All mighty God, we thank you for your word and the way that you in it revealed to us who you are and what you've done for us in Christ. Now as we open that word we pray that your spirit may be present, that all thoughts of worry or distraction may be removed and that the Spirit will allow us to hear your voice. And so, oh God, fill us with your spirit through the reading and proclamation of your word this day. We pray in Jesus name. Amen
The Holy Gospel comes to us today from Luke the 2nd chapter, beginning at the 41st verse.
Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming 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. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When 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.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor. (Luke 2:41-52, NRSV)
Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
"MY FATHER'S BUSINESS"
I. INTRODUCTION
We have come to that time in the year again when people are talking about New Year’s Resolutions. Have you made any yet, for the year ahead? Where did that tradition come from anyway, making New Year’s Resolutions? It actually started a long long time ago, in the nation of Babylon. They always ended the year by resolving to do things that they should have done the year before. Their resolutions were more simple, and more easy to keep, than the ones we make today: “I resolve to return the farm equipment I borrowed last month,” would be an example you might hear.
Today, we make resolutions about losing weight, exercising more, spending more time with family – things that sound good, but are hard to keep. What are your New Year’s resolutions? Today, a twelve-year-old boy is going to teach us a new year’s resolution. A seventh-grader. Today, in our Gospel lesson, Jesus speaks to us – and the lesson he teaches us is probably one of the best new year’s resolutions you could make for the year 2019. Let’s see what that is.
II. JESUS AND HIS PARENTS GO TO JERUSALEM
Our Gospel lesson describes Mary and Joseph as a very devout family – every year they went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. As a twelve year old, Jesus went with them, and there they spent the week, as was their custom.
After the feast was over, Mary and Joseph began the trip back home, to Nazareth. Now remember, back then, walking was the main mode of transportation. Often, people would travel in big groups – it was safer, and the time went by faster. I picture Mary and Joseph traveling with their extended family, friends, and fellow Jews who lived up north. In groups like these, the adults would often walk together, and the children would separate into their own group to play and do other things, just as children do today. It was a three-day walk back to Nazareth, and so on the first night of their trip back home, Mary and Joseph set up camp and looked for Jesus among the group. But they couldn’t find him. He wasn’t with the other children. He wasn’t with their relatives, their friends. Jesus was missing. He was gone, without a trace.
If you were a parent, and you couldn’t find your child, you would probably start to panic, after awhile, and rightly so. There are all kinds of bad reasons why children go missing. Mary and Joseph were very upset, and so they returned to Jerusalem, and looked for him for three days. All kinds of questions, I’m sure, were racing through their minds, questions like, “Is he lost? Has he been abducted? Is he alive? Is he hurt?” Finally, we are told, they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. I picture Mary and Joseph coming around the corner and there is Jesus, the twelve year old boy, interacting with the teachers at the temple. We are told in verse 47 that “everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.”
III. JESUS ABOUT HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS
And then, Mary rebuked Jesus by saying, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” But Jesus, the twelve year old boy, doesn’t respond by saying, “I’m sorry.” Instead, he teaches his parents something that they didn’t expect to learn that day. He says in verse 49: “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house [or about my Father’s business]?”
Mary and Joseph didn’t understand what Jesus was saying to them. What does that mean, that Jesus “had to be about his Father’s business?” You see, even at the young age of twelve, Jesus knew that he was not just the son of Mary. He was the Son of God. And even at a young age, Jesus knew that his purpose in life was not just to play and be a good son and grow up. He knew that he was on this earth for a greater purpose – he had a divine mission to fulfill, to be the Savior of all mankind. And part of that mission was spending time in God’s Word – listening to the teachers, asking them questions, filling himself with the words and promises of God that are found in the Scripture. That was his Father’s business. It was so important that he came up missing from the group returning to Nazareth.
Ultimately, this twelve year old boy would grow up to become the greatest teacher the Jews had ever known, carrying out his Father’s business. But even more importantly, Jesus would someday be about his Father’s business by dying on a cross. That was his ultimate mission in life – to be the Savior of all mankind. Yes, he was still a good son to his parents – the Bible says that Jesus returned home after that day and obeyed his mother and father. But he had a greater mission, a more important, divine mission – to be about his Father’s business as the Savior of the world. That was his number one priority.
IV. ABOUT YOUR FATHER'S BUSINESS
Do you realize that you have a divine mission in your life? You are not just here to work, pay bills, raise kids, socialize, work more, pay more bills, etc. That really is not why God has placed you on this planet. You have a greater purpose, a deeper purpose – and that is to “be about your Father’s business.” That’s why you are here. God’s business can be summed up in five words. Why are you here? First and foremost, to HEAR the Word of God. God wants that to be a big part of your life. And as you hear the Word of God, God’s business includes that you CONFESS your sins. God’s business also means that you RECEIVE the forgiveness of sins from Christ. As that happens, you also receive the Holy Spirit, who CHANGES you for the better. And as you change, you grow into a person who GLORIFIES God in the way you live your life. That’s God’s business – to HEAR his Word, to CONFESS your sins, to RECEIVE Christ’s forgiveness, to CHANGE for the better, and to GLORIFY God. That’s why God has placed you on this earth – to be about your Father’s business.
Has that been a priority for you in 2018? Or, like many people today, do you say, “I’m too busy to do that sort of thing regularly. I have too many other things to do.” Is God’s business for you a priority, or is it something you do only if you have nothing else going on in your life? For Jesus, it was so important, that he “came up missing.” Are you willing to “come up missing” because you are busy going about your Father’s business?
Some of you, this past Christmas Eve, may have decided to come up missing from Christmas Eve family gatherings. That’s a difficult thing to do. They rearranged things so that they could hear the Word of God and worship Christ on Christmas. That’s what happens, when you “go about your Father’s business” – sometimes, you come up missing – the family gathering has to wait while the Word of God comes first.
Was that you, in 2018? What about sports – in 2018, were you willing to sacrifice sports, rearrange your schedule, sometimes come up missing from a sporting event, so that you could go about your Father’s business? Or, in 2018, did you push the Word of God to the side? Something had to give, and so you sacrificed your Father’s business. That is idolatry, you know. Was that you in 2018? Or what about work? What about those projects at home? Were they first? Or was your Father’s business first?
V. RESOLUTION FOR 2019
Today, I would like to recommend a New Year’s resolution to you, and that is to make God’s Word, your Heavenly Father’s business, top priority in 2019. It all starts with confessing your sins to your Heavenly Father. Don’t hesitate to do that – look back on the year 2018 and confess all your sins to God – confess all the times you have let your Heavenly Father’s business go by the way side so that you could pursue the things of this world.
Confess, and then what – confess, and then receive forgiveness from Christ for all of your sins. Do you realize that Jesus Christ has already paid for all of your sins on the cross? They have been washed away by his blood. You are completely forgiven in the eyes of God. Receive Christ’s free forgiveness, and then let the Holy Spirit change you for the better. As you receive Christ’s forgiveness, the Holy Spirit will change you, more and more, into a person who makes God’s Word a top priority in your life. And then you will become someone who glorifies God.
God’s business, God’s Word – in 2019 – let that be your priority. It is possible to be a family man, and to have God’s Word as a priority. Actually, you’ll be a better family man. It is still possible to be involved in sports, to work lots of hours, to complete all kinds of projects at home – it’s possible to do all kinds of things, AND to have God’s business be the top priority. That does mean that at times, you’ll have to sacrifice something, or put off something. At times, you may have to “come up missing” from something. Put God’s business, God’s Word first, in 2019. And you will be blessed, much more blessed than someone who throws it by the way side because he is “too busy.”
VI. CONCLUSION
Someone once said that a Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t. God’s business, God’s Word – here you find Christ, born on Christmas, for the sole purpose of taking away your sins. Here you see him dying on the cross, in order to save your soul. Here he rises from the dead, promising to you the gift of eternal life. Here, Christ blesses you, fills you with joy and peace and the kind of love that only God can give. That’s God’s business. Let that be your top priority in 2019, and you will be blessed. Amen.
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The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
The twelve year old Jesus gives us a New Year’s resolution to strive for in 2019
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