AT THE FIRST OF THE YEAR: FIRST THINGS FIRST
(Colossians 3:12-17; Luke 2:41-52; Ct-1 [C])
Scripture (NRSV):
Colossians 3:12-17
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Luke 2:41-52
Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was telve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 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. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding as his answers. 48 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." 49 He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?" 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.
I. [Introduction]
A. THE TURN OF A NEW YEAR IS A TIME for many of us to take stock of where we are, and where we’re going.
1. # That’s what a lot of our behavior is about around the first of the year, one way or another:
a. our "New Year’s resolutions"
b. even watching the "ball" drop (on a rolling basis across time zones), the hoopla, the New Year’s kisses – it’s about, if nothing else, taking stock of the fact that we’re alive and getting mentally ready for what’s next
2. For a lot of folks, it’s a time to ask basic questions about life: "Who am I?" "Where am I going?" "What is my life about – what’s its purpose, and am I getting any closer to realizing it?"
B. We need to ask these questions from time to time, to take stock of where we are – otherwise, we can get lost
1. [# Recent excursion with the boys to Manassas Battlefield Park – seeing the great film in visitor’s center and following the First Manassas Trail – seeing cool stuff like the house sites, old cemetery, Stone Bridge – but trail not well-marked, not much comfort / confidence about where trail was, conversations and concerns about getting lost, rain, finally picking up the trail]
2. We need trail markers! Knowing where you are, and where you’re going, and why, is at least a matter of comfort, and can be a critical issue
C. The readings from Colossians and Luke invite such questions, too:
1. What’s the guiding principle of my life? And how do I flesh that out in community with others?
2. How do I put "first things first"?
II. [Relating the Scripture]
Fortunately, the Scripture readings not only give us some insight into the questions, but also into how we can answer them.
A. [Luke]
Luke’s lesson is the well-known story about the boy Jesus in the temple
1. Year by year, there were three festivals for which the men of the Jewish nation were to present themselves at the temple for worship: the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Pentecost, and (most important) the Passover
a. there was some discussion about whether women and children had to attend or not
b. and there was some allowance for those who lived a long way from the temple and could not easily make the trip
c. but the basic requirement was that the men of the family had to go up, at least to the Passover – and the discussion makes it clear that many pious families (such as Jesus’ family) all went up
2. This particular episode occurs when Jesus is 12 – in other words, a year before he would become a man under Jewish law (as is celebrated today at a boy’s bar mitzvah)
3. The festival was seven days long; so on the eighth day, Mary and Joseph set out to return home to Nazareth
a. now, one of the things that stands out about this passage is the very ordinariness of it, at least at the beginning
i. for one thing, we don’t see any evidence of heroic or supernatural behavior, or the expectation that there would be any
ii. this is striking, because in the ancient world it was common (as even in modern times) to write (or create) great stories about great figures, even with superhuman powers
iii. and there are writings that come down to us from ancient times, not included in our NT Scripture, which do just that – that make Jesus a figure that looks like a souped-up Hercules or Achilles, even acting in ways that are downright disturbing – these were later works that were rightly excluded from our NT
iv. but there’s not even an echo here of the wonderful events that surrounded Jesus’ birth (the angels, shepherds, Magi, prophetic words in the temple itself) – it’s as though it’s been quiet for 10 years or so, and all that has receded to the background, maybe even been almost forgotten by Mary and Joseph themselves
b. and one of the most "normal" aspects of this passage, is the example of good parenting given by Mary and Joseph
i. you can feel in the passage a little bit of the struggle between giving Jesus (who is just a year away from cultural adulthood at that time) some liberty, and trusting that He knows what to do – and the parental need and responsibility to keep up with Him
ii. so after a day of not seeing Him hanging with them (no surprise there, right?), they start looking around to see where He might be – and they can’t find him: not with the friends, not with the relatives
iii. if there’s one thing that’s vastly worse than being lost yourself, it’s when your kid is lost – and now, they’re thinking not "almost-man", they’re thinking "boy" [JX6<@< - teknon] (a point emphasized in v.48) – and blind panic sets in
c.. they go back to Jerusalem; they search high and low; and finally, they find Him! – Whew! That’s a relief! Back to normal!
d. only things are not exactly normal: Jesus is discussing the Torah with the elders in the temple; and the wording of the passage, which says Jesus was "in the midst of them" makes it clear that He’s in the center, which is the teacher’s position
i. if you’ve seen Fiddler on the Roof, and remember Reb Tevya singing "If I Were a Rich Man", you’ll remember the cultural ideal of having the privilege of sitting among the holy men and discussing the Scriptures all day long
ii. well, here is Jesus doing that – Jesus, who at 12 has not yet been raised to "manhood" yet – sitting among the elders as the Holy Man of holy men
iii. in fact, it says that those who heard him were amazed (v.47) at his answers: in Luke, "amazement" is code language for "something extraordinary, indeed, something supernatural, something divine, is going on here!"
4. His parents obviously are in the same state that any of us as parents would be in: they want to laugh, cheer, weep, and slap Him silly all at the same time!
a. His mother says: "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety."
b. you realize, don’t you, that that’s been toned down by Luke for church use ...!
i. "In the temple you sit! So you’re a teacher now, are you? You don’t even care that your father and I have been three days turning Jerusalem upside down, questioning everyone from here to Galilee! Even the goyim we’ve been questioning, may God forgive us! Not that it makes any difference to you! No, please, don’t even give it a thought!"
ii. I’m sure there was more than a little hint of a suggestion in their reaction that if Jesus were really so spiritual, if He were doing His religious duty like He should, He wouldn’t be putting His parents through all that
5. And Jesus does go back to Nazareth with them, and Luke tells us (v.51) that He was obedient to them
a. in fact, Luke even goes on to stress the normalcy of what came immediately after (v.52): Jesus grew in wisdom and in years (or stature – in other words, maturity), and in favor – in other words, "loveableness", "likeability"
b. all that happens; but first, there’s Jesus’ reply to Mary and Joseph in v.49 – and it should hit us like it must have hit them, like a thunderclap: "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my father’s house?"
i. this passage is the transition between the Infancy Narrative and the main part of the gospel, beginning with Jesus’ baptism and entry into ministry in Lk 3
ii. and the break is clear: things may have seemed "normal", but Jesus, even as a boy, has a consciousness of who He is and what His purpose is
iii. not Joseph (his putative father and guardian) but God, is the Father that Jesus identifies with
iv. and we can even feel the tug that Mary and Joseph must have felt, that every parent feels when the boy gives way to the man (or the girl to the woman) and begins to set his own course in life
v. but there’s something else here, too: the difference between religious faith and calling as defined by obligation, convention, and restriction (as in the parents’ question) – on the one hand, and religious faith and spirituality as marked by purpose on the other (as in Jesus’ reply) – the difference between religion as allowability and religion as possibility, between spirituality as simply permission (on the one hand) and faith as being about life-mission (on the other)
B. [Colossians]
But what do we do with that possibility? That’s where the Colossians passage comes in
1. Paul lists five virtues that should mark the Christian’s life, that we are to grow into as followers of Christ:
a. compassion
b. kindness
c. humility
d. meekness
e. patience
2. He then calls us to a spirit of forgiveness with one another, and to a life of peace – both in our hearts and among each other, and to love
3. He exhorts us to an "attitude of gratitude", and to a heart of worship
a. worship not only as something we do, but as the spirit of who we are
4. But notice that none of these are limits: they are hallmarks and touchstones, not limiting factors or barriers for us
a. if you want to think about it this way: they are guideposts along the way, the manner of our travelling, but they are neither the destination nor the journey itself
III. [Finding the Center and Leading from It: What Do You Base Your Life On?]
What is the center of your life, and how are you living from that center? In other words, what do you base your life on, and where do you go with that?
A. This is one of the key developmental questions of adolescence, the passage from childhood into adulthood
1. And as we’ve seen, this is the transitional passage between the infancy (or childhood) of Jesus into His adult ministry
2. I think it’s wonderful to see that developmental phase playing out, even in the Lord’s life – another sign of the reality of His incarnation, and another sign of His ability to understand us and relate to our passages and struggles and growth (even if there is a new wrinkle here)
B. But this is also an issue that we come back to, time and again, even as adults
1. Even as we are dealing with later issues in life
a. such as establishing ourselves in the world of our peers
b. such as bridging to the next generation
c. such as dealing with the question, "What is my legacy? What has been the meaning of my life?"
d. even as we deal with these, we again and again focus on the question of "What is the center? And how do I live out of that?"
C. People base their lives on many things
1. For some, it is stuff – acquiring as much as possible, and holding on to it
#
Take, for instance, the example of Edwin Gallart: he’s the man who tied up the New York transit system for a couple of hours right in the middle of the evening rush hour back in October of 2003, after he accidentally dropped his cell phone down a toilet on a commuter train along the Metro-North line. The clog created by the cell phone would have been merely inconvenient – but the unfortunate Gallart stuck his arm down the into the toilet to extricate the phone – and it got caught in the U-bend. He couldn’t get his phone out – or his arm. The train was evacuated of passengers, but because the train was blocking the line, nothing moved. Fire fighters and police were called in to help, and ended up having to dismantle the entire toilet to free Gallart. One official for the line commented: "When his cell phone went down the toilet, so did our evening rush hour, so did thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money, so did our "on time" performance. Everything went down the toilet with it." When asked, the official said that the rail line was "not particularly interested" in following up on a request to go through the toilet’s waste tank to retrieve the lost phone.a. that’s kind of an extreme example – but it does illustrate how a preoccupation with things can distort our lives, and even have a big negative impact on the lives of those around us
2. For others, it’s inventing an image and then trying to live around it or into it
a. this is something that celebrities have done for years, but it’s now within the reach of everyone who has access to internet technology
b. # This may be one of the reasons for the huge success of sites like the MySpace.com website – designed for adults but hugely popular with teens – which allows for the creation of an identity (even a false one, or a number of made-up ones) with the aim of appealing as many friends (real or virtual) as possible
c. the existence of sites like MySpace.com raises the question of how well we do with helping others – whether children or adults – discover who they are and who they can be, according to their personalities, temperaments, gifts, and heart
3. For still others, it’s having a goal and chasing it. That’s important! But it can beg the question: is it the right goal? Will it bring life and joy and fulfillment?
a. # Jon Krakauer’s book Into the Wild, for instance, tells the story of a young man named Chris McCandless – from Northern Virginia, in fact -- who set out in search of a dream of solitary living close to nature. He gave away his money and abandoned his possessions, changed his name, and set out along the Stampede Trail west of Fairbanks, Alaska, finding refuge in an abandoned city bus. As Krakauer tells the story, there is much to be admired in the young man’s sense of adventure (if not his hubris), and his effort to live off the land. But there is a great tragedy about his death: he died alone in an area frequented by hunters; he died of starvation, apparently from eating the wrong kind of seeds that depleted and poisoned him, when ample food stores were within his grasp. It is the story of tremendous promise – and high ideals – but in the end, a tragic waste.
b. having a goal, a dream, and pursuing it is an important part of a full and successful life – but is it a life-giving goal? and is it pursued in a way which fulfills, or takes away from life?
IV. [Spirituality and Its Dangers]
In the Church, of course, we talk in terms of spirituality and the importance of faith in life. And this is true – but even here, we want to be careful what we do with it; because faith can work in one of two ways, one healthy, the other not
A. # [Peg or Compass] Faith can be likened to a point and a circle, working together
1. I’m sure you’ve been at houses where people have a dog tied up in the back yard – perhaps chained, as to a peg in the ground. They have a certain freedom of movement, but only within a prescribed area – the circle of their world is defined by the limits of that peg and chain or rope. A point, and a circle. And some people come at faith in this way.
2. A compass is also about a point, and a circle. Two points, really: the point where one is standing, and the point that is magnetic North. The circle around you, and the circle which is described by the compass dial, does not define the limits (as the peg and circle do for the dog), so much as it calibrates the possibilities. A point, a circle – but one that doesn’t bound the world; rather, it opens it. That’s another way of coming at faith, at spiritual life.
3. One of the traps I think we have allowed ourselves to fall into in the modern Church in the West, is that we have seen faith too much as being like the peg and rope, rather than the compass.
B. We often fall into this, I think, even in the way that we talk about the "will of God".
1. Often, you will hear Christian leaders talk about living into God’s will for your life, in terms of "discovering God’s plan"
a. that’s a great concept – but the image that comes to mind (at least for me) is a blueprint; and it suggests that there is a definite master sketch out there in the mind of God that we’re supposed to identify, and come as close to matching as possible, so as not to screw it up
i. again, there may be occasions when that’s a useful image – but in the main, I think it doesn’t give God enough credit, or give His genius enough credit for how He designed us to participate in His work
b. I think a better image of the "plan" would be, not a blueprint, but a chart – like a nautical chart or an aviation chart
i. it’s not a plan to be divined and then conformed to, but a plan to guide our creative energies into making a safe and successful passage to where we’re going
ii. it shows where the shoals are, or the obstructions piercing the sky – and helps the skilled and unskilled alike to plot a course, and avoid the dangers, and make the journey
2. I don’t mean to say that God doesn’t have purposes and directions in mind for how He created us. But I do mean that, rather than seeing faith as something which narrows and bounds life, we do far better – and are more in keeping with God’s creative purpose – in seeing it as something which is meant immeasurably to broaden and expand life
a. a ship at anchor is as safe as it can be – but it goes nowhere
b. a ship in a harbor doesn’t need much to guide it except the shoreline within sight – and it’s safe, too – but that’s not what ships are built for (except maybe ferries, tugs, and water taxis)
c. a ship is for sailing the open seas, steering by the compass and the stars – it’s more dangerous, but also more exciting – that’s its purpose
3. This, I believe, is at one level what the conversation is between Mary and Jesus in the Luke passage
a. Mary says, "Don’t you know that your love of us and of God is bounded by your family obligations?"
b. to which Jesus is answering, "No. I love you, Mom – but my life is defined not by the circle of home and expectations, but by the compass of my Father’s calling and purpose."
c. and a chart for that journey is given us by Jesus’ disciple, Paul, in Colossians: not as a blueprint of do’s and don’ts, but as a chart to guide our passage
V. [Summary / Conclusion]
So where does that leave us on this Sunday at the turning of the year?
A. First of all, is Jesus Christ the center of your life? If not, I would urge you, today, to make a decision to make Him so.
B. Then, I would encourage you with some of the advice and pastoral counsel that you would expect me to do, at this point
1. To re-devote yourself to the spiritual practices and disciplines of prayer, searching the Scripture, and meeting together with other believers that will sustain you along the way
a. if those have gotten away from you, or not gotten the attention they should this past year, this is a good time to confess that to God, and make a fresh start
2. To re-consecrate the relationships in your life, developing those which need to be, nurturing those which need a touch from you, and above all looking for ways of introducing people to the Lord Jesus – whether by sharing your faith, or simply inviting someone to come to worship with you
3. To re-dedicate yourself to fulfilling the holy passion that our holy God has given you for the things you care very much about, and the talents He has given you – whether in work, or a craft, or an art, or study, or the hallowing of your spare time ... any and all of these
C. But above all, I would urge you to ask the question – prayerfully, before God – "Who am I as a Christian? Who am I in your sight? And where would you have me to go based on that identity, which you have given me and are developing in me, even now?"
1. This morning, as we reaffirm our covenant together in a time-honored Wesleyan fashion, let that be part of your prayer even in the self-rededication
2. And see this coming year of 2007 as a new sea – with some rough water or aggravating calms, perhaps, with its shoals and hazards, certainly – but also with its vistas and destinations
3. Take your bearings from the sextant of His word, and trim your sails to be filled with His Spirit ... and let’s go!
Sources:
The Holy Scripture
Homiletics
JBC
Marshall (NIGTC) - Lk
NIB (Culpepper, Lincoln) - Lk, Col
Stein (NAC) - Lk
Charles L. Harrell
Rockville, Maryland: Faith United Methodist Church
31 December 2006
S.D.G.