Weekly Seeds: “Wisdom, Years, Favor”

Sunday, December 29, 2024
First Sunday after Christmas | Year C

Focus Theme:
“Wisdom, Years, Favor”

Focus Prayer:
Amazing God, as we seek your presence, may we also find your wisdom and favor. Amen.

Focus Scripture:
Luke 2:41-52
⁴¹ Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. ⁴² And when he was twelve 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 were unaware of this. 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 and 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? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.” 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, and his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor.

All readings for this Sunday:
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 • Psalm 148 • Colossians 3:12-17 • Luke 2:41-52

Focus Questions:
What is wisdom?
What is favor?
How do you seek wisdom?
How do you seek favor?
What are the impediments to wisdom and favor?

Reflection
By Cheryl A. Lindsay

Can you imagine what it must have been like to parent Jesus? From the moment she knew she was pregnant, Mary was expectant with certainty that her child would transform the world, upending the oppressive systems at work, and bring liberation and salvation to the peoples. Her song of praise could also be considered a song of victory with its blatant prophecy. Mary, the prophet, understands the import of the assignment she has received. Mary, the mother, may struggle to reconcile the imagined future of her child and messiah with the young person who still needs parental guidance to navigate the world. Her stunned response to the wisdom and knowledge Jesus demonstrates in the gospel passage could be mistaken for confusion, even though the previous chapter in the Lukan account leaves no doubt that in fact, Mary did know.

In fact, she was not the only one. Luke’s account, perhaps more than any other gospel narrative, illustrates that there were several key characters who recognized Jesus as the Christ, or at least suspected, from the start. As Robert L. Brawley notes, “Luke’s use of sources leads interpreters to emphasize individual episodes, but increasingly, narrative continuity is also accented. Speeches of Gabriel, Elizabeth, Mary, and Zechariah fit together in one story. The context of imperial systems is also overarching.” In addition, the proclamations of Simeon and the Prophet Anna at the time of the presentation of Jesus in the temple further evidence the revelation of Jesus as the Chosen One.

This moment, when Jesus returns to the temple at age twelve, continues the series of revelatory statements. This time, it is not the divine messenger, his mother, or other significant adults who acknowledge his divinity and his mission. Jesus declares his connection to the One who sent him for himself. In some ways, it may be considered a coming of age story. Adolescence, then and now, transitions a child into an adult. That Jesus displays wisdom beyond his years should not be surprising. It takes Mary aback. Joseph was there, in his role as the supportive and mostly silent partner to Mary.

They had come to celebrate the Passover. As in most feasts, the observance invites the faithful to sacred memory. In this encounter, Mary receives her reminder of who she has been charged to nurture in the world. How could she not have “treasured all these things in her heart?” Further, Jesus knows who he is. This may be the first time that is clear. The biblical narrative is silent from his infancy/toddler years until now, and only Luke seems interested in this story.

In biographies of great men, it was customary to portray them already as children displaying the character they manifest as adult heroes (e.g., Philo, Mos. 1.5.20–24; Plutarch, Alex. 5; Plutarch, Cic. 2; Philostratus, Vit. Apoll. 1.7; cf. Josephus, Ant. 2.9.6–7; Jub. 11.16; Herodotus, Hist. 1.114–16; see de Jonge, “Sonship” 340–42). Luke alone among the canonical Gospels follows this practice, relating a scene from Jesus’ youth that builds a bridge to his life as an adult and shows him ratifying the claims made for him earlier in the narrative, with a sharp focus on his identity and vocation as the Son of God. This awareness brings Jesus into conflict with his parents, and the resulting confrontation culminates in his first words in the Gospel. Compared to extracanonical accounts of Jesus’ childhood (e.g., Infancy Gospel of Thomas; Protevangelium of James), Luke’s narrative shows great restraint, concentrating on one theme: Jesus’ precocious understanding of himself as Son not of Joseph and Mary but of God. This is the family to which he ultimately belongs, the one that defines his identity and vocation and claims his allegiance.
John T. Carroll

One may speculate that it was Mary’s story to tell, and it is told as much from her perspective as that of Jesus. Who else would have circulated the story after knowing the significance and relationship of this experience to the rest of the events of Jesus’ life? After this extraordinary moment, Jesus returns home and to a relatively normal life as an “obedient” son living with his parents in Nazareth.

Could Jesus have handled this differently? There’s no reason to assume a conflict between being obedient to both the One who sent him and the parents he was entrusted to. Mary and Joseph have demonstrated their faithfulness and submission to the Holy One. Had they been informed that Jesus needed to engage in the temple teaching, there’s no indication they would have objected. Jesus choosing not to consult them then is deliberate and perhaps the point.

Before taking up the account of the public careers of John and Jesus, Luke provides a snapshot of Jesus’ youth. In one respect, the scene is typical, for it shows Jesus and his family living out their normal routine as a pious, Torah-observant Jewish household. On the threshold of Jesus’ transition to adulthood, however, the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover gives a brief preview of what lies ahead. For the first time in the narrative, Jesus speaks, revealing his awareness of his unique relation to God. Jesus’ presence among teachers in the temple and the confrontation there between the youth and his parents exhibit his remarkable wisdom but, above all, his recognition that he is God’s Son—and that this family affiliation overrides all other family connections.
John T. Carroll

The moment foreshadows a lot. On the third day, they are reunited with him. The terror of a lost child could only be exceeded by the grief that Mary experienced at the crucifixion until news of the resurrection spread from the women who went to tend his body at the tomb. Jesus will have many more encounters exchanging perspectives with religious leaders in religious spaces and beyond them. Those who heard him were amazed and astonished by his knowledge and understanding. The events of this revelation connected to his faithful observance of the Passover just as his Passion will be tethered to that remembrance.

This brief glimpse into the adolescence of Jesus illuminates the tension of the years—past, present, and future. Years represent more than the passage of time; they reflect shifts in circumstances. Posted sentinels keep watch over it all. We hold sacred memory, current reality, and promised future together in the most significant moments of our lives. For Mary, I imagined she remembered the angelic invitation to participate in the Christ event and her prophetic song of praise. She recognized the practical reality of her role to nurture the humanity of Jesus and the already tremendous responsibility of mothering an adolescent. She pondered the possibilities of what might be in considering the future. May her perspective provide guidance as we wait, we search, and we ponder.

Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent
The 33rd General Synod adopted a Resolution to Recognize the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). As part of its implementation, Sermon and Weekly Seeds offers Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent related to the season or overall theme for additional consideration in sermon preparation and for individual and congregational study.

“Choices”
—Nikki Giovanni

If i can’t do
what i want to do
then my job is to not
do what i don’t want
to do
It’s not the same thing
but it’s the best i can
do

If i can’t have
what i want… then
my job is to want
what i’ve got
and be satisfied
that at least there
is something more to want

Since i can’t go
where i need
to go… then i must… go
where the signs point
though always understanding
parallel movement
isn’t lateral

When i can’t express
what i really feel
i practice feeling
what i can express
and none of it is equal
I know
but that’s why mankind
alone among the animals
learns to cry

For Further Reflection
“Wisdom does not make me full. It fills me with hunger.” — Noah Benshea
“A few years turned into more years, and more years turned into all years. Years have a habit of behaving like that.” — Fredrik Backman
“When time is not in your favor, be in favor of time” — Kandarp Gandhi

A preaching commentary on this text (with works cited) is at //ucc.org/SermonSeeds.

The Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology (lindsayc@ucc.org), also serves a local church pastor, public theologian, and worship scholar-practitioner with a particular interest in the proclamation of the word in gathered communities. You’re invited to share your reflections on this text in the comments below this post on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SermonSeeds.

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