I’m going to be honest with you: I don’t really want to be
here today. Let’s keep that between
us. I know it’s historically a small
crowd the first Sunday of Christmas, but it’s true. I’d rather not be here.
Don’t take that the wrong way. It’s certainly not you, or this job, or this
congregation, or this beautiful city.
It’s me at this moment in the year.
I’d just rather be somewhere else for this first (and only) Sunday of
the 12-day Christmas season.
I’d rather be worshiping far from here with my family,
huddled in a row singing Christmas carols perhaps in Houston, listening to Dad
do the preaching, sharing a hymnal with Heather or Micah; or maybe overseas
with my brother and sister-in-law, who are in Ireland with her family right
now; or maybe tucked away in some little Lutheran church in some snowy mountain
basin up in Rocky Mountains, huddled with the faithful few, sitting and singing
carols and praying next to my kids, before we hit the slopes this afternoon…
Don’t take this the wrong way – I can’t wait to be here next
Sunday – but I’d just rather be somewhere else today. Ever feel that way?
Just being honest…and not to make you feel sorry for
me, or complain, even if it might sound that way: I’m thinking about the Gospel text from Luke,
that’s before us. Jesus traveling with
his family every year at Passover time, up to Jerusalem, from their hometown of
Nazareth, a 32-hour walk. And our text
picking up after the celebration is over.
Timely isn’t it? We
get this story in the lectionary, about the same time many folks are packing up
their donkeys and headed back home after the holidays, with a trail of ribbons,
and droopy eyelids? (By donkeys, I’m
referring to all the dads lugging new presents, and suitcases through our
airports, or stuffing them into the trunks of cars. Have you seen them? They’re almost like Eeyores: “Thanks for
noticing me.” – I mean, where’s Joseph in the story? Boy, I’m just full of whining today, huh?)
And here in the midst of the journey home, here in the midst
of any leftover whining and complaining – anyone let down this Christmas? Not just because of that certain present you
were hoping for but didn’t get, but also because, Christmas this year wasn’t
like it used to be? (someone didn’t show up, or someone said something
inappropriate, or it was all just too overwhelming this time around and you
couldn’t enjoy it)
Yet right here in the midst of the journey home, the journey
back to our regular day-to-day, right in the midst of our wishings, our complaints
or our feeling sorry for ourselves, something happens to snap us out of
it. “Boy Jesus” has gone missing!
Ever been in a situation where you’re feeling sorry for
yourself or just trudging along, but then something suddenly is far more
important…like your child is suddenly lost?
Play this scene through in your head: Mary and Joseph going
from cluster to cluster of their friends and relatives “assuming” he must be
with them. (Isn’t that a wonderful image
of community, even if they did accidentally loose Jesus? For a whole day, the text says, they didn’t
even worry about where he was? That’s
actually how it is here with our kids, and I hope for other young parents too –
it’s the only place, in fact that I have no idea where my kids are, but I’m not
worried.) That’s how the community was
too, even more: the whole community not only travelled together, they raised
their children together. Everyone
looking after the kids.
But Jesus slips through the cracks of that community-parenting
model, and stays back at the temple.
And here’s the real main course of our Gospel feast for
today: The image of Jesus asking
questions and listening, back at the temple.
Jesus lingers after all the
celebration is done. He sticks around, helps
clean up, keeps the conversation going (despite it being pretty
less-than-thoughtful to his parents). But Jesus lingers near the Holy Scriptures,
near the rabbis, near the sights and the sounds and the smells of the house of
prayer, and near the other lovers of the Scriptures. Jesus is showing some “church mouse”
tendencies, as a child! A rare species
today, but certainly not an extinct one – those blessed members of our church
families who linger, and ask questions and come around during the week, and search
and hunt and ponder and marvel…and just plain love being in the presence of the
Word of God, in the church. They bathe
in it. They both wrestle with it, and
find comfort in it.
“Church mice” – have you heard that term? – often I think of
it synonymous with church LOLs (little old ladies). But I’ve also seen some wonderful church
mouse tendencies in our young people – and this text reminds us again today:
they must not be overlooked – young children and young adults. They ask the questions that make us stop and
think…like “Why do we always say the Lord’s Prayer in church?” Or our bishop tells a story about a child
that came to a pastor and said, “Pastor, when we pause at the beginning for the
confession and forgiveness, why do you always start talking again so quickly? I hardly have time to confess all my
sins.” Theological church mice…young
people. Perhaps these were the types of
questions Jesus was asking as he lingered in the temple after Passover. “But why?
But why?” I hope he drove those
rabbis crazy.
Today, Jesus snaps us out of our post-celebration funk, out
of our whininess, and tendencies to mope along after the holidays – and this is
how he does it: He gets lost in
Jerusalem.
And in so doing, he leads us back to Jerusalem too, back to
the temple, back to the Holy Scriptures.
Don’t go just yet, after Christmas.
There are 12 days of Christmas and then Epiphany and then the whole year
of 2013 to linger around God’s Holy Wisdom, Holy Word! Let’s get lost in it together here at
SVLC. Talk about a New Year’s
resolution. Let’s bathe in the Word of
God. Let’s bathe in that 2nd
lesson from Colossians. [read it] Let’s ask
questions together. And let’s just hang around God’s grace and favor this 2013. Let’s sing another Christmas carol, praise
God, and celebrate Emmanuel, God-with-us a little longer: the Word made flesh,
come to dwell in our midst for all eternity!
Let’s linger in God’s love and presence, both here in the church and out
in the world…let’s stay with Christ and grow in wisdom. For Christ is staying with us, whether we’re
overwhelmed with thanksgiving or feeling sorry for ourselves, Christ is here to
stay with you, today and forever. Amen.
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