"Anxiously Looking" (Luke 2:41-52)
First Sunday of Christmastide
Watch or read this Sunday’s sermon.1
Luke 2:41-52
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 were unaware of this.
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? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.”
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, and his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor.
Growing up, I loved the ocean.
The sand, the salt water– it was a place of both adventure and peace which made going to the beach some of my best memories from childhood.
My parents, my mom in particular, had such excitement in her eyes when the car was packed and were on our way. From what I remember, she seemed so relaxed during the time we would spend there. For her and for many, heading to the ocean was a sort of spiritual pilgrimage.
So, when I got a part-time job as a director of youth ministries during college, I was delighted to hear that they had an annual youth beach trip tradition that they wanted me to continue.
We sent out the packing list, signed up the kids, recruited the chaperones, and drove the now-out-of-commission church van to Delaware.
When we finally made it to the shore, I was shocked to learn that planning the beach trip and being responsible for these kids near a huge body of water was actually not as fun as being the kid on the family beach trip.
Every time we were near the water I found myself anxiously looking, counting, making sure everyone we brought to this destination of amusement turned death trap was present and safe. I made that mental list and checked it twice, thrice, and again and again after that.
I was twenty-one years old and now suddenly questioning the judgment of the people who hired me to be responsible for this spiritual pilgrimage.
I remembered the words of the Epistle of James:
“Not many of you should become teachers… for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”
So, yeah, with that holy pressure, I was on high alert.
Growing up and becoming a parent in the era of stranger danger, a fatal school shooting at my middle school when I was in elementary school, and the death of a sibling have made me vigilant to say the least whenever children have been in my care.
I’m not saying that’s good, but it certainly is, so, the idea of a child going missing, not knowing where they are for three days, is an agony I would wish upon no one.
But it did indeed happen to Mary and Joseph, the famous parents from the Christmas story. And, as we know, they had already been through a lot.
Mary, a young girl, heard from an angel that she was to conceive a child, not just any child, but the Son of God. In a dream, Joseph heard from an angel, too, telling him to join in marriage with Mary nonetheless.
A census decree forced them to travel home, despite the fact that Mary was very pregnant by this point. They went to Bethlehem and found no room to stay. No inn, no guest room, nothing. They ended up in a stable, surrounded by animals, where Mary gave birth to Jesus.
Then, as if that weren’t enough, they have to flee to Egypt to escape King Herod’s decree to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem. They didn’t have all the answers, and this was no beach vacation, but they trusted God.
And now, in our passage today, that baby had grown fast, already 12 years old.
Every year, Mary and Joseph traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover Feast, yet another spiritual pilgrimage.
And when Jesus was twelve, they made the trip again.
After the feast was over, they began their journey home, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem—though he didn’t think it necessary to clue mom and dad in on this.
Mary and Joseph were traveling with a group of relatives and neighbors. In that time and place, children were often raised more collectively, with greater responsibilities placed on them at an earlier age. So, it’s not surprising that they didn’t immediately know where Jesus was.
Remembering these cultural norms allows us to withhold judgment from Mary and Joseph, and understand their frustration they had once they found him, reprimanding their son for not staying with the group.
When they couldn’t find him, they rushed back to Jerusalem, searching everywhere.
They were anxiously looking, but didn’t find him the first day, nor the second, but on the third day, they found him in the Temple, sitting with the teachers, listening to them, and asking thoughtful questions.
This was the same temple where Zechariah had his vision, where Simeon and Anna recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and much more would unfold.
The teachers were amazed by his insights, but Mary and Joseph, on the other hand, were not quite as impressed. They were anxious and upset.
Mary said,
“Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere!”
Jesus replied,
“Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house, doing His work?”
But Mary and Joseph didn’t fully understand what he meant. They knew their son was special. While they had said “yes” to this divine intervention, like any parent, they still had to learn who their child really was in real time.
Any of us who’ve said “yes” to God’s will for our lives knows what follows doesn't always make perfect sense in real time. The life of faith is one of living the questions, while not always having the full answers.
Now if teenage me would’ve read this passage, he would’ve thought that Jesus was being a smart aleck. I would’ve known from experience. But on the contrary, Jesus’ confounding response was the first time in Holy Scripture in which he was participating in the signs given to show us who he really was.
Up until this point, there had been many signs revealing who Jesus was, but they were revealed through the Shepherds, the Magi, and Mary and Joseph.
Noe Jesus was in a time of spiritual transition, kind of like how in our tradition, youth can participate in both baptism and confirmation, processes in which young people may choose to claim the promises of faith made by their families and communities for themselves.
And the thing is, when kids read those Bibles we give them and start following God of their own volition, even those that love and know them best may find themselves puzzled by how God shapes their lives.
Jesus went back with them to Nazareth and continued to live obediently under their care. And Jesus grew up doing what he would tell others to do: loving God and loving his family and neighbors.
This passage tells us a strange story, and pretty much isolated in Holy Scripture as what we have to work with as far as Jesus’ childhood goes.
But I find both comfort and conviction in knowing that even Jesus’ own parents had to seek him out and weren’t always sure exactly what he was up to.
Even those closest to Jesus– his family or his closest friends and disciples, often had to search for Jesus, and in finding him were left to ponder what he said and did, not always really getting it right away.
Following Jesus is a roller coaster of divine proportions.
Faith often involves seeking– sometimes fearfully or anxiously, yet always inviting us to return to trusting in God’s promises, relying on the company of the Spirit amid our own pondering.
To you, I ask, “What has made you go anxiously looking for Jesus?”
A sense of yearning, when something within our hearts feels unsettled, leading us to seek out the One who can truly satisfy our souls?
A moment of crisis, when life’s challenges drive us to search for meaning, hope, or comfort that only Christ can provide?
A calling to greater purpose, when we sense God's invitation to step into something more, to live in alignment with God’s will?
Or…like Mary and Joseph, are you searching for Jesus because you feel as though he’s missing on your journey as you’ve been busy fulfilling your duties and obligations?
Any of these experiences can lead us to anxiety, asking, “Where is Jesus?”
Perhaps you’ve felt, on a beautiful Christmas Eve night, in the glow of candlelight and the singing of silent night, the presence of Jesus. But even a few days later, the most beautiful Christmas celebrations can leave us anxious, tired, or perhaps wondering what day it is.
The good news is that Jesus is unfazed by our frantic energy, our anxious looking, our fearful disorientation.
“I am where I always am”, says Jesus, “in my Father’s house, where love, joy, and hope live.”
And the Holy Spirit, God’s presence with us always, is constantly guiding, comforting, and reminding us of the truth. Even when we don’t feel it or understand it fully, the Spirit is there, gently leading us back to God, whose peace is beyond our understanding, and whose love never fails.
The prophet Jeremiah implores: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Echoing Jeremiah, the Gospel of Matthew assures us, “seek and you will find… the one who seeks finds.”
But three days was a long time for a parent to be anxiously looking. Our youth group beach trips were never more than three days.
So if in this in-between time on your own spiritual pilgrimage has taken you to a chapter of anxious looking, trust that you’re not alone. Jesus, who promised to never leave us, will be revealed again in time. The Holy Spirit gifted to us at Pentecost, is here guiding, comforting, and holding us in the midst of our anxiety or uncertainty.
None of us really know exactly what’s next as we begin a new year, but we can be sure that Jesus will be busy with his Father’s work, and perhaps, we will commit to doing the same.
Bibliography
Craddock, Fred B. Luke: Interpretation: A Bible commentary for teaching and preaching. Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.
Wright, Nicholas Thomas. Luke for Everyone: with Study Guide. Presbyterian Publishing Corp, 2023.
There may be some slight differences between the written manuscript and the spoken sermon.