Rev. Greg Dermody - Humbolt Alliance Church
Luke 2:41–52
41Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Jesus Off the Grid
This is a story in Luke’s Gospel about Jesus as a young man, likely about thirteen or so, attending the Passover with his family in Jerusalem. I suspect in many ways Jesus was a normal child, the oldest of several, probably very responsible in his family duties. It was a long trek from Nazareth that they took every year as a part of their passion and purpose of worshiping God. It was both a tradition and a command of God found in Leviticus 23:4–8. The Passover pilgrims would typically travel in a large group of family and friends up to Jerusalem, singing the Psalms of Ascent (Psalm 120–134)—climbing up to see the Lord. Passover was a massive festival with a lot of people from many places gathering at Jerusalem. Much like our own Christmas and Thanksgiving efforts, it was a celebration full of tradition for all, with family favourites.
Once the celebration had come to its conclusion with the Passover meal, the Seder, the family and friends gathered to begin the journey back home. A full day into the trip Joseph & Mary realized they hadn’t seen Jesus among the travellers and began to search. The search turned into concern and even panic as they discovered he was not part of the tour group. They split off and returned to Jerusalem, a parent’s great fear nagging at them as they searched high and low, retracing their steps. Finally, they found Jesus in the temple, listening to the teachers and asking questions. Mary said “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” Jesus replied, “Searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s House?” I don’t see this as the sarcastic back talk of an unruly and rebellious teen. We are told Jesus went back home with them and continued to mature in wisdom, stature and good favour with all, known for his obedience (2:52). I suspect Jesus was completely surprised they didn’t think to look there first, of course he was at the temple.
I remember years ago the news of a very young girl who wandered away from her family out in the prairie farmland and bush. A large-scale search was mounted, people from near and far came to volunteer and many followed the reports closely, but she was not located. The next fall some hunters found her body in thicket of brush, not far off the search grid, but beyond a major gravel road in the area. The searchers had set the road as their boundary, believing the girl would have walked down it if she had come upon it. It was a reasonable decision at the time. I’m not criticizing, but that one must have stayed with them.
It does occur to me that many people, in their search for the meaning of life, for the existence and person of God, stop searching beyond a certain point because it does not make sense to them that God can be found at/near/beyond that particular spot. Do you want to find Jesus? Look for him in his Father’s house. Yes, the church has a spotted and unenviable history, but a wonderful and engaging history runs parallel to it. Sometimes we see only as far as our assumptions. Mary & Joseph, like many others during Jesus’ time on earth, often missed or misunderstood his identity and role as Messiah. They were in charge of his upbringing and focused on that responsibility—a job well done, by the way—but in the Passover incident they neglected to look in an obvious place. Searchers for this little girl made a reasonable assumption, but did not factor in the mind of a child.
What experiences or misunderstandings cloud your search parameters for God? Have you missed something because of past hurts, the opinions of others, the contours of your life? A proper search needs access to the right maps. The Bible is God’s letter to us, a good place to start one’s search. I suggest continuing in Luke’s Gospel. Despite the issues and mess of the church, it is the gathering of God’s people, the godly are there and you can find them and observe their journey. Yes there are bad examples that are easy for us to see and hear; sometimes they are just trying their broken best and failing. Look beyond that road, that barrier, look to Jesus himself, who is waiting to be found and who is, in fact, searching for you.
For Your Reflection:
- What experiences or misunderstandings cloud your search parameters for God? Ask God to lead you in the right path toward him.
- To search for the Son of God, it makes sense to look for him at his Father’s house. Why not check out a church gathering near you to seek Jesus?
Author Bio
Rev. Greg Dermody is married to Shelly and has two grown daughters. He currently Senior Pastor at Humboldt Alliance Church in Saskatchewan and has previous served Alliance churches in Assiniboia, Elrose, Rosetown and Steinbach. A graduate of CBC ‘89, and CTS ‘07. Greg enjoys camping, motorcycles, kites, and cooking.
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Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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