Losing Jesus
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For December 29, 2024:
Losing Jesus
by Chris Keating
Luke 2:41-52
This week’s scripture sounds like the premise of that old joke. “Have you found Jesus?” an earnest believer asks a friend. “Why do you ask?” responds the friend. “Is he missing?”
As a matter of fact, this week we learn that Mary and Joseph have lost Jesus, and it is quite possible that they are about to lose their minds, too. It’s a universal experience parents of teenagers often experience.
Meet Jesus the twelve-year-old boy. I’ve got no proof, but I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that based on my experiences of twelve-year-old boys, we have every reason to expect he wiped his nose on his sleeve and probably had a touch of body odor. Puberty is real, and so are the struggles that come with it.
Christine Organ notes that “There’s no shortage of articles, memes, and clichés about the struggles of raising tweens and teens. But here’s what people say less frequently: being a tween is hard, too.” If we had access to Mary’s account of these years, we’d probably hear her talking with friends at the Nazareth Mother’s Club. “Can you imagine what it is like trying to raise a child who actually is God’s gift to the world?”
In today’s terms, twelve-year-old Jesus would be a card-carrying member of Generation Z, that cohort of young adults born between 1997 and 2012. They are a complicated, pragmatic, and diverse bunch who have never known a world without the Internet. They also have a unique way of speaking.
“Jesus!” cries Mary, “Where have you been? Your father and I have been worried sick.” “Bruh,” says Gen Z Jesus. “You’re doing too much. FR, fam. No cap, mother. I wasn’t ghosting you. I’m shook you didn’t know where to find me. It’s not like that feeling when you’re going to have knee surgery.”
It’s enough to drive a saint to the brink, but that’s life with twelve-year-olds. It’s also a reminder of the beauty and grace associated with growing up, and an invitation to understand the unique circumstances many pre-teens and teenagers face today.
In the News
Bruh, if a twelve or thirteen-year-old comes up to you and says, “Lowkey, your fit is giving mad crazy Ohio vibes,” they’re not suggesting you look like someone from Columbus. It might mean you might consider changing clothes. Or, if you don’t understand what they’re saying, it means you might consider brushing up on your Gen Z slang. If you start speaking to them in this slang, however, be prepared for lots of eye rolls and cringy face expressions, and probably a round of “Okay, boomer.” (The latter applies even if you’re not technically a member of the Baby Boomer generation.)
Like every generation, today’s 12-27-year-olds have invented an entirely new way of speaking. Things change: just as you confused your parents by telling them to “Hang on,” and your older kids might have said, “chillax, dude,” your younger kids or grandkids are likely to remind you that your sense of style may well be, in their terms, just a tad bit cheugy.
Hint: you want to aim for “fleek” or, even “bussin.”
Of course, they don’t want you to actually use these words, especially not in front of their friends. But understanding their slang may be helpful in developing a relationship with them. That is something few churches have managed to achieve — even though a surprisingly large number of Gen Z youth consider themselves “religious” or “spiritual.”
It didn’t take long for Mary and Joseph to lose twelve-year-old Jesus. It seems that it is not taking long for American churches to do the same with today’s teens and tweens, either.
Generation Z is generally identified as those born between 1997 and 2012. As with all generations, there is overlap between cohort groups as well as individual differences. Yet there are certain trends and demographics that researchers use when looking at this group of approximately 69 million Americans. Though slightly smaller than their older Millennial-era cousins (those born 1981-1996), Gen Z still represents nearly 20% of the American population, and are just slightly smaller than the Baby Boomers.
Like other younger North American generations, most of Gen Z claims they have no religious affiliation. Few attend worship or participate in organized religious experiences. Only 42% of Gen Zers report having participated in Sunday school.
Gen Z is the second youngest generation in today’s world, with the oldest among them just now entering the workplace. They bring with them many of their formative experiences, including widespread feelings of depression, anxiety, and mixed feelings about the value of higher education. Only half of Gen Zers are white, and the Pew Research group believes that number will shrink by 2026. Like many Millennials, many older Gen Z have delayed starting families, perhaps because of the costs associated with raising children. They are America’s true digital natives, having been immersed in technology since birth. If you can’t figure out Gmail, you might want to invite your teenage grandchildren over for dinner.
This digital fluency has profound implications for every part of society. Recently, a St. Louis-area school district held a conversation about technology in public schools with local religious leaders. The district noted how its policies on cell phone use are shifting. In the early 2000s, the district encouraged students to “bring their own device,” to school for school-related purposes only. But concerns about the impact of technology on teenagers’ mental health have prompted reviews of that policy.
School districts across the country are looking at the impact of students having nearly constant access to the Internet. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of the The Anxious Generation, says his research shows direct correlations between social media and youth mental health.
Speaking to PBS’ News Hour, Haidt indicated the data is alarming. “There is direct correlational evidence that the more you use it, the more depressed you are. It’s especially heavy users, more than four hours a day. Those girls are three times more likely to be depressed than medium users. So it’s anxiety and depression, also self-harming suicide. All of those things skyrocket after 2012.”
Globally, large numbers of this generation have been directly impacted by war or natural disasters. UNRWA, the United Nations Reliefs and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, has compiled detailed research on how children and youth have been impacted by the war between Israel and Hamas. Hundreds of thousands of young people have been displaced and are living in shelters. Education imperiled by Covid-19 has been set back by at least five more years. The trauma of war is felt both in their bodies and souls — with as many as ten children per day reported to have lost limbs since the war began. One researcher noted, “This is a generation full of trauma, and it will take a generation to overcome it.”
Likewise, the children and youth of Israel are also traumatized by the war. One parent in Israel told NPR that “We can no longer tell them the army is protecting you, we are protecting you, everything is fine, nothing will happen to you.”
Mary and Joseph understood that sort of trauma. Our children and teens understand it as well. And if we are going to avoid losing them, then perhaps the story of Jesus’ separation from his family ought to be more than a cute postscript to Christmas.
In the Scripture
The Gospels offer sparse details into Jesus’ early life. Matthew (2:1-12) offers the magi and their quest for the child, which is followed up by the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt (2:13-18). Curiously, Matthew says that they only start living in Nazareth after their exile to Egypt (2:23), while Luke tags Joseph as a native of Nazareth. Luke’s post-infancy account of Jesus’ life includes the family’s trek to Jerusalem (2:22) to fulfill the obligations of the law. They encounter the righteous and devout Simeon and the prophet Anna, both of whom respond to the child by praising God (2:25-39).
From there, it seems that the family settles into a typical routine at home. Jesus, Luke affirms, “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; the favor of God was upon him.” (Luke 2:40) Our text begins as the family makes their annual Passover trip to Jerusalem. Luke’s inclusion of this detail is crucial: this is the only time in the synoptics that we learn Jesus spends Passover in Jerusalem. It adds additional impact to Simeon’s words to Mary that “a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” (2:35)
Surely Mary remembered Simeon’s words as she and Joseph anxiously comb the streets of Jerusalem looking for their son. The story strikes at every parent’s nerve center. Somehow, they assumed Jesus was with one of their friends or neighbors. Modern cars have signals to remind drivers to check the backseat. Joseph and Mary likely believed their son was in good hands. But then dread interjects itself into the narrative, just as Simeon had warned.
Back in Jerusalem, “his parents” (in Luke’s words) search high and low for their child. This is more than a “Home Alone” sideshow. This is a desperate search, as indicated by Mary’s statement to Jesus when they eventually locate him. Meda Stamper notes that the verb for “anxiously” is different than the word more commonly used to express worry. Here, it conveys a sense of grief, tinged with heart-breaking pain.
Jesus is found, safe and sound, looking a bit like the main character from television’s Young Sheldon. He’s at the temple, seated among the teachers, asking questions, and listening to them. Mary’s remarks will sound familiar to any parent whose kiddo has gone incommunicado. She’s delighted — but furious, too. She looks at Jesus the way only a mother can — a reminder that any punishment a teacher, or even the police, can dole out will pale in comparison what your mother does!
Meda Stamper connects Jesus’ question of his parents “Why were you searching for me?” with Luke’s account of the resurrection. The angels in Luke 24:5 ask the women, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Likewise, the risen Jesus quizzes the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, “Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer things and then enter into his glory?” It’s a plausible connection, and a reminder of Luke’s theological concerns about being lost and being found, and how it seems we never really are able to lose the One who has come “to reign over the house of Jacob forever.” (Luke 1:33).
But right now, Mary and Joseph’s son confounds them, which is hardly an unusual occurrence. We’re told “he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.” We can only imagine that it was a very quiet trip home.
In the Sermon
Imagining Jesus as a slightly-mouthy pre-adolescent boy may offer some insight into the backstory of Luke 2:41-52, though a preacher should be warned to tread carefully. The church has never been well-served by those who have tried just a smidgeon too hard to sound relevant to youth. Or, as they might tell us, we should be aware of lowkey doing too much.
What cannot be overlooked, however, is the stress and strain of family relationships, both today and in the first century. Jesus’ family, in ways that we have not well explored, had experienced raw and unrelenting trauma. Indeed, as Kelley Nikondeha observes in her recent work The First Advent in Palestine, Jesus’ young body carried the wounds of trauma deep within him. She observes that the lack of references to Jesus ever returning to Bethlehem as an adult is a telling clue. Even as an infant, he had been wounded by those streets that carried the blood of boys close to his age.
A sermon can helpfully name the way Jesus’ separation from his parents is more than just a teenager acting out. At his age, it was common for Jewish children to receive Torah instruction, and we easily imagine him savoring every morsel the teachers served. On the other hand, this separation is a painful reminder that children do grow up. We have said it over and over again, “We wanted our children to be bright, independent, and capable adults — and then they go and do exactly that!”
Growing up in today’s world or in Jesus’ time is not a linear event. This experience is profoundly intrusive into the peace and harmony of their family life, but also so profoundly important. It is disruptive to his parents, no doubt making them question so much about this curious child of theirs. It is disruptive to his community — one imagines the entire caravan came to a halt as Mary and Joseph searched for Jesus. It is painful to watch your children grow up — yet so important, too.
But Jesus’ question is also a reminder of how the trauma he experienced (including the unlikely circumstances of his birth) and how he continues to carry that. He expresses a connection to God that goes well beyond his parent’s religious devotion. Already, he is wrestling with the implications of what it will mean for him to say, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” (Luke 4:18)
We know that the mental health issues faced by Generation Z are enormous. Trauma — whether first or second hand — has been part of their lives. It has shaped who they were as children and will certainly shape who they are as adults. Every generation has been forced to wrestle with trauma, of course. I can’t imagine how my twenty-year-old father dealt with the atrocities of World War II, or how my mother endured being a young bride without having contact with my dad for months. Likewise, I know that my older siblings experienced the trauma of attending college during the Vietnam protests, and that my daughter watched the 9/11 attacks while at school. We all have experienced, to varying degrees, the impact of trauma.
Yet Gen Z has experienced trauma differently. They have also been more vocal about their experiences. Studies consistently show that large percentages of this cohort have been diagnosed with mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, and PTSD. About 29% rate their overall mental health as fair or poor.
Lowkey preacher, here’s your chance. Here is an invitation to speak words of Gospel truth and healing to families who are hurting and consumed with worry. Allow them to find a word that they can ponder within their hearts. Bruh, you got this.
* * * * *
SECOND THOUGHTS
Moms And Sons
by Tom Willadsen
Luke 2:41-52, Colossians 3:12-17, "1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26", Psalm 148
In the Scripture
Psalm 148 — Get happy!
You could exegete this text or just show this video from 1950’s “Summer Stock,” starring Judy Garland. C’mon, it’s the week after Christmas, lighten up!
Luke 2:41-52
The Luke texts for both Christmas Eve and Nativity of the Lord/Christmas Day, include 2:19: “But Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (NRSV) Then the shepherds walked off stage for the rest of the gospel.
Today’s text includes a similar inclusion or literary envelope: “His mother treasured all these things in her heart.” (2:51b, NRSV)
Both texts indicate that Mary is observing, and experiencing motherhood of her eldest child, who made John the Baptizer leap in the womb of his mother clear back in chapter one.
A member of my church came to me in high dudgeon after hearing this passage because Mary and Joseph were clearly unfit parents, neglecting their 12 year old! He, of course, activated the GPS feature on his kids’ phone so he could surveil them at all times, as any good parent would. This man also makes a big deal of returning his shopping cart to the appropriate place in the supermarket parking lot, and calls out all citizens who fall short of his conspicuous virtue. I find this guy hard to preach to; he’s never needed grace, and a lot of Sundays, that’s all I’ve got.
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
1 Samuel 2:26: “Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and with the people.” is an inclusio very similar to the ones in Luke 2.
There are other parallels between Jesus’ and Samuel’s birth:
Both conceptions were extraordinary, Samuel’s after Hannah’s years of being tormented by Penninah — who was fecund;
Jesus’ with actual intercourse, per se.
There are strong similarities between The Song of Hannah, 1 Samuel 2:1-10, and the Magnificat, which Mary sings in Luke 1:46-55.
Both women were found pregnant after encounters with Holy Men. In Hannah’s case, the blessing Eli bestows on her feels like an afterthought, 1 Samuel 1:17. In Mary’s case she is cajoled by the angel Gabriel out of her perplexity, before accepting the assignment: “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38, NRSV)
Colossians 3:12-17
These are soaring words of profound encouragement to the Christians in Colossae. Be sure to put them in context; refer back to 3:1-4. Paul reminds us that Christ changes everything about our lives. The peace people long for and pray for at Christmas is this peace that surpasses understanding.
In the News
The most recent school shooting was in Madison, Wisconsin on December 16, at Abundant Life Christian School. In an unusual turn of events, the shooter was female — other details are slowly emerging about her motive. Many people are trying to tie the call for peace at Christmas time, and the need for comfort, to the aftermath of this most recent tragedy.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported December 21, that more than 300 students from Madison West High School marched to the Capitol to demand legislation to limit access to weapons.
Who knows what tragedy will emerge between now (December 21) and the First Sunday after Christmas? The federal government is funded into March. Maybe, at last, Hamas and Israel will find a way to a cease fire. Maybe civil government will start functioning in Syria.
In the Sermon
You really can’t go wrong with Howard Thurman’s moving poem, “The Work of Christmas.”
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among all,
To make music in the heart.
(from The Mood of Christmas, p. 23, published and copyrighted by Friends United Press, 1985)
You can expect attendance to be down, and those in attendance are the most faithful of the faithful. In my congregation that’s the oldest people who can still drive.
I’m going to take a different slant on the Luke text, focusing on Mary. The story is completely different viewed through her eyes.
When my sons were first driving solo, and they arrived late, I felt a lot like Mary did. One of them remembers me saying, “If that boy’s not dead, I’ll kill him!” of his tardy, older brother. Mary might have felt like that after searching for Jesus for a couple days.
Parents know that every milestone in their children’s lives, every step is a step away from needing their nurturing hands, a step away from them. Often there are more tears on the faces of parents that first day of kindergarten than on their apprehensive, yet excited and growing, offspring.
It is not a stretch to find parallels between John Hughes’ classic 1990 film, Home Alone, and Jesus at the temple. Home Alone was nominated for two Academy Award and two Golden Globes. It was the second highest grossing film in the United States in 1990 and was “the highest grossing live-action comedy for two decades.”
Lest you think it’s frivolous: “In 2023, Home Alone was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant’.” (Ibid.)
The story goes that eight year-old Kevin McCallister misses his family’s departure for their Christmas vacation in Paris through a sequence of wacky events. Because John Hughes. His mother realizes Kevin’s not “in the group of travelers” (cf. Luke 2:44) and spends the rest of the movie frantically trying to return to Chicago from Paris. All the flights are full. Kevin, in the meantime, enjoys bachelorhood for a while, befriends his next-door neighbor, who isn’t “The South-Bend Shovel Slayer,” it turns out. He defends himself and the family home from some inept burglars, helps his neighbor reconcile with his estranged son, and is relieved when his mother finally makes it home and they are happily reunited. It’s a happy ending. It may even be a happier ending than, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
Rather than comparing Kevin McCallister and Jesus, why not explore the similarities between Mary and Kevin’s mom, Kate?
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Colossians 3:12-17
Re-learning Love
The instruction in Colossians tells us to use love as our guide to living with other people.
Anne Lamott says, “I have quoted my own version of a William Blake line for so long now that I like to think it’s mine: We are here to learn to endure the beams of love. I have lived by these words for nearly fifty years, ever since I first read the quote. It is the sentence I want my family to remember when I am gone. (Also, I hope they forget that someone else said it and that I get the credit.)"
She adds that this is hard to learn, going “absolutely contrary to everything I was raised to believe. I was taught to strive, to feel ashamed, to keep the family secrets, to believe I was better than, yet always in danger of lagging behind. I was taught to judge and surpass and above all to showcase a shiny surface of confidence, individualism, and self-sufficiency. We were not a playful family; we were amused. I was taught to observe other people’s mediocrity and general ruin, and to make quiet and arch comments about it. What Blake is saying is that none of those things are who I am or why I am here. But without them, who on earth am I? Still a student? Aging, set in her ways—moi? If you practice enduring people’s bewildering love for you, it will change you molecularly: it loosens you, gooses you, warms you. Bearing the beams of love can dislodge ancient sachets of joy, pain, shame, and pride trapped inside you." (from Somehow: Thoughts on Love)
Love sets everything within us free, by grace.
* * *
Colossians 3:12-17
Clothed in Love
“Clothe yourselves in love,” the Letter to the Colossians says. Will Guidara tells about how his mother embodied that as he was growing up.
His mom was ill for years, and eventually became a quadriplegic. His dad wanted him to be as independent as possible so he sold their home and moved three blocks away from Will’s school. That way, Will recalls, “I wouldn’t have to rely on other people to drive me around, and friends would naturally end up at my house. In junior high, I started playing drums. I played in punk bands, and ska bands, and funk bands—and we rehearsed in my room, which was right above the kitchen, where my mother hung out during the day. Listening to a crew of high school boys stumbling through the iconic opening chords of Nirvana’s “Come as You Are” a thousand times would be a waking nightmare for most people. My mom loved it.”
When his mom needed help from home health aides, his mom “would ask the aide on duty to push her wheelchair to the end of the road to wait for me. She could no longer speak or get up to give me a hug, but she could be there with a huge smile on her face when I got home from school. That smile was all I needed, and it taught me an invaluable lesson—what it’s like to feel truly welcomed."
Love, in full flower!
* * *
Colossians 3:12-17
Loving the World
Exploring the Celtic spiritual path, Christine Sine notes that Celtic saints observed themselves and the world with eyes of love. She says the early Celtic saints saw themselves as “guests of the world, living lightly on this earth and not becoming attached to possessions or to one location. These followers of Christ saw all of life as a pilgrimage, a journey towards God. They believed that we live in perpetual exile, constantly seeking after Christ, and our outward journeys are to reflect our inner transformation. In exiling themselves from the comforts of home, pilgrims taught themselves to rely only on God.”
The world and our fellow travelers are all worthy of love. Sine adds, "Recognizing ourselves as guests and pilgrims affects how we view everything that happens to us. Pilgrims and those who travel frequently do not presume anything. They travel lightly with few possessions, totally dependent on those they meet and the country they pass through. They learn to be grateful for comforts that those who never leave home take for granted. For a guest, each meal, especially a home cooked meal, is a gift of love from the host. Each bed provided for us to sleep in is a generous act of sharing and caring. Every journey accomplished safely is a provision of a caring God. Everything now becomes a gift of God." (from Celtic Advent: Following an Unfamiliar Path)
Every gift from the world shows a sliver of God’s love; every gift to another reflects back the love God gives us.
* * *
Luke 2:41-52
Curiosity
Dr. Jud Brewer says that curiosity is a superpower, and it certainly seems to be one for Jesus. His curiosity tugs him to stay behind in the temple, listening to the rabbis there, after his family leaves for home.
Brewer says that “Curiosity comes in two flavors: pleasant and unpleasant.” He cites work that names two main “flavors of curiosity…I-curiosity and D-curiosity. The I curiosity stands for interest, the pleasurable aspects of the hunger for knowledge. On the other hand, D-curiosity stands for deprivation and fits with the idea that if we have a gap in information, we develop a restless, unpleasant need to know state.” We can wonder which kind of curiosity kept Jesus in the temple.
Brewer says, “Deprivation curiosity is driven by a lack of information, often a specific piece of information...This extends to texting and social media as well. What’s it feel like when someone sends you a text, but you can’t check your phone right away. If you are in a meeting or out to dinner, its as though the fire alarm in your brain has suddenly gone off, and keeps blaring in your head until you check your phone.”
In contrast, I-curiosity develops when we become interested in learning more. “Usually this isn’t a specific piece of information (like the movie star’s name), but a broader category…With interest curiosity, think of getting fascinated with a topic, diving into an internet search and waking up 4 hours later, having quenched that thirst for knowledge. It feels good to learn something new. This is different than having a deficit being filled because there wasn’t a deficit there in the first place per se.”
He adds, “Pop quiz: why do TV shows have cliff hangers? To drive deprivation curiosity -we have to know what happens, so we binge watch!”
In his life, Jesus displays both kinds of curiosity.
* * *
Luke 2:41-52
Jesus Rests in the Temple
In a busy world, filled with violence, Jesus finds a haven in the temple. He’s able to rest, for a while, from all the trauma of living in an occupied country. Tricia Hersey notes that “you cannot simply just tell someone who has been traumatized…to consistently lay down and rest without addressing the reality of our brainwashing. When we finally wake up to the truth of what a machine-level pace of labor has done to our physical bodies, our self-esteem, and our Spirits, the unraveling begins.”
She adds, "We believe rest is a luxury, privilege, and an extra treat we can give to ourselves after suffering from exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Rest isn’t a luxury, but an absolute necessity if we’re going to survive and thrive. Rest isn’t an afterthought, but a basic part of being human. Rest is a divine right. Rest is a human right." (from Rest is Resistance)
As part of his work, Jesus excels at resting, and we see the beginning of that in this story.
* * *
Luke 2:41-52
Use Your Hands
Luke’s gospel notes that Jesus is sitting among the teachers, the traditional posture for students of a rabbi.
Creator Austin Kleon notes that body position is important for learning. He says, "My favorite cartoonist, Lynda Barry, has this saying: “In the digital age, don’t forget to use your digits!” Your hands are the original digital devices. Use them. While I love my computer, I think computers have robbed us of the feeling that we’re actually making things. Instead, we’re just typing keys and clicking mouse buttons. This is why so-called knowledge work seems so abstract…Just watch someone at their computer. They’re so still, so immobile. You don’t need a scientific study (of which there are a few) to tell you that sitting in front of a computer all day is killing you, and killing your work. We need to move, to feel like we’re making something with our bodies, not just our heads. Work that only comes from the head isn’t any good. Watch a great musician play a show. Watch a great leader give a speech. You’ll see what I mean. You need to find a way to bring your body into your work."
Jesus already knows this, and will display this knowledge throughout his life, as he walks, draws in the sand, picks grain, touches people and serves food.
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
In Samuel we have an illustration that the children are the church of God. Jesus illustrates this later by saying that children are the way to the kingdom of heaven. We like to misconstrue this by saying that children are the “future” of the church, however, that is not what Jesus said. Jesus said that children are the church here and now.
My eldest is sixteen and says that we put too much on kids to solve the world’s problems. They said that frankly, they do not want the responsibility for the world’s problems. However, if we looked at kids not for their “potential” but as gifts from God, now, how would that change how we understand who children are in the church? This makes Samuel’s dedication meaningful in a deep and beautiful way.
* * *
Psalm 148
Is poetry and art seeing praise to God? Sometimes I marvel at the way music speaks to humanity and think about how music affects the body. It can help with chronic pain, cope with stress, and help to calm people. Peer scientific research studies have shown the effectiveness of music as a kind of therapy. Thus, I think about how there are ways to help the world threaded throughout nature. This song to God seems to be a way to think through our inter-connectedness and the ways in which God wants us to thrive — and that praising God actually helps us. I am always amazed that we are built this way.
* * *
Colossians 3:12-17
Forgiving one another as a reflection of the forgiveness that God has given us is interesting. My Aunt recently remarked that our God-image-bearing is one of the few reasons to honor and respect one another. In a recent study, there has been a downturn in emotional intelligence and wellbeing across the board. This Bible passage acknowledges we have to be intentional about using our emotions. We need to remember that God gave us forgiveness and empathy, and that we need to remember that we are each made in God’s image. Therefore forgiveness is based not in human apologies or actions — but in the fact that God has created a forgiveness that is deep enough that we can work out of that.
* * *
Luke 2:41-52
One time my four-year-old sister got lost so badly in our small western Pennsylvania neighborhood that we had to look for her for almost an hour. I was about eight so it felt much longer. We had neighbors looking. My parents were pastors and we lived across the street from the church, which took up the whole block, so we looked high and low, at friends’ houses, etc. She was the age where she knew better than to go anywhere without an older sibling or an adult, but still...
Finally, when my mom was about to call the police, my brother spied her in the garage, asleep on a mattress in storage. The door had been open just a little bit. My parents were very worried, but of course didn’t yell — more gave her a mild scold and a hug. I think about how, when you are relieved after you find a child, you want to both scream and yell at them, and also hold them forever.
Mary’s admonishment here is very practical — how could you go missing for days? Don’t you know that we love you and therefore would be worried about you? Jesus’s response of “I knew I was fine” is typically exasperating from a tween. I think we all love this story because it is fully human. Jesus was normal, and had never lost a child and worried about them? How can we not relate to Jesus and his parents in this story?
And don’t we all love that they are still a family at the end? It is the essence of the Biblical message — things are frustrating, people are trying to differentiate themselves, humans are annoying, and yet we are all still family at the end.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights!
All: Praise God, all you angels; praise God, all heavenly host!
One: Praise God, sun and moon and all you shining stars!
All: Praise God, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
One: Praise God young men and women alike, old and young together!
All: Let us praise the name of the Lord whose name alone is exalted.
OR
One: God calls us here as Jesus was called to the temple.
All: We come to learn and grow in God’s grace.
One: God sees us as we are and as what we can become.
All: With God’s grace we will grow into God’s likeness.
One: Rejoice in all the potential God has created within you.
All: We are truly blessed by a loving, creator God.
Hymns and Songs
Angels from the Realms of Glory
UMH: 220
H82: 93
PH: 22
GTG: 143
AAHH: 207
NNBH: 85
NCH: 126
CH: 149
LBW: 50
ELW: 275
W&P: 189
AMEC: 119
O Little Town of Bethlehem
UMH: 230
H82: 78/79
PH: 43/44
GTG: 121
AAHH: 204
NNBH: 90
NCH: 133
CH: 144
LBW: 41
ELW: 279
W&P: 180
AMEC: 109
STLT: 246/247
O Come, All Ye Faithful
UMH: 234
H82: 83
PH: 41/42
GTG: 133
AAHH: 199
NNBH: 93
NCH: 135
CH: 148
LBW: 45
ELW: 283
W&P: 182
AMEC: 106
STLT: 253
O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright
UMH: 247
PH: 69
GTG: 827
NCH: 158
CH: 105
LBW: 76
ELW: 308
W&P: 230
That Boy-Child of Mary
UMH: 241
PH: 55
GTG: 139
ELW: 293
W&P: 211
Our Parent, by Whose Name
UMH: 447
LBW: 357
ELW: 640
Be Thou My Vision
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
GTG: 450
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELW: 793
W&P: 502
AMEC: 281
STLT: 20
Renew: 151
I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
UMH: 540
H82: 524
PH: 441
GTG: 310
NNBH: 302
NCH: 312
CH: 274
LBW: 368
W&P: 549
AMEC: 515/517
Break Thou the Bread of Life
UMH: 599
PH: 329
GTG: 460
AAHH: 334
NNBH: 295
NCH: 321
CH: 321
LBW: 235
ELW: 515
W&P: 665
AMEC: 209
Thy Word Is a Lamp
UMH: 601
GTG: 458
CH: 326
W&P: 664
Renew: 94
Seek Ye First
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
GTG: 175
CH: 354
W&P: 349
CCB: 76
Refiner’s Fire
CCB: 79
Father, I Adore You
CCB: 64
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who created all things to grow into maturity:
Grant us the wisdom to grow into you likeness
so that we may be like Jesus, our elder brother;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you created all things to grow and mature. As Jesus grew and matured into his role, help us to mature into your likeness. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially when we refuse to grow up.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. So often we act like little children who think the world revolves around us. We want to be coddled and pampered instead of learning how to take care of others. Forgive us our foolish, childish ways and bless us as we try to grow in your Spirit. Amen.
One: God loves us as children and like a good parent delights when we grow up. Receive God’s forgiveness and blessing and share that blessing with all.
Prayers of the People
We bless and praise your Name, O God, because you are our parent who delights in us when we are infants and when we grow into mature persons. You have gifted us with your own Spirit that your image may shine forth in all we say and do.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. So often we act like little children who think the world revolves around us. We want to be coddled and pampered instead of learning how to take care of others. Forgive us our foolish, childish ways and bless us as we try to grow in your Spirit.
We give you thanks for the gift of growing and changing. We thank you for the freedom you give us to develop into our own unique reflection of you. We thank you for those who have nurtured us and helped us take our place as Jesus’ disciples.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for the needs of all creation. We pray for those who are not given the freedom to grow into your likeness. We lift up to you in joy those who work to help others grow up asking your blessing of them. Send your Spirit upon us all that we may become the people you created us to be.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN’S SERMON
The Gratitude Attitude
by Dean Feldmeyer
Colossians 3:12-17
You Will Need: One box wrapped like a Christmas gift. Place it in the center of the group as they gather.
When The Children Have Gathered And Are Seated:
Welcome everyone and ask how their Christmas went. Did they get presents? Did they have good food? Did they see friends and relatives? Did they go to church? Oh, yeah, they're here so I guess they went to church, right?
Relate how Christmas is not just one day but 12 and today is the 4th day of Christmas. Our emphasis for the 4th day of Christmas is Gratitude. Today, we stop for a moment and say thank you.
We say thank you to our parents and the other people for the gifts they gave us and the food they prepared for us.
We say thank you to the people who worked on Christmas so we would be safe to enjoy the holiday -- police officers, fire fighters, nurses, doctors, pastors, some store workers, etc. Who else?
After a moment redirect the conversation from "what" to "how." How do we say thank you to these people?
* Well, one way is just to say it out loud. Let's thank God for all the things God gives us, especially for Jesus. "Thank you, God."
* Another way is to writer a thank you note or card and send it. Have you ever done that? Who's someone that you could send a thank you card to? What would you say?
* Another way you can thank someone, especially if they are close by, (and this is my favorite way to say thank you) is with a hug. Did you say thank you with a hug for someone this Christmas? Maybe mom or dad or grandpa or grandma or some special friend?
The Bible tells us that one of the ways we tell other people about God's love is by being thankful (or grateful) and saying thank you.
So, let's just do that one more time, this morning, okay? Ready? Here we go.... Thank you, God!
End with a prayer of thanks and thank the kids for coming to church, today.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 29, 2024 issue.
Copyright 2024 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- Losing Jesus by Chris Keating based on Luke 2:41-52.
- Second Thoughts: Moms And Sons by Tom Willadsen based on Luke 2:41-52, Colossians 3:12-17, 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26, and Psalm 148.
- Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin, Katy Stenta.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children’s sermon: The Gratitude Attitude by Dean Feldmeyer based on Colossians 3:12-17.
- More to come...
Losing Jesusby Chris Keating
Luke 2:41-52
This week’s scripture sounds like the premise of that old joke. “Have you found Jesus?” an earnest believer asks a friend. “Why do you ask?” responds the friend. “Is he missing?”
As a matter of fact, this week we learn that Mary and Joseph have lost Jesus, and it is quite possible that they are about to lose their minds, too. It’s a universal experience parents of teenagers often experience.
Meet Jesus the twelve-year-old boy. I’ve got no proof, but I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that based on my experiences of twelve-year-old boys, we have every reason to expect he wiped his nose on his sleeve and probably had a touch of body odor. Puberty is real, and so are the struggles that come with it.
Christine Organ notes that “There’s no shortage of articles, memes, and clichés about the struggles of raising tweens and teens. But here’s what people say less frequently: being a tween is hard, too.” If we had access to Mary’s account of these years, we’d probably hear her talking with friends at the Nazareth Mother’s Club. “Can you imagine what it is like trying to raise a child who actually is God’s gift to the world?”
In today’s terms, twelve-year-old Jesus would be a card-carrying member of Generation Z, that cohort of young adults born between 1997 and 2012. They are a complicated, pragmatic, and diverse bunch who have never known a world without the Internet. They also have a unique way of speaking.
“Jesus!” cries Mary, “Where have you been? Your father and I have been worried sick.” “Bruh,” says Gen Z Jesus. “You’re doing too much. FR, fam. No cap, mother. I wasn’t ghosting you. I’m shook you didn’t know where to find me. It’s not like that feeling when you’re going to have knee surgery.”
It’s enough to drive a saint to the brink, but that’s life with twelve-year-olds. It’s also a reminder of the beauty and grace associated with growing up, and an invitation to understand the unique circumstances many pre-teens and teenagers face today.
In the News
Bruh, if a twelve or thirteen-year-old comes up to you and says, “Lowkey, your fit is giving mad crazy Ohio vibes,” they’re not suggesting you look like someone from Columbus. It might mean you might consider changing clothes. Or, if you don’t understand what they’re saying, it means you might consider brushing up on your Gen Z slang. If you start speaking to them in this slang, however, be prepared for lots of eye rolls and cringy face expressions, and probably a round of “Okay, boomer.” (The latter applies even if you’re not technically a member of the Baby Boomer generation.)
Like every generation, today’s 12-27-year-olds have invented an entirely new way of speaking. Things change: just as you confused your parents by telling them to “Hang on,” and your older kids might have said, “chillax, dude,” your younger kids or grandkids are likely to remind you that your sense of style may well be, in their terms, just a tad bit cheugy.
Hint: you want to aim for “fleek” or, even “bussin.”
Of course, they don’t want you to actually use these words, especially not in front of their friends. But understanding their slang may be helpful in developing a relationship with them. That is something few churches have managed to achieve — even though a surprisingly large number of Gen Z youth consider themselves “religious” or “spiritual.”
It didn’t take long for Mary and Joseph to lose twelve-year-old Jesus. It seems that it is not taking long for American churches to do the same with today’s teens and tweens, either.
Generation Z is generally identified as those born between 1997 and 2012. As with all generations, there is overlap between cohort groups as well as individual differences. Yet there are certain trends and demographics that researchers use when looking at this group of approximately 69 million Americans. Though slightly smaller than their older Millennial-era cousins (those born 1981-1996), Gen Z still represents nearly 20% of the American population, and are just slightly smaller than the Baby Boomers.
Like other younger North American generations, most of Gen Z claims they have no religious affiliation. Few attend worship or participate in organized religious experiences. Only 42% of Gen Zers report having participated in Sunday school.
Gen Z is the second youngest generation in today’s world, with the oldest among them just now entering the workplace. They bring with them many of their formative experiences, including widespread feelings of depression, anxiety, and mixed feelings about the value of higher education. Only half of Gen Zers are white, and the Pew Research group believes that number will shrink by 2026. Like many Millennials, many older Gen Z have delayed starting families, perhaps because of the costs associated with raising children. They are America’s true digital natives, having been immersed in technology since birth. If you can’t figure out Gmail, you might want to invite your teenage grandchildren over for dinner.
This digital fluency has profound implications for every part of society. Recently, a St. Louis-area school district held a conversation about technology in public schools with local religious leaders. The district noted how its policies on cell phone use are shifting. In the early 2000s, the district encouraged students to “bring their own device,” to school for school-related purposes only. But concerns about the impact of technology on teenagers’ mental health have prompted reviews of that policy.
School districts across the country are looking at the impact of students having nearly constant access to the Internet. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of the The Anxious Generation, says his research shows direct correlations between social media and youth mental health.
Speaking to PBS’ News Hour, Haidt indicated the data is alarming. “There is direct correlational evidence that the more you use it, the more depressed you are. It’s especially heavy users, more than four hours a day. Those girls are three times more likely to be depressed than medium users. So it’s anxiety and depression, also self-harming suicide. All of those things skyrocket after 2012.”
Globally, large numbers of this generation have been directly impacted by war or natural disasters. UNRWA, the United Nations Reliefs and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, has compiled detailed research on how children and youth have been impacted by the war between Israel and Hamas. Hundreds of thousands of young people have been displaced and are living in shelters. Education imperiled by Covid-19 has been set back by at least five more years. The trauma of war is felt both in their bodies and souls — with as many as ten children per day reported to have lost limbs since the war began. One researcher noted, “This is a generation full of trauma, and it will take a generation to overcome it.”
Likewise, the children and youth of Israel are also traumatized by the war. One parent in Israel told NPR that “We can no longer tell them the army is protecting you, we are protecting you, everything is fine, nothing will happen to you.”
Mary and Joseph understood that sort of trauma. Our children and teens understand it as well. And if we are going to avoid losing them, then perhaps the story of Jesus’ separation from his family ought to be more than a cute postscript to Christmas.
In the Scripture
The Gospels offer sparse details into Jesus’ early life. Matthew (2:1-12) offers the magi and their quest for the child, which is followed up by the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt (2:13-18). Curiously, Matthew says that they only start living in Nazareth after their exile to Egypt (2:23), while Luke tags Joseph as a native of Nazareth. Luke’s post-infancy account of Jesus’ life includes the family’s trek to Jerusalem (2:22) to fulfill the obligations of the law. They encounter the righteous and devout Simeon and the prophet Anna, both of whom respond to the child by praising God (2:25-39).
From there, it seems that the family settles into a typical routine at home. Jesus, Luke affirms, “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; the favor of God was upon him.” (Luke 2:40) Our text begins as the family makes their annual Passover trip to Jerusalem. Luke’s inclusion of this detail is crucial: this is the only time in the synoptics that we learn Jesus spends Passover in Jerusalem. It adds additional impact to Simeon’s words to Mary that “a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” (2:35)
Surely Mary remembered Simeon’s words as she and Joseph anxiously comb the streets of Jerusalem looking for their son. The story strikes at every parent’s nerve center. Somehow, they assumed Jesus was with one of their friends or neighbors. Modern cars have signals to remind drivers to check the backseat. Joseph and Mary likely believed their son was in good hands. But then dread interjects itself into the narrative, just as Simeon had warned.
Back in Jerusalem, “his parents” (in Luke’s words) search high and low for their child. This is more than a “Home Alone” sideshow. This is a desperate search, as indicated by Mary’s statement to Jesus when they eventually locate him. Meda Stamper notes that the verb for “anxiously” is different than the word more commonly used to express worry. Here, it conveys a sense of grief, tinged with heart-breaking pain.
Jesus is found, safe and sound, looking a bit like the main character from television’s Young Sheldon. He’s at the temple, seated among the teachers, asking questions, and listening to them. Mary’s remarks will sound familiar to any parent whose kiddo has gone incommunicado. She’s delighted — but furious, too. She looks at Jesus the way only a mother can — a reminder that any punishment a teacher, or even the police, can dole out will pale in comparison what your mother does!
Meda Stamper connects Jesus’ question of his parents “Why were you searching for me?” with Luke’s account of the resurrection. The angels in Luke 24:5 ask the women, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Likewise, the risen Jesus quizzes the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, “Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer things and then enter into his glory?” It’s a plausible connection, and a reminder of Luke’s theological concerns about being lost and being found, and how it seems we never really are able to lose the One who has come “to reign over the house of Jacob forever.” (Luke 1:33).
But right now, Mary and Joseph’s son confounds them, which is hardly an unusual occurrence. We’re told “he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.” We can only imagine that it was a very quiet trip home.
In the Sermon
Imagining Jesus as a slightly-mouthy pre-adolescent boy may offer some insight into the backstory of Luke 2:41-52, though a preacher should be warned to tread carefully. The church has never been well-served by those who have tried just a smidgeon too hard to sound relevant to youth. Or, as they might tell us, we should be aware of lowkey doing too much.
What cannot be overlooked, however, is the stress and strain of family relationships, both today and in the first century. Jesus’ family, in ways that we have not well explored, had experienced raw and unrelenting trauma. Indeed, as Kelley Nikondeha observes in her recent work The First Advent in Palestine, Jesus’ young body carried the wounds of trauma deep within him. She observes that the lack of references to Jesus ever returning to Bethlehem as an adult is a telling clue. Even as an infant, he had been wounded by those streets that carried the blood of boys close to his age.
A sermon can helpfully name the way Jesus’ separation from his parents is more than just a teenager acting out. At his age, it was common for Jewish children to receive Torah instruction, and we easily imagine him savoring every morsel the teachers served. On the other hand, this separation is a painful reminder that children do grow up. We have said it over and over again, “We wanted our children to be bright, independent, and capable adults — and then they go and do exactly that!”
Growing up in today’s world or in Jesus’ time is not a linear event. This experience is profoundly intrusive into the peace and harmony of their family life, but also so profoundly important. It is disruptive to his parents, no doubt making them question so much about this curious child of theirs. It is disruptive to his community — one imagines the entire caravan came to a halt as Mary and Joseph searched for Jesus. It is painful to watch your children grow up — yet so important, too.
But Jesus’ question is also a reminder of how the trauma he experienced (including the unlikely circumstances of his birth) and how he continues to carry that. He expresses a connection to God that goes well beyond his parent’s religious devotion. Already, he is wrestling with the implications of what it will mean for him to say, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” (Luke 4:18)
We know that the mental health issues faced by Generation Z are enormous. Trauma — whether first or second hand — has been part of their lives. It has shaped who they were as children and will certainly shape who they are as adults. Every generation has been forced to wrestle with trauma, of course. I can’t imagine how my twenty-year-old father dealt with the atrocities of World War II, or how my mother endured being a young bride without having contact with my dad for months. Likewise, I know that my older siblings experienced the trauma of attending college during the Vietnam protests, and that my daughter watched the 9/11 attacks while at school. We all have experienced, to varying degrees, the impact of trauma.
Yet Gen Z has experienced trauma differently. They have also been more vocal about their experiences. Studies consistently show that large percentages of this cohort have been diagnosed with mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, and PTSD. About 29% rate their overall mental health as fair or poor.
Lowkey preacher, here’s your chance. Here is an invitation to speak words of Gospel truth and healing to families who are hurting and consumed with worry. Allow them to find a word that they can ponder within their hearts. Bruh, you got this.
* * * * *
SECOND THOUGHTSMoms And Sons
by Tom Willadsen
Luke 2:41-52, Colossians 3:12-17, "1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26", Psalm 148
In the Scripture
Psalm 148 — Get happy!
You could exegete this text or just show this video from 1950’s “Summer Stock,” starring Judy Garland. C’mon, it’s the week after Christmas, lighten up!
Luke 2:41-52
The Luke texts for both Christmas Eve and Nativity of the Lord/Christmas Day, include 2:19: “But Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (NRSV) Then the shepherds walked off stage for the rest of the gospel.
Today’s text includes a similar inclusion or literary envelope: “His mother treasured all these things in her heart.” (2:51b, NRSV)
Both texts indicate that Mary is observing, and experiencing motherhood of her eldest child, who made John the Baptizer leap in the womb of his mother clear back in chapter one.
A member of my church came to me in high dudgeon after hearing this passage because Mary and Joseph were clearly unfit parents, neglecting their 12 year old! He, of course, activated the GPS feature on his kids’ phone so he could surveil them at all times, as any good parent would. This man also makes a big deal of returning his shopping cart to the appropriate place in the supermarket parking lot, and calls out all citizens who fall short of his conspicuous virtue. I find this guy hard to preach to; he’s never needed grace, and a lot of Sundays, that’s all I’ve got.
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
1 Samuel 2:26: “Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and with the people.” is an inclusio very similar to the ones in Luke 2.
There are other parallels between Jesus’ and Samuel’s birth:
Both conceptions were extraordinary, Samuel’s after Hannah’s years of being tormented by Penninah — who was fecund;
Jesus’ with actual intercourse, per se.
There are strong similarities between The Song of Hannah, 1 Samuel 2:1-10, and the Magnificat, which Mary sings in Luke 1:46-55.
Both women were found pregnant after encounters with Holy Men. In Hannah’s case, the blessing Eli bestows on her feels like an afterthought, 1 Samuel 1:17. In Mary’s case she is cajoled by the angel Gabriel out of her perplexity, before accepting the assignment: “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38, NRSV)
Colossians 3:12-17
These are soaring words of profound encouragement to the Christians in Colossae. Be sure to put them in context; refer back to 3:1-4. Paul reminds us that Christ changes everything about our lives. The peace people long for and pray for at Christmas is this peace that surpasses understanding.
In the News
The most recent school shooting was in Madison, Wisconsin on December 16, at Abundant Life Christian School. In an unusual turn of events, the shooter was female — other details are slowly emerging about her motive. Many people are trying to tie the call for peace at Christmas time, and the need for comfort, to the aftermath of this most recent tragedy.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported December 21, that more than 300 students from Madison West High School marched to the Capitol to demand legislation to limit access to weapons.
Who knows what tragedy will emerge between now (December 21) and the First Sunday after Christmas? The federal government is funded into March. Maybe, at last, Hamas and Israel will find a way to a cease fire. Maybe civil government will start functioning in Syria.
In the Sermon
You really can’t go wrong with Howard Thurman’s moving poem, “The Work of Christmas.”
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among all,
To make music in the heart.
(from The Mood of Christmas, p. 23, published and copyrighted by Friends United Press, 1985)
You can expect attendance to be down, and those in attendance are the most faithful of the faithful. In my congregation that’s the oldest people who can still drive.
I’m going to take a different slant on the Luke text, focusing on Mary. The story is completely different viewed through her eyes.
When my sons were first driving solo, and they arrived late, I felt a lot like Mary did. One of them remembers me saying, “If that boy’s not dead, I’ll kill him!” of his tardy, older brother. Mary might have felt like that after searching for Jesus for a couple days.
Parents know that every milestone in their children’s lives, every step is a step away from needing their nurturing hands, a step away from them. Often there are more tears on the faces of parents that first day of kindergarten than on their apprehensive, yet excited and growing, offspring.
It is not a stretch to find parallels between John Hughes’ classic 1990 film, Home Alone, and Jesus at the temple. Home Alone was nominated for two Academy Award and two Golden Globes. It was the second highest grossing film in the United States in 1990 and was “the highest grossing live-action comedy for two decades.”
Lest you think it’s frivolous: “In 2023, Home Alone was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant’.” (Ibid.)
The story goes that eight year-old Kevin McCallister misses his family’s departure for their Christmas vacation in Paris through a sequence of wacky events. Because John Hughes. His mother realizes Kevin’s not “in the group of travelers” (cf. Luke 2:44) and spends the rest of the movie frantically trying to return to Chicago from Paris. All the flights are full. Kevin, in the meantime, enjoys bachelorhood for a while, befriends his next-door neighbor, who isn’t “The South-Bend Shovel Slayer,” it turns out. He defends himself and the family home from some inept burglars, helps his neighbor reconcile with his estranged son, and is relieved when his mother finally makes it home and they are happily reunited. It’s a happy ending. It may even be a happier ending than, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
Rather than comparing Kevin McCallister and Jesus, why not explore the similarities between Mary and Kevin’s mom, Kate?
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:Colossians 3:12-17
Re-learning Love
The instruction in Colossians tells us to use love as our guide to living with other people.
Anne Lamott says, “I have quoted my own version of a William Blake line for so long now that I like to think it’s mine: We are here to learn to endure the beams of love. I have lived by these words for nearly fifty years, ever since I first read the quote. It is the sentence I want my family to remember when I am gone. (Also, I hope they forget that someone else said it and that I get the credit.)"
She adds that this is hard to learn, going “absolutely contrary to everything I was raised to believe. I was taught to strive, to feel ashamed, to keep the family secrets, to believe I was better than, yet always in danger of lagging behind. I was taught to judge and surpass and above all to showcase a shiny surface of confidence, individualism, and self-sufficiency. We were not a playful family; we were amused. I was taught to observe other people’s mediocrity and general ruin, and to make quiet and arch comments about it. What Blake is saying is that none of those things are who I am or why I am here. But without them, who on earth am I? Still a student? Aging, set in her ways—moi? If you practice enduring people’s bewildering love for you, it will change you molecularly: it loosens you, gooses you, warms you. Bearing the beams of love can dislodge ancient sachets of joy, pain, shame, and pride trapped inside you." (from Somehow: Thoughts on Love)
Love sets everything within us free, by grace.
* * *
Colossians 3:12-17
Clothed in Love
“Clothe yourselves in love,” the Letter to the Colossians says. Will Guidara tells about how his mother embodied that as he was growing up.
His mom was ill for years, and eventually became a quadriplegic. His dad wanted him to be as independent as possible so he sold their home and moved three blocks away from Will’s school. That way, Will recalls, “I wouldn’t have to rely on other people to drive me around, and friends would naturally end up at my house. In junior high, I started playing drums. I played in punk bands, and ska bands, and funk bands—and we rehearsed in my room, which was right above the kitchen, where my mother hung out during the day. Listening to a crew of high school boys stumbling through the iconic opening chords of Nirvana’s “Come as You Are” a thousand times would be a waking nightmare for most people. My mom loved it.”
When his mom needed help from home health aides, his mom “would ask the aide on duty to push her wheelchair to the end of the road to wait for me. She could no longer speak or get up to give me a hug, but she could be there with a huge smile on her face when I got home from school. That smile was all I needed, and it taught me an invaluable lesson—what it’s like to feel truly welcomed."
Love, in full flower!
* * *
Colossians 3:12-17
Loving the World
Exploring the Celtic spiritual path, Christine Sine notes that Celtic saints observed themselves and the world with eyes of love. She says the early Celtic saints saw themselves as “guests of the world, living lightly on this earth and not becoming attached to possessions or to one location. These followers of Christ saw all of life as a pilgrimage, a journey towards God. They believed that we live in perpetual exile, constantly seeking after Christ, and our outward journeys are to reflect our inner transformation. In exiling themselves from the comforts of home, pilgrims taught themselves to rely only on God.”
The world and our fellow travelers are all worthy of love. Sine adds, "Recognizing ourselves as guests and pilgrims affects how we view everything that happens to us. Pilgrims and those who travel frequently do not presume anything. They travel lightly with few possessions, totally dependent on those they meet and the country they pass through. They learn to be grateful for comforts that those who never leave home take for granted. For a guest, each meal, especially a home cooked meal, is a gift of love from the host. Each bed provided for us to sleep in is a generous act of sharing and caring. Every journey accomplished safely is a provision of a caring God. Everything now becomes a gift of God." (from Celtic Advent: Following an Unfamiliar Path)
Every gift from the world shows a sliver of God’s love; every gift to another reflects back the love God gives us.
* * *
Luke 2:41-52
Curiosity
Dr. Jud Brewer says that curiosity is a superpower, and it certainly seems to be one for Jesus. His curiosity tugs him to stay behind in the temple, listening to the rabbis there, after his family leaves for home.
Brewer says that “Curiosity comes in two flavors: pleasant and unpleasant.” He cites work that names two main “flavors of curiosity…I-curiosity and D-curiosity. The I curiosity stands for interest, the pleasurable aspects of the hunger for knowledge. On the other hand, D-curiosity stands for deprivation and fits with the idea that if we have a gap in information, we develop a restless, unpleasant need to know state.” We can wonder which kind of curiosity kept Jesus in the temple.
Brewer says, “Deprivation curiosity is driven by a lack of information, often a specific piece of information...This extends to texting and social media as well. What’s it feel like when someone sends you a text, but you can’t check your phone right away. If you are in a meeting or out to dinner, its as though the fire alarm in your brain has suddenly gone off, and keeps blaring in your head until you check your phone.”
In contrast, I-curiosity develops when we become interested in learning more. “Usually this isn’t a specific piece of information (like the movie star’s name), but a broader category…With interest curiosity, think of getting fascinated with a topic, diving into an internet search and waking up 4 hours later, having quenched that thirst for knowledge. It feels good to learn something new. This is different than having a deficit being filled because there wasn’t a deficit there in the first place per se.”
He adds, “Pop quiz: why do TV shows have cliff hangers? To drive deprivation curiosity -we have to know what happens, so we binge watch!”
In his life, Jesus displays both kinds of curiosity.
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Luke 2:41-52
Jesus Rests in the Temple
In a busy world, filled with violence, Jesus finds a haven in the temple. He’s able to rest, for a while, from all the trauma of living in an occupied country. Tricia Hersey notes that “you cannot simply just tell someone who has been traumatized…to consistently lay down and rest without addressing the reality of our brainwashing. When we finally wake up to the truth of what a machine-level pace of labor has done to our physical bodies, our self-esteem, and our Spirits, the unraveling begins.”
She adds, "We believe rest is a luxury, privilege, and an extra treat we can give to ourselves after suffering from exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Rest isn’t a luxury, but an absolute necessity if we’re going to survive and thrive. Rest isn’t an afterthought, but a basic part of being human. Rest is a divine right. Rest is a human right." (from Rest is Resistance)
As part of his work, Jesus excels at resting, and we see the beginning of that in this story.
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Luke 2:41-52
Use Your Hands
Luke’s gospel notes that Jesus is sitting among the teachers, the traditional posture for students of a rabbi.
Creator Austin Kleon notes that body position is important for learning. He says, "My favorite cartoonist, Lynda Barry, has this saying: “In the digital age, don’t forget to use your digits!” Your hands are the original digital devices. Use them. While I love my computer, I think computers have robbed us of the feeling that we’re actually making things. Instead, we’re just typing keys and clicking mouse buttons. This is why so-called knowledge work seems so abstract…Just watch someone at their computer. They’re so still, so immobile. You don’t need a scientific study (of which there are a few) to tell you that sitting in front of a computer all day is killing you, and killing your work. We need to move, to feel like we’re making something with our bodies, not just our heads. Work that only comes from the head isn’t any good. Watch a great musician play a show. Watch a great leader give a speech. You’ll see what I mean. You need to find a way to bring your body into your work."
Jesus already knows this, and will display this knowledge throughout his life, as he walks, draws in the sand, picks grain, touches people and serves food.
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From team member Katy Stenta:1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
In Samuel we have an illustration that the children are the church of God. Jesus illustrates this later by saying that children are the way to the kingdom of heaven. We like to misconstrue this by saying that children are the “future” of the church, however, that is not what Jesus said. Jesus said that children are the church here and now.
My eldest is sixteen and says that we put too much on kids to solve the world’s problems. They said that frankly, they do not want the responsibility for the world’s problems. However, if we looked at kids not for their “potential” but as gifts from God, now, how would that change how we understand who children are in the church? This makes Samuel’s dedication meaningful in a deep and beautiful way.
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Psalm 148
Is poetry and art seeing praise to God? Sometimes I marvel at the way music speaks to humanity and think about how music affects the body. It can help with chronic pain, cope with stress, and help to calm people. Peer scientific research studies have shown the effectiveness of music as a kind of therapy. Thus, I think about how there are ways to help the world threaded throughout nature. This song to God seems to be a way to think through our inter-connectedness and the ways in which God wants us to thrive — and that praising God actually helps us. I am always amazed that we are built this way.
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Colossians 3:12-17
Forgiving one another as a reflection of the forgiveness that God has given us is interesting. My Aunt recently remarked that our God-image-bearing is one of the few reasons to honor and respect one another. In a recent study, there has been a downturn in emotional intelligence and wellbeing across the board. This Bible passage acknowledges we have to be intentional about using our emotions. We need to remember that God gave us forgiveness and empathy, and that we need to remember that we are each made in God’s image. Therefore forgiveness is based not in human apologies or actions — but in the fact that God has created a forgiveness that is deep enough that we can work out of that.
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Luke 2:41-52
One time my four-year-old sister got lost so badly in our small western Pennsylvania neighborhood that we had to look for her for almost an hour. I was about eight so it felt much longer. We had neighbors looking. My parents were pastors and we lived across the street from the church, which took up the whole block, so we looked high and low, at friends’ houses, etc. She was the age where she knew better than to go anywhere without an older sibling or an adult, but still...
Finally, when my mom was about to call the police, my brother spied her in the garage, asleep on a mattress in storage. The door had been open just a little bit. My parents were very worried, but of course didn’t yell — more gave her a mild scold and a hug. I think about how, when you are relieved after you find a child, you want to both scream and yell at them, and also hold them forever.
Mary’s admonishment here is very practical — how could you go missing for days? Don’t you know that we love you and therefore would be worried about you? Jesus’s response of “I knew I was fine” is typically exasperating from a tween. I think we all love this story because it is fully human. Jesus was normal, and had never lost a child and worried about them? How can we not relate to Jesus and his parents in this story?
And don’t we all love that they are still a family at the end? It is the essence of the Biblical message — things are frustrating, people are trying to differentiate themselves, humans are annoying, and yet we are all still family at the end.
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WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights!
All: Praise God, all you angels; praise God, all heavenly host!
One: Praise God, sun and moon and all you shining stars!
All: Praise God, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
One: Praise God young men and women alike, old and young together!
All: Let us praise the name of the Lord whose name alone is exalted.
OR
One: God calls us here as Jesus was called to the temple.
All: We come to learn and grow in God’s grace.
One: God sees us as we are and as what we can become.
All: With God’s grace we will grow into God’s likeness.
One: Rejoice in all the potential God has created within you.
All: We are truly blessed by a loving, creator God.
Hymns and Songs
Angels from the Realms of Glory
UMH: 220
H82: 93
PH: 22
GTG: 143
AAHH: 207
NNBH: 85
NCH: 126
CH: 149
LBW: 50
ELW: 275
W&P: 189
AMEC: 119
O Little Town of Bethlehem
UMH: 230
H82: 78/79
PH: 43/44
GTG: 121
AAHH: 204
NNBH: 90
NCH: 133
CH: 144
LBW: 41
ELW: 279
W&P: 180
AMEC: 109
STLT: 246/247
O Come, All Ye Faithful
UMH: 234
H82: 83
PH: 41/42
GTG: 133
AAHH: 199
NNBH: 93
NCH: 135
CH: 148
LBW: 45
ELW: 283
W&P: 182
AMEC: 106
STLT: 253
O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright
UMH: 247
PH: 69
GTG: 827
NCH: 158
CH: 105
LBW: 76
ELW: 308
W&P: 230
That Boy-Child of Mary
UMH: 241
PH: 55
GTG: 139
ELW: 293
W&P: 211
Our Parent, by Whose Name
UMH: 447
LBW: 357
ELW: 640
Be Thou My Vision
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
GTG: 450
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELW: 793
W&P: 502
AMEC: 281
STLT: 20
Renew: 151
I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
UMH: 540
H82: 524
PH: 441
GTG: 310
NNBH: 302
NCH: 312
CH: 274
LBW: 368
W&P: 549
AMEC: 515/517
Break Thou the Bread of Life
UMH: 599
PH: 329
GTG: 460
AAHH: 334
NNBH: 295
NCH: 321
CH: 321
LBW: 235
ELW: 515
W&P: 665
AMEC: 209
Thy Word Is a Lamp
UMH: 601
GTG: 458
CH: 326
W&P: 664
Renew: 94
Seek Ye First
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
GTG: 175
CH: 354
W&P: 349
CCB: 76
Refiner’s Fire
CCB: 79
Father, I Adore You
CCB: 64
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who created all things to grow into maturity:
Grant us the wisdom to grow into you likeness
so that we may be like Jesus, our elder brother;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you created all things to grow and mature. As Jesus grew and matured into his role, help us to mature into your likeness. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially when we refuse to grow up.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. So often we act like little children who think the world revolves around us. We want to be coddled and pampered instead of learning how to take care of others. Forgive us our foolish, childish ways and bless us as we try to grow in your Spirit. Amen.
One: God loves us as children and like a good parent delights when we grow up. Receive God’s forgiveness and blessing and share that blessing with all.
Prayers of the People
We bless and praise your Name, O God, because you are our parent who delights in us when we are infants and when we grow into mature persons. You have gifted us with your own Spirit that your image may shine forth in all we say and do.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. So often we act like little children who think the world revolves around us. We want to be coddled and pampered instead of learning how to take care of others. Forgive us our foolish, childish ways and bless us as we try to grow in your Spirit.
We give you thanks for the gift of growing and changing. We thank you for the freedom you give us to develop into our own unique reflection of you. We thank you for those who have nurtured us and helped us take our place as Jesus’ disciples.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for the needs of all creation. We pray for those who are not given the freedom to grow into your likeness. We lift up to you in joy those who work to help others grow up asking your blessing of them. Send your Spirit upon us all that we may become the people you created us to be.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
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CHILDREN’S SERMONThe Gratitude Attitude
by Dean Feldmeyer
Colossians 3:12-17
You Will Need: One box wrapped like a Christmas gift. Place it in the center of the group as they gather.
When The Children Have Gathered And Are Seated:
Welcome everyone and ask how their Christmas went. Did they get presents? Did they have good food? Did they see friends and relatives? Did they go to church? Oh, yeah, they're here so I guess they went to church, right?
Relate how Christmas is not just one day but 12 and today is the 4th day of Christmas. Our emphasis for the 4th day of Christmas is Gratitude. Today, we stop for a moment and say thank you.
We say thank you to our parents and the other people for the gifts they gave us and the food they prepared for us.
We say thank you to the people who worked on Christmas so we would be safe to enjoy the holiday -- police officers, fire fighters, nurses, doctors, pastors, some store workers, etc. Who else?
After a moment redirect the conversation from "what" to "how." How do we say thank you to these people?
* Well, one way is just to say it out loud. Let's thank God for all the things God gives us, especially for Jesus. "Thank you, God."
* Another way is to writer a thank you note or card and send it. Have you ever done that? Who's someone that you could send a thank you card to? What would you say?
* Another way you can thank someone, especially if they are close by, (and this is my favorite way to say thank you) is with a hug. Did you say thank you with a hug for someone this Christmas? Maybe mom or dad or grandpa or grandma or some special friend?
The Bible tells us that one of the ways we tell other people about God's love is by being thankful (or grateful) and saying thank you.
So, let's just do that one more time, this morning, okay? Ready? Here we go.... Thank you, God!
End with a prayer of thanks and thank the kids for coming to church, today.
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The Immediate Word, December 29, 2024 issue.
Copyright 2024 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
