josephholubsermons
December 26, 2010 Christmas 1
Luke 2::41:52
(you can copy and paste this into a word document - remember to change the font to black)
Astonishment!
This is the only
story that appears in the gospels about Jesus' childhood.
So why did Luke include it?
I think Luke included this story in his gospel because he was
making a point that serves
as prelude to the rest of his gospel.
Jesus was twelve, and his family had had traveled to Jerusalem for the
festival of the Passover. They were on their way home when Joseph and
Mary discovered that Jesus was not with them.
In those days people traveled in groups or caravans for purposes
of protection. Children would play under the watchful eye and care of
the group – you know, it takes a village to raise a child. So, it took
awhile to discover Jesus missing, and when they did, his parents
returned to Jerusalem and began searching.
Put yourselves in their place.
Can you imagine how frantic they must have been?
It was a parent’s nightmare?
When they finally did find him, Luke says Mary and Joseph were
“astonished”
to find him in the temple. The word in Greek is
ἐκπλήσσω (ekplesso),
which literally means: “to be
exceedingly struck in the mind or heart – positively or negatively.”
As I read the story, I think for Mary and Joseph it was a little of both.
Mary was obviously a little struck in the mind negatively,
“Child, why have you treated us
like this? Your father and I have been searching for you in great
anxiety.”
But I also think that they were
“astonished” in a more
positive way that he was in the temple conversing with the great
teachers, as the final line of the story says,
“(Mary) treasured all these
things in her heart.”
I think "astonishment" is a key to understanding
this story and Luke's purpose in telling it. Their "astonishment"
suggests that
they found Jesus not where they expected him to be.
You see, they were looking for Jesus based upon their expectations.
They did not find him until they looked beyond
their expectations. He
exceeded their expectations and didn’t consider, at least at first, he
would be where he was. Mary
and Joseph, we could say, were
blinded by their expectations.
Have you ever been
“astonished” by your
children or grandchildren or anybody in your family?
When our son was in 4th grade we went in for
the routine fall parent-teacher
conference. In the course
of conversation with David’s teacher, she told us that David had,
unknown to us, been regularly buying lunch for a classmate who
never had any money to buy lunch or never brought a lunch.
When the teacher asked David why
he did that he simply said,
“Because that is what my parents would do.”
Needless to say we were
“astonished.”
But the more I thought about it, perhaps I was
“astonished” only because I
had underestimated my own son and who he was capable of being.
Of course we had taught him
those kinds of values, so why was I so
“astonished.”
You see, we are only astonished,
in a positive way, when someone, be it our own children or someone else,
exceeds our expectations.
For me, that's exactly what this story in Luke is all about, and how it
functions in Luke's gospel.
Luke's community of faith experienced Jesus as the long awaited
Messiah of Israel. But, as Luke's gospel unfolds, we see that Luke's
Jesus was not the
messiah of their expectations.
Jesus superseded and surpassed their expectations.
Luke's gospel was a
challenge for his community of faith to let go of rigid
messianic expectations that were blinding them, so that they
might embrace Jesus and his vision of the Kingdom of God; his
vision for life and for what the
world could be.
In those days, expectations for the messiah were various and plentiful
and we see it Luke's gospel.
Luke tells us that the
disciples, since they were a part of his inner circle,
expected they would
have special privileges and
have power over others.
But they were astonished
when Jesus taught them to serve one another and to take up
their cross and follow. (Luke 9:46-48; 22:24-27)
Luke tells us that some
expected a messiah who would tell them that their
neighbors were those who looked and believed like them. But
they were astonished when
Jesus told them that a neighbor was anyone in need, anyone suffering as
a victim; and when they ministered to them they really were ministering
to him! (Luke 10:25-37)
Luke tells us that the
Pharisees expected a
messiah who would congratulate them for being so righteous in dedicating
their lives to honoring Mosaic Law. But they were
astonished when Jesus
chastised them when they used
sacred law to trump love. (Luke 11:37-44)
Luke tells us that the zealots of the Jewish armed underground
expected a messiah
who would side with their cause to forcibly drive the Roman occupiers
from their land. But they were
astonished when Jesus took
the swords out of their hands, and showed them another way using
the "weapon" of love of the
enemy. (Luke 6:27-28, 32-36)
Luke tells us that the
religious people expected
a messiah who would assure them that the ritually unclean and sick had
gotten what they deserved, and their suffering was the result of God’s
judgment. But they were
astonished by Jesus when he freely embraced the unclean,
expressed compassion for the sick and told them this was God's
truest vision. (Luke
5:17-26)
Luke tells us that many
expected that the great temple would be the center of
all things in the new age of the arriving messiah. But they
were astonished when Jesus
told them the temple would be reduced to rubble and that the
primary residence of the divine was no longer in a building but in
the human heart and at the
heart of human community.
(Luke 21:5-6; 23:45)
Everyone expected that when
they took Jesus down from the cross and buried him, he would never be
seen or heard of again. But here we are, 2 millennium later,
testifying to his living presence among us that confirms and
affirms the way of life he leads us into.
Astonishing!
Luke's gospel was a challenge to his community and a challenge to us to
consider our own faith expectations. What
are your faith expectations?
Do your expectations match up with the Jesus of the gospels
and his vision for the world?
It is a key question of faith. In fact, I think it is a
core question of faith. It
is a question that Luke intends for us to ask as we follow Jesus
through the pages of his gospel. It is also a question we must ask
as we live out our faith in the world.
Luke's Jesus, from beginning to end, kept turning up in
places where few expected him to be; and doing things few
expected him to do.
Mary and Joseph were looking for Jesus based upon their expectations,
and they were blinded in their expectations. They finally found him in a
place beyond their expectations, and they were
“astonished!”
As I pondered this passage, and what it can mean for my life,
“I was struck in the mind and
heart” by an idea.
I think a challenging overall
theme for our congregation in this next year would be something
like,
“Exceed your own expectations.”
I am going to present it to the church council at our January
meeting. Just think what it
might mean for our life together as Lord of the Mountains Congregation
if we all exceeded our own expectations when it comes to
outreach, service, commitment to giving and stewardship, advocacy, the
music ministry, children’s and youth ministry or whatever?
What if we exceeded our
own expectations in compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation or
the pursuit of social justice? What
if we exceeded our own expectations in our love for our own families and
love for neighbor? What if we
exceeded our own expectations when it came to empowering the last and
least and poorest of our planet? What
might we look like
and
be if
we all responded to the Jesus
challenge and exceeded our own expectations?
I do not know exactly, but I do think, like Mary, we would be
“astonished.”
We would be “astonished” for
I am convinced
and I have
experienced that Jesus is alive and well in
places beyond our expectations!
That is my hope and prayer as we end one year and move into a new year,
that we will experience Jesus,
the presence of divine, in places and experiences
beyond our expectations
and that we will be “astonished.”