not give up… keep desiring/longing…
how do you explain to people what they are missing when the answer is right there. Don’t desire God only for what he can do for you, only for his blessings…Thirst for God for God’s sake. As a pastor, if people want me around so they can get something from me, that’s never a whole lot of fun for me, but what joy to with people who seem to appreciate me as a person, what a huge difference. Do you think God is different? Desire God more than what he does for you… When Jesus says, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my father’s house?” He’s at home…Tell me about home… a place of rest, a place of peace, this is a story with a purpose: find your home in God, not what he can do for you, not how he can make you look, but simply be at home in God’s presence… it’s a step of spiritual maturity.
Understandably, Joseph and Mary are in a panic when they discover Jesus is not with them. This is not strange –travel with a crowd, extended families, each assumed Jesus was with a different person…READ Luke 2:44. So they returned to Jerusalem (Luke 2:45). They finally found Jesus in the temple courts, conversing with the teachers of the law, not what the parents expected. Mary’s question is not surprising to us: READ Luke 2:48. It is no surprise Mary would be in a panic. Mary’s first words, “Child, why have you treated us like this?” What I hear is, “Where have you been young man? Your father and I did not survive angel visits, birth in a manger, and living like refugees in Egypt only to have you get lost in Jerusalem.” But Jesus isn’t the one who is lost. He knows who he is and where he belongs. Mary and Joseph are the ones who are lost. ///
Today’s scripture is a single story with a purpose, teaching an amazing lesson: Be at Home with God, God is within your grasp. The key is Luke 2:49-50 READ. They didn’t quite understand at that moment… “I am centered in God, the father…” Jesus is saying, and he’s within your grasp... The keys are on your belt loop…. When you move to God’s home, it does not mean a geographical relocation, but a reprioritizing of your relationship with God so that in everything God is at the center. Later, in Luke 5:27, Jesus says to one of the disciples, “Follow me.” Make a new home. Be at home in my presence, my ministry, my priorities. At home with God.
What a wonderful shift Jesus makes. Mary says, “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” And Jesus says, “Did you not know I had to be in my father’s house?” Same word ~ Father. Jesus uses the same name for his earthly father as he does for his heavenly father, daddy, a word of intimacy, a loving title, a personal title. This is what all parents should want for their children, I don’t want my children ultimately to depend on me, but to see God as father, to embrace God, to know he cares, a loving father in heaven. This is no slight of Jesus earthly father, but rather, it is a realization of the goal, to grow, mature and move into a new home. What’s the goal of parents? To get rid of their children and move to a new home: no better home than with God ~ a relationship of trusting God and loving God and embracing God.
The story ends with a wonderful affirmation of Jesus earthly home and heavenly home; READ Luke 2:50-52. “they did not understand”, yet they continued journey to earthly home, Jesus is obedient. Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man… there’s the key, God and man… growing in God, yet a citizen of this world.
This is a story with a purpose… Mary’s response is surely meant for all of us… “his mother treasured all these things in her heart.” You may not get what’s going on in your life, perhaps not as mature in your faith as you would like. You could spend time kicking yourself for falling and sinning or making bad decisions. Do what Mary does. She finds peace, even as she does not fully understand. Mary treasures the fact that her son Jesus has found a relationship with God she has not grasped. Jesus words do not instantly transform his parents, but instead of kicking herself, Mary treasures the vision she has received. She does not fully grasp the idea of God as a father, but she has had a glimpse of the possibility, and that glimpse-is-a-treasure.
We long for that which we already have. Jesus, even at the age of 12, is at home with God. If you have not yet found that comfort level with God, don’t be upset for what you don’t have, but rather, treasure that which is coming. Being at home with God is within your grasp. Treasure it. Amen.
This explains the person that gives their heart to the Lord, embraces Christ, yet still makes poor judgments, bad decisions ~ something is missing. When at last they find a deeper level of peace with Christ, they cannot explain what is different. At every level of spiritual maturity, we think this is it, we have made it, but then you take another step and wonder why you did not get it before… You long for what you already have… awareness of Christ takes time, takes listening, asking questions, patience… and the irony, we long for what we already have…God is waiting…
It must have been tough being Jesus parents, to realize your son is more mature than you are! A smart parent, of course, is willing to learn from their children. I hope we are always willing to learn from those that are younger than us… last week I heard from so many people that were greatly inspired by the row of boys in the front that were visiting for the day….
The reality of being a parent comes into the story. Do you know what the job of a parent is? To get rid of your kids! As soon as your children are born, the goal is to help them grow, aid in their maturity, so they can leave home.
As parents, foster parents, relatives, teachers, friends of children we are concerned for their well being. We are to teach them, ensure their health and safety. Yet our children must discover for themselves a relationship with God. No parent can force children to be Christians, but what a joy when that happens. In the case of Jesus, the child outpaces the parents.// Joseph and Mary are raising their children in a devout God-fearing home, but Jesus finds a depth beyond what they have experienced.
I love it when a young person comes into our circle that has fully embraced Jesus Christ, and his or her parents are not Christians. What a wonderful testimony and opportunity. It’s so fascinating to see non-Christian parents amazed by their child, but not really understanding why. In the case of Jesus, it’s not that his parents don’t believe in God, but they have not reached a level of understanding Jesus has reached. Jesus is growing beyond what he sees in his parents.
Growing up means establishing our identity and figuring out our place in this world. It involves creating relationships, setting priorities, making decisions. And the most important decision of all: your relationship with God. We must choose values and beliefs that structure our lives. Along the way we make mistakes, get lost, backtrack, and sometimes just need to start over. Ultimately, growing up means moving out and finding a new home. Be at home with God. I love the way the scripture highlights being at home with God: “Did you not know I had to be in my father’s house?”
The scripture begins, Luke 2:41 with an announcement that the family of Jesus went to Jerusalem Passover. Passover is the big celebration of the Jews, even today. The feast/holiday commemorates the time the Jews were in captivity of the Egyptians in the time of Moses. Time after time Pharaoh changed his mind about letting the people go, and time after time a plague was sent, the 10th and final plague was the death angel killing the first born male. The Jews were told to sacrifice a lamb, and paint blood on the doorway, and the angel of death would Passover those homes ~ God allowed a substitute. Jesus is a boy at the time of this particular Passover celebration, later, as a man, Jesus would become the ultimate Passover lamb, shedding his own blood, so that whoever accepts him will be spared.
Jesus is twelve years old (Luke 2:42). Twelve is significant because he is not yet 13. // What happens in the Jewish culture at age 13? Coming of age, bar mitzvah. In our own culture we see 13, the start of the teen years, as a significant stage of development, 12 is a child, 13 is a teenager, with a foot in two worlds of child and adult. Jesus is 12, a child by almost all standards of all cultures.
The age of 12 highlights the extraordinary nature, understanding, and wisdom of Jesus. Another lesson: you cannot live by formulas…it’s your heart that matters. The patterns of celebrating Passover, reading the Bible, going to church, prayer are awesome, as long as we never forget it is the attitude of the heart that matters most. A person could get baptized as a formality, but it’s your heart that is of most importance.
In the book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster says, “Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant gratification is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.” In talking of the disciplines Foster says, “By themselves the spiritual disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done.”
Going to celebrate Passover by itself is a good party, a time to enjoy friends, but Jesus, at the young age of 12, understands there is more, more depth, and he goes to the temple to find out what it all means, the purpose, he goes to the temple to experience God. He wants God to do something. The fact Jesus is 12 clearly shows us that while 13 is a formal time of transition, that which is really important is what happens in your heart when you are ready… I grew up in this church when the world was a bit different… not nearly as much coming and going… families raising children together, the Sunday School program saw several generations of children go through each of the grades step by step so that I graduated with half a dozen friends that started in the early years of Sunday School. I was baptized at 16, a form of silent rebellion or maybe uncertainty, because I did not want to be baptized at a younger age afraid that I was doing it just to do it… I wanted it to mean something beyond the act of baptism…
Jesus is 12, and he shows as a child he gets it, he gets that a relationship with God the father is more important than anything else… it’s your heart that matters, we long for what we already have, not realizing how very close the answer is… Where does this longing come from? Ps. 42:1-2 says, “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” The longing comes from within, a need for God to fill the spiritual thirst. desire God, do not give up… keep desiring/longing…
how do you explain to people what they are missing when the answer is right there. Don’t desire God only for what he can do for you, only for his blessings…Thirst for God for God’s sake. As a pastor, if people want me around so they can get something from me, that’s never a whole lot of fun for me, but what joy to with people who seem to appreciate me as a person, what a huge difference. Do you think God is different? Desire God more than what he does for you… When Jesus says, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my father’s house?” He’s at home…Tell me about home… a place of rest, a place of peace, this is a story with a purpose: find your home in God, not what he can do for you, not how he can make you look, but simply be at home in God’s presence… it’s a step of spiritual maturity.
Understandably, Joseph and Mary are in a panic when they discover Jesus is not with them. This is not strange –travel with a crowd, extended families, each assumed Jesus was with a different person…READ Luke 2:44. So they returned to Jerusalem (Luke 2:45). They finally found Jesus in the temple courts, conversing with the teachers of the law, not what the parents expected. Mary’s question is not surprising to us: READ Luke 2:48. It is no surprise Mary would be in a panic. Mary’s first words, “Child, why have you treated us like this?” What I hear is, “Where have you been young man? Your father and I did not survive angel visits, birth in a manger, and living like refugees in Egypt only to have you get lost in Jerusalem.” But Jesus isn’t the one who is lost. He knows who he is and where he belongs. Mary and Joseph are the ones who are lost. ///
Today’s scripture is a single story with a purpose, teaching an amazing lesson: Be at Home with God, God is within your grasp. The key is Luke 2:49-50 READ. They didn’t quite understand at that moment… “I am centered in God, the father…” Jesus is saying, and he’s within your grasp... The keys are on your belt loop…. When you move to God’s home, it does not mean a geographical relocation, but a reprioritizing of your relationship with God so that in everything God is at the center. Later, in Luke 5:27, Jesus says to one of the disciples, “Follow me.” Make a new home. Be at home in my presence, my ministry, my priorities. At home with God.
What a wonderful shift Jesus makes. Mary says, “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” And Jesus says, “Did you not know I had to be in my father’s house?” Same word ~ Father. Jesus uses the same name for his earthly father as he does for his heavenly father, daddy, a word of intimacy, a loving title, a personal title. This is what all parents should want for their children, I don’t want my children ultimately to depend on me, but to see God as father, to embrace God, to know he cares, a loving father in heaven. This is no slight of Jesus earthly father, but rather, it is a realization of the goal, to grow, mature and move into a new home. What’s the goal of parents? To get rid of their children and move to a new home: no better home than with God ~ a relationship of trusting God and loving God and embracing God.
The story ends with a wonderful affirmation of Jesus earthly home and heavenly home; READ Luke 2:50-52. “they did not understand”, yet they continued journey to earthly home, Jesus is obedient. Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man… there’s the key, God and man… growing in God, yet a citizen of this world.
This is a story with a purpose… Mary’s response is surely meant for all of us… “his mother treasured all these things in her heart.” You may not get what’s going on in your life, perhaps not as mature in your faith as you would like. You could spend time kicking yourself for falling and sinning or making bad decisions. Do what Mary does. She finds peace, even as she does not fully understand. Mary treasures the fact that her son Jesus has found a relationship with God she has not grasped. Jesus words do not instantly transform his parents, but instead of kicking herself, Mary treasures the vision she has received. She does not fully grasp the idea of God as a father, but she has had a glimpse of the possibility, and that glimpse-is-a-treasure.
We long for that which we already have. Jesus, even at the age of 12, is at home with God. If you have not yet found that comfort level with God, don’t be upset for what you don’t have, but rather, treasure that which is coming. Being at home with God is within your grasp. Treasure it. Amen.
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