The holy gospel according to Luke (2:41-52)
41Now
every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the
Passover.
42And
when he was twelve years old,
they
went up as usual for the festival.
43When
the festival was ended and they started to return,
the
boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
44Assuming
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.
45When
they did not find him,
they
returned to Jerusalem to search for him.
46After three days they found him in the
temple,
sitting
among the teachers,
listening
to them and asking them questions.
47And
all who heard him were amazed
at
his understanding and his answers.
48When
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.”
49He
said to them,
“Why
were you searching for me?
Did
you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
50But
they did not understand what he said to them.
51Then
he went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and
was obedient to them.
His
mother treasured all these things in her
heart.
52And
Jesus increased in wisdom and in years,
and
in divine and human favor.
The gospel of the lord.
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I can just imagine Mary in today’s gospel. Though it was just this last week for
us, it started so long ago for her.
Over 12 years, in fact. A
visit from an angel, which changed her life forever. A baby?
Her? A young teenager
herself—not too much older than Jesus in today’s gospel, and she encounters an
angel who calls her “favored” and begins to stir up deep feelings of
unsettlement within her. Things
begin to change and as she ponders the angel’s greeting and promise, she takes
a leap of faith, trusting the angel and trusting God. And a fluttering begins deep inside.
As the baby grows, she travels to visit her cousin
Elizabeth, who confirms the Holy Spirit’s work in and through Mary. It is then that Mary finds herself
situated among her foremothers—the women who have come before her, bearing
gifts from God in their wombs. She
echoes Hannah’s song in her own magnificat—praising God for the work already
done and still in progress, her soul magnifies, her spirit rejoices in God her
savior.
Mary remains with her older cousin through Elizabeth’s third
trimester, finding companionship with another one chosen by God, another one
bearing a gift of the Holy Spirit.
And when she returns, the narrative we are so familiar with begins: the decree from Emperor Augustus: a
registration—a journey to Bethlehem—the city of Joseph’s ancestor David. Bethlehem is filled to the brim—no room
for anyone. So they join the
animals, finding hospitality in the warm, if dirty, stable.
Waiting in Bethlehem through the registration, Mary’s time
eventually comes. Surrounded by
straw and animals, Mary gives birth to a child. As she and the baby Jesus fade in and out of sleeping,
eating, and watching, the night sky lights up. Angels appear far off in the fields—bright as the star
shining above and before too long these young shepherd boys show up, still
glowing in the light of the angels—radiant with hope for Mary’s star-child, her
peace child, the one who is the Messiah, the Lord.
Through the exhaustion of having given birth, Mary absorbs
the visit from these strange boys and stores it away with the bright light of
the star above her, pondering what it all means.
Then as Jesus grows a bit and begins trying to toddle
around, more strangers appear—this time from the East bringing gifts!
But what could Mary have thought when these gifts came? She knows that Jesus is special—and not
just because he’s her precious child, but now these strangers from so far away
are bringing gold and frankincense—so fragrant! They may not be great for a toddler, but truly these are
gifts for a king! The third gift,
though…it’s different. Myrrh is
used to anoint people for burial.
Why are they bringing him myrrh?
And then the memory comes back of an old man—Simeon was his
name—blessing Jesus when they brought him to the Temple to be circumcised. Simeon had blessed them all and then
turned to Mary and said, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising
of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner
thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul
too.”
Twice now Mary has received hints at terrible pain to
come—but what and when can it be?
Surely Jesus won’t die anytime soon! But these strangers say that Herod knows of him and means to
do him harm. His life is in danger!
And so the holy family flees, heading to Egypt as refugees
where Jesus begins to walk and talk, until it is safe to return. And they decide to settle back in
Nazareth, where Jesus grows into his own and Mary, watching him, sees the deep
wisdom, compassion, and wonder in eyes too old for his young body.
Then when Jesus is 12, as they’ve done every year, they go
to the Temple for Passover. All
seems normal—until they head home.
When Mary and Joseph realize Jesus is not with them, they race back to
Jerusalem and the image of myrrh floats behind Mary’s eyes as Simeon’s words
echo in her ears, “a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Is this the time? Will he be lost forever? Will she finally have a use for the
myrrh she has held onto all these years?
As
they search frantically throughout the city, Mary’s anxiety builds. After three days, a period of time that
will come back to haunt Mary when she ponders Jesus’ life, three days, and he’s
in the Temple. In her exasperation
and relief, Mary scolds Jesus, “Child,
why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been
searching for you in great anxiety.”
Confused, Jesus asks, “Why were you searching for me? Did
you not know that I must be in my father’s house?”—but what does he mean? He’s always asking these questions, …but
Joseph is his father…until the angel
pops into Mary’s memory, proclaiming God’s favor, bringing her the choice of a
baby.
And all of this, Mary continues to store away. She holds all of these pieces; mixing
the memories around, pondering deeply what meaning they hold. Sitting with the memories, she puts
them side by side, rearranges, and meditates on them, trying to make sense of a
jumble of feelings and thoughts and memories all vying for attention, all
trying to be the most important.
As she looks at her child, so close to the age she was when
she gave birth to him, she wonders, How do all of these things connect? What sort of future is in store for her
precious child? All these people
and things are so different; what do they mean?
As we come down off of our
own sugar and food-induced comas of Christmas, we are left with this
strange reality. God comes to
us—this boy king, star-child. We
know what is to come and yet we now have space, this first Sunday of Christmas
and this week between holidays, to sit with Mary and ponder.
The memories can get jumbled. The phrases and theology we have come to know so well we no
longer question it, collide, so we look at them one by one, deeply pondering
the questions that come when we experience God with us.
What does it mean?
How do we live now, with Jesus in the world? Who is Jesus in this world? Will our souls be pierced as well? Have they been already? From the start, Jesus is headed to the cross. Where are we? How do we fit in with it all? This community of faith is
the space—the space to sit with deep questions—knowing we don’t have all the
answers. What are your
questions? How do you ponder these
mysteries of faith? To whom do you
ask your questions?
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