The Things of My Father

Luke 2:41-52

2/3/10

 

41    Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

49    “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

51    Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

 

 

 

Back in those days they would travel in caravans with relatives. Whole villages would often travel together and keep an eye on each other’s children. That’s how Jesus’ parents could lose track of him. Joseph might have thought that he was with Mary, Mary might have thought he was with one of the relatives.

After traveling for a day however they realized that he wasn’t with their group. They hurried back to Jerusalem and spent another day looking for him. Finally, they found him after 3 days. He was in the temple, listening and asking questions. “Why have you treated us this way” his mother would exclaim.

Jesus’ reply was most interesting: “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s House?” That’s how the New international version translates it. King James version puts it this way “Wist ye not that I must be about my father’s business”. So which is it that Jesus feels compelled to be involved in his Father’s House or his Fathers Business? The answer is Yes...it’s both and all. The original Greek puts it this way “Did you not know that it was necessary for me to be about the things of my father.” Which includes house and business.

This reply had a couple of important lessons for us today.

First, it has something to say about our identity. Speaking to his mother, probably in front of his Father, Jesus tells them he is concerned for his Father’s business. No he was not referring to Joseph. Before his own father, he was talking about another father, his heavenly Father. Jesus , at the age of twelve knows who he is! He is not just the Son of Mary and Joseph, but the Son of God!

So do you know who you are? John 1:12-13 says “Yet all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Galatians 3:26 says “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” By your baptism and by your faith you were reborn; born into the the family of God; born to be his Sons and his daughters!

So what does that mean? It means so many things! First and foremost, you can think of him as your Father. Yes, that is the term that we should use when we think of him. With this term God “...tenderly invites us to believe that he is our true father and that we are his true children so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father” says Luther.

So what does having a Father mean? It means that you have someone who cares for you deeply; someone who loves you; someone who provides for you; someone who will protect you with all necessary force; someone who has promised to make all things work out for your good. We’re talking about one who has a special place in his heart for you. Father’s you know about this don’t you. In private moments as you watch your children play on the floor before you, though you may never admit it, sometimes the tiniest of tiny tears will form in the corner of your eye as you watch them. That’s how your father in heaven feels about you.

“How can he feel that way?” “I’ve not been that great a person! I’ve done some bad things” That’s why Jesus is so central to our relationship. By dying for us on the cross, he has made it so all our sins and lawless deeds are not even recalled. When our Father looks at us he sees not our sins, but his beloved Sons and Daughters.

One of the most fearful things for me when I was a child was the thought of losing my parents. They’d go out on Friday nights and leave us with a baby sitter. The sitter would put me to bed and lay there and worry about my parents making it home safe. For you see, in the big scary world, My Father and my Mother were something steady to hold onto...anchors, if you will.

Now that I’ve grown up, I’m now called to be one of these anchors, but you know the world is still scary and I find I too need an anchor and that is My Father in Heaven. He is the Ancient of Days, My Fortress, My Rock of Ages, the Rock upon which I build my house. Without him, I would be frightened out of my wits, but with him, I am able to make my stand. You who worry, you who who fret, you who grieve....Turn to your Father in Heaven, for you are his children by faith in Jesus.

Our Identity is: children of God. Our purpose? We are to be about our Father’s business. That’s the other thing we learn from this statement of Jesus: We are to be concerned about our father’s business. There are a number of parables that Jesus gave about a business owner who went away for a long time, giving his servants charge of his stuff. When he returns he asks “And what did you do with my stuff?” With the understanding that they were meant to use what he gave them in accordance with his will.

So it is with us, Our life, our talents, our education, our families our friendships, our possessions and money; everything that we have and everything that we are has been given to us on loan by God. We are accountable to him as to how we use it. And when he returns or when we die, we will be asked to give an accounting of what we did with our lives. Were are lives characterized by love? Or Hatred? Were we generous or were we miserly? Were we faithful? Or unfaithful? Actually all of this can be funneled down into one word: Love. Did we Love? Do we love? That’s what’s so often missing in the world is Love. But you who have been and are loved by God in Christ Jesus are now expected to Love not only God but also other people. You serve God by serving others in love.

To serve God you don’t have to necessarily go any place, You don’t have to cross the ocean or anything like this all you got to do is look across the table in your own home. These are people whom God has given you to love. Or look across the street, these too are people whom God has given you to love.

The Commandments are simply step by step instructions on how to love. You may have noticed that the commandments have a negative side as in don’t do this and don’t do that, but they also have the positive side. Don’t murder your neighbor, but help him make his life better. Don’t take your neighbors wife, but also help him to strengthen his marriage. Don’t steal your neighbor’s stuff, but also help him look after his stuff, watch his house for him and the like. Don’t wreck your neighbors reputation by lying, but also help build his reputation. This is all being about God’s business. And you can do all this kind of stuff as you do whatever it is you do for your vocation. It’s not really that confusing is it? Do we really have to think about it that much? He gave us the ten commandments and said: “Do this!”

And please don’t do this thinking that your going to earn yourself eternity. Do it because God has given you eternity in his Son.

It addition to the Ten Commands...there is also that Command that Jesus himself gave us just before he left: “Go therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you.” Along with the Love we are to bring to the world, we are also called to communicate the Love he has for us through the giving of his Son. Our Father in heaven really doesn’t want to send anyone to hell. Oh, no he does not delight in the death of the wicked. He want’s the wicked to turn and be saved. He wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. His whole purpose in sending Jesus into the world was to save people from everlasting death and give life. This too is his business. This too we, by virtue of our sonship we should find necessary.

Here some of us will cross the oceans and cross cultural boundarys Here some of us will become missionaries. Some, not all. Those of us who stay home; who are not called to serve in these ways can and should support this mission. This is why we give to both our local congregations and also missionaries. Because we understand that we are to be about our father’s business.

And again, don’t think that giving your money or even giving of yourself earns you a place in God’s kingdom, you give because you already have such a place by the blood of Jesus Christ and you now want to be about your Father’s business.

So we see in this twelve year old Jesus two very important realizations that he made. 1. That he is the Son of God. And 2. That he should be about his father’s business. The young Jesus was growing up! We must have similar realizations if ever we want to grow up in the faith. AMEN