"THE 'MUSTS' OF LIFE"
Rev. Barry W. Szymanski, J.D.
December 27, 2009
The First Sunday after Christmas
THE READING - Luke 2:41-52

Now every year Jesus' 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 them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour.

THE SERMON

The liturgy often moves very quickly. Just days ago we celebrated Christmas and the Gospel story we heard was that of the birth of Jesus. Now, in just two days we have moved 12 years later to the incident where Jesus was in the temple with teachers.

On January 10, two weeks from now, the Liturgy will have skipped 18 more years of Jesus life and we will hear of Jesus meeting with John the Baptist. [By the way, next week we shift back to the three Wise Men who came to give homage to the infant.]

What we have learned about in the Christmas reading of scriptures is just a hint of how the birth of Jesus affected the lives of all of those around him, not just Mary or Joseph - but shepherds and kings and Simeon and Anna and Elizabeth and Zechariah and the innocent children that were killed, and their families and Herod and on and on and on. The Christmas story is about how the birth of a baby who was named Jesus affected the lives of so many people. But all that Jesus did in the Christmas stories was just to be. He, the baby, was just there. That's all he did – he was there. Other than crying, being fed, and having his clothing changed, he did and said nothing. Then, for the next 12 years he grew up.

My first question is, what was it like for a child from birth to age 12 to grow up at that time? From people who know those things I learned that babies, like babies today, played with rattles. Very small children liked to play with whistles – and that probably kept all of the villagers awake at night. Family life included uncles and aunts, cousins and nephews and nieces, all living in close proximity. Children were raised, not only by their parents, but also, in small villages – by everyone.

How did Jesus and his friends play when they were three to six years old? Both boys and girls played with puppets on strings, and with pull-toys. Little girls had dollhouses and some had little pottery furnishings for their dollhouses. Dolls had jointed arms and legs and beads for hair. Games like catch were played with balls made from leather. Other games played by younger children were hopscotch, and marbles, and both boys and girls learned to juggle. Slingshots were popular also. Remember the story about David felling Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:50 with a slingshot? I also learned that during hot weather the children and their parents would climb up to the roof because the room down below was even hotter.

Homebuilders and homeowners followed the Jewish law. Because people often fell down from roofs, they complied with what the book of Deuteronomy 22:8 commanded the Israelites: It says: "When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet [a low fence] for your roof; otherwise you might have blood-guilt on your house, if anyone should fall from it." I can picture Jesus, perhaps starting at age 7, laying on the roof of his house, on warm and hot nights, when the sky was clear, looking up at the stars and wondering – just wondering; and then putting into place all that he was learning from the Torah – and from his parents and from his teachers in the synagogue about God. And then picture Jesus looking at those stars as he prayed Psalm 148, which we prayed this morning, praising God from the heavens, sun, moon, and stars.

Since children from roughly age six on would work, and since Joseph, who raised Jesus, we are told, was a wood-worker, - probably a maintenance man, then as Jesus helped Joseph, he would have learned to make tables and stools, but also door frames and wooden tools for farmers. Because Joseph probably traveled around to install window and door frames and fix things he would have taken Jesus with him. This gave Jesus insight into a lot of other people's lives when he went to other villages in the region to make deliveries, and to fix things in homes. That was most likely the life that Jesus lived before he was 12 years of age. But he also attended synagogue on every Sabbath. While there he learned to read.

And that takes us to the incident of today's Gospel. This is the first time that Jesus speaks in the Gospels; and he was already 12 years old. Joseph and Mary went up as usual for the Passover festival and took Jesus with them.

Because Passover in Jerusalem was a major celebration, they would have traveled with their relatives and friends from Nazareth. In many ways it would have been like walking from Madison, Wisconsin to, and staying at, the State Fair for a week. The Passover was a weeklong festival, which began with a special meal called the Seder. Traditional foods during that meal, which each had symbolic religious meaning, included fruit, honey, parsley dipped in salt water, bitter herbs, an egg, and a piece of roasted meat

Which represents the lamb that was the special Paschal sacrifice on the eve of the exodus from Egypt. We learn that when the festival was ended, Mary and Joseph started the trip to return to their home but 12-year-old Jesus was not traveling with them. They assumed that he was in the group of travelers that they had walked down with from Nazareth. That evening, at dusk, when the travelers would usually stop and start to cook supper, Mary and Joseph looked for Jesus. They did not find him. Can you imagine their fright?

Even though he was 12 years old, and almost an adult by standards of that time, he was missing! The child they loved was gone. To give you a better idea of geography, the distance from Nazareth to Jerusalem is approximately 65 miles. Walking at 2.5 miles an hour would mean a trip of about 20 miles a day, which would take about eight hours of walking each day. The entire trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem, by walking, would have been about 3 ½ days.

Therefore, Joseph and Mary had walked for a full day, again, about 20 miles, with their fellow festival travelers, but without Jesus. It then took them a full day to walk the roughly 20 miles back to Jerusalem. When they arrived back in Jerusalem they searched for Jesus. It is estimated that the population of Jerusalem at that time, under Herod's rule,

was about 120,000-200,000 people; it was a large city. The Gospel states that it took Mary and Joseph three days before they found Jesus in the temple. Again, can you picture the terror in their hearts they had during those days? Can you imagine them even wanting to stop to eat or to sleep while they were agonizingly searching for their 12-year old son?

But they did find him, and when they found him, what was Jesus doing? He was listening to the teachers in the temple. This was days after the Passover festival, so the travelers were gone to their homes and villages. The citizens of city of Jerusalem were enjoying some normalcy again. And, therefore, in the temple there was time for students to listen and learn. So Jesus was found there attentive to the teachers and asking questions of them.

When Joseph and Mary, found Jesus, they were amazed at his understanding of theology, which would have included the Torah and the prophets, psalms, and the other books of the Hebrew Testament; and they were impressed at the answers that Jesus gave to the temple teachers. When Jesus parents saw him they were also irritated. Their surprise at Jesus' knowledge gave way to their being hurt and upset. Mary and Joseph asked him why he stayed behind -- they reminded him that they were half out of their minds looking for him.

Jesus told his mother and Joseph, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?" Part of what Jesus told them was that all they had to do was to come to the temple because they should have known that that is where he would have been easily found. The author of this Gospel, Luke, tells us that Jesus left with them and traveled back to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. Luke tells us that Jesus continued to increase in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

Thus we learn that Jesus matured; he continued to grow up. And that he was blessed by both God and by the people around him. From age 12 until age 30 we learn nothing more about Jesus until he encountered John the Baptist. What does this brief incident in Jesus' and Mary and Joseph's life tell us about them? Well, for one, we learn that Jesus had learned much about theology, and about Jewish law. We learn that the people who listened to the depth of Jesus' questions, and the clarity of his answers were impressed and amazed. By the way, they were probably impressed for two reasons: the first was that he was 12 years old, and the second because he was from a backwater village called Nazareth.

Do you remember that in John's Gospel, [John 1:46 NIV], after Jesus invited Phillip to be an apostle, Philip then went to his friend, Nathaniel, and told him that he found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote —Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." With sarcasm, Nathaniel responded to his friend Philip,

"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Even now, there are certain towns, cities and states throughout the U.S. and the world that have comical connotations, and are often scorned and mocked. Jesus was from one of those derided places: Nazareth, where nothing good can come from it.

And John's Gospel [19:19] even records that the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, when Jesus was crucified years later, had a [derisive] “ . . . notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS." By placing that placard on the cross, Pilate ridiculed the chief priests and officials who wanted Jesus killed by reminding them that the focus of their attention was this man named Jesus from the backwater town of Nazareth.

What did Jesus do from age 12 to age 30? He grew in wisdom and in understanding. This incident tells us is that Jesus accepted the grace that he was given to recognize, and accepted that he had an obligation to God. With this grace, Jesus let his duty to God began to control his life as Jesus learned that his life was not his own. With this awareness, he devoted more and more of his time, energy and education to God for he accepted that God was his first priority. We also see that Jesus understood, even at age 12, that teaching would be central to his future ministry – even though it would not start for another 18 years!

Before we move on, I want to call your attention to one short line in this Gospel passage. That sentence is: Jesus' “ . . . mother [Mary] treasured all these things in her heart." This disclosure leads many people to believe that Luke learned many of the details of his Gospel directly from Mary, Jesus' mother, who told him not only this incident, but about other particulars of the Christmas story.

Other than this passage, we know nothing about the quiet life that Jesus lived for the 11 years before this incident, or the 18 silent years afterward. He did not give speeches; nor did he create problems. He just grew up – but he grew in wisdom. So we know that he continued to learn. He continued to pray – which is growth in wisdom. He continued to take care of those around him, which is growth in wisdom. He continued to love his mother and father, which is growth in wisdom. This is shown by the writings of the Hebrew Testament: Psalm 37:30tells us that wisdom is connected to justice.

Psalm 111:10 states that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding." Proverbs 8:12 advises us that wisdom dwells with prudence; and that wisdom, with prudence, gives a person knowledge and discretion. And Proverbs 19:11informs us that a wise person is a patient person. Accordingly, when Luke tells us that Jesus grew in wisdom, we begin to understand that Jesus grew in justice, prudence, knowledge, discretion, understanding, and even patience. What else does this incident tells us?

We realize the importance of temple worship to Mary and Joseph and how they imparted their value of worship to Jesus as he grew from infancy. In the Christmas story we are told that when Jesus was still an infant, Mary and Joseph took him to the temple to present him to God; that is when Simeon and Anna made their prophesies about the infant.

God's temple was a vital part of Jesus' life from his birth onward to his death. For 30 years Jesus, with Mary and Joseph, lived an obscure and silent life. That is the life that most of us live. Our names are not in the newspapers. For the most part, we are hidden from view. And, for Jesus, he grew up in a small village that was considered backward even by the standards of that time. We all know people who live secluded lives. But they love those around them. Their names will never be known to, perhaps, more than 100 people, and they will call, perhaps, no more than 10 their friends. These are the people who cook and bake for their families and others. Who drive kids to soccer? These are the people who endure rush hours to go to jobs where they feel unappreciated. These are the people in nursing homes where few come to visit. These are the people who live isolated lives – even in the midst of hundreds of people who reside close to them – but are not connected to anyone.

But God knew that Jesus was growing up. And God knows that a parent is driving their child to the dentist. And God knows that a spouse is cleaning the house. And God knows that an elderly person sits alone watching TV or reading. And Jesus knew that God was watching him. And he trusted in God.

As a result, Jesus knew, even before he was a teenager, that he must learn more and more about what God's will was for him. And he knew, after that Passover festival when he was 12 years old that he must engage with those teachers in the temple and learn more from them. Meanwhile his parents did what all of us parents do, we must find our lost children and we must raise them in the best way we know how, and we must keep our children safe. The 'musts' of life collide in this passage – a passage so very loaded with so much disclosure about the musts of individuals in relationships. What we have to realize is that we, as Jesus felt he must, need to follow Jesus' example, and to put God first in our lives, and all will turn out well.

In the invisibility of his 30 years, Jesus became familiar with His Father, and knew he was not forgotten or ignored. Rather, in that obscure little village, Jesus loved those around him, and grew up to become a just person, a prudent person, knowledgeable about God, and God's scriptures, and become a person of discretion, a person of understanding, and a person patient with sinners. In short, Jesus matured just as we are called to mature in wisdom, and all its attributes: - patience, prudence, understanding of others and our world, exercising discretion, - and learning more and more about God through life and through scripture. This wisdom is what Paul was writing about in the epistle which was read this morning when Paul reminds us to be compassionate, kind, humble, meek and patient, but above all to love one another by allowing the peace of Christ to rule us. It is in the silence and the perhaps forgotten times of life that we grow in the spiritual maturity that Jesus also did.

Let us pray, Lord God, Your son, Jesus, lived a quiet life, as we so often do, just learning, and praying and being and loving and caring for others. Like your son, we also search to know your will, so that as times come for us to serve you and to serve our neighbor, then we are prepared to do, and shall do what we must do, all in your holy name. Amen.

Colossians 3:12-17

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Psalm148

Praise for God’s Universal Glory Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens: “… praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host! Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of theLord, for he commanded and they werecreated. He established them forever andever; he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed. Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!

Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Wild animals and all cattle — creeping things and flying birds!

Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and women alike, old and young together! Let them praise the name of theLord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven. He has risen up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to Him. Praise the Lord!