"Living the Daily Life on High"
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26; Luke 2:41-52
Rev.
Ross A. Aalgaard
Sermon on Sunday, December 28, 2003
Christmas is a time when we hear about the birth of Jesus. In various
adaptations of song, art, and story, we are presented with the events
leading up to Jesus' birth and the actual arrival of the infant child. We
are told of Mary delivering Jesus in a stable with Joseph at her side,
angels announcing the infant's arrival, shepherds and eastern astrologers
showing up to see the newborn and congratulate the parents, and sheep,
donkeys, and possibly other farm animals filling in the empty spaces.
The Christian story of this remarkable birth of the Christ-child, a birth like no other, has infiltrated our entire society. It is difficult to find someone who doesn't know something about this Christmas narrative - even though the details may be a bit fuzzy or inaccurate. Theologians and students of the Bible may debate whether the virgin birth should be taken literally or not, but, I think it's safe to say, most people just take the idea of the virgin birth of Jesus as just part of the Christmas story.
Sometime in early December, I was thinking about the concept of the virgin birth, so one day I decided to ask one of my co-workers what she thought of the virgin birth. My co-worker is someone who was raised in the Lutheran tradition, but she never felt comfortable with her church and its teaching. In fact, she tended to ask more questions than simply accept the Bible lessons she was taught as believable. This element of her personality, along with other life changing events she had experienced, caused her to give up on church and much of Christianity. She has given some time to reading books on Buddhism and has even taken some classes and gone to a few lectures. However, my co-worker would consider herself non-religious and secular, choosing not to regard herself as either Buddhist or Christian, yet still finding some of the teachings in both as valuable.
When I asked her what she thought about the virgin birth, she replied, "I've
never thought much about it." I pressed some more, "Well, do you regard it
as true? Do you think it's fact or fiction?" She responded, "Whether it's
true or not doesn't really matter. It's part of the Christmas story and no
one should mess with that! People need to keep their hands off of
Christmas!" Her answer made me chuckle, but it also reveals where many
people are at. Whether the virgin birth is real or not, it's permissible
during this season and even acceptable in places that otherwise would not
regard Christian teachings.
We are aware of the unique birth of Jesus. We are also aware of the ministry
and teachings of Jesus that arrived on the Judean scene when he was about
thirty years old. It has made such an impact in our culture that some claim
those teachings are the basis for our legal system. You may not agree with
this ideology. However, we all must admit that many charitable efforts (such
as, feeding the hungry; clothing the poor; giving shelter to the homeless;
nursing the sick, caring for the widow or widower, and protecting the
orphaned) have occurred due to personal belief in these Bible teachings
attributed to Jesus.
Our collective knowledge of Jesus doesn't stop at his special, unique birth
or his effective ministry and enduring teaching. Most people in our culture
know about Easter and its connection to this Christian founder and leader.
After three years of ministry, at the age of 33, Jesus is crucified and
three days later comes back to life. The death and resurrection of Jesus is
a story that is well known and often repeated.
I share this with you to help you see that we have a full picture of Jesus'
birth and his late adult years. You might say, tradition has handed down to
us a clear picture of Jesus' beginning and end - with more of a focus given
to the end.
Now, I understand that we do not have a complete picture of these stages in
Jesus' life. I also realize that we do not know if everything about Jesus'
birth, ministry, death, and resurrection is fact, fiction, or a combination
of both. But we have enough information to know Jesus, to have an
understanding of Jesus, and to declare that Jesus is the head of the Church.
This conclusion comes from a sketch of Jesus etched in the Gospels, which
covers somewhere between three to five years total of his life. If my math
is correct, our knowledge and understanding of Jesus is based on less than
15% of his time on earth. In other words, we might say our relationship with
Jesus is based on a small percentage of his life and not knowing anything
about 85% of his earthly existence.
We are missing much about Jesus. We're missing Jesus' "Wonder Years" - you
know, his formative, growing up years. We lack information about those years
that show where he came from, what shaped his character, and what molded him
into the man that he became. There is a gap - a big hole, a blank space from
Jesus' toddler years until he turns 30.
It's too bad that we don't have a resource like the TV show "Smallville" on
the WB network. "Smallville" reveals for us the early years of the legendary
Superman, those formative years before Superman arrives in Metropolis as a
reporter and begins his adventures as a superhero. This TV show helps us to
understand the Superman we have come to know and love. It assists us in
understanding from where Clark Kent comes and what shaped his character.
We need a "Smallville" for Jesus. We could call it "Nazareth Town" or
"Nazareneville." It would be so nice to get a glimpse of Jesus' early years
so that we could have a greater insight into who he is. The closest thing we
come to a "Smallville" for Jesus is our lesson for today from Luke Chapter
2. There isn't a lot here. These eleven verses are the only canonical record
of 28 years of Jesus life. These eleven short verses sum up only a small
scene in Jesus' life at the age of 12.
I think it's safe to make some assumptions from this passage. From these
verses we learn that Jesus is being raised in a good Jewish home. The family
follows the religious custom of traveling annually to Jerusalem to celebrate
Passover. We also learn that he is maturing - he's growing up. He's no
longer being carried in his mother's arms or holding unto to his father's
robe. He has some independence and freedom at the age of 12. This reveals to
us some normal development in his life. There's even interaction between the
pre-teenage Jesus and his parents that comes across as a typical progression
in the child-parent relationship. It's pretty clear that Jesus is a boy who
is becoming a man. His humanity is showing through.
I can't deny that there still is something special about Jesus that we find
in these verses. As the father of a 12 year son, I can attest that it is
highly unlikely that a boy of this age will be sitting with the religious
teachers - or any other teachers for that matter - over a three day period
listening, asking questions, and even giving answers. You may say that Jesus
lived in a different time and didn't have Yugioh cards and Gameboys, but the
Bible reports that everyone was amazed at his behavior. It was unusual. In
addition, Jesus speaks of the temple as his "Father's house" (v. 49). The
concept of God as the Loving Parent had not yet been introduced to people at
this time. These verses make it clear that even though Jesus is human, there
is something different about him -- something that may possibly be divine.
All the information we have about Jesus' "Wonder Years" is summed up in one
verse (2:52), "And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years (or stature), and
in divine and human favor." Jesus grew as a whole person: mentally,
physically, spiritually, and socially. This isn't a description unique to
Jesus alone. We find the ancient Priest and Prophet Samuel had the same
formula used to describe his developmental years.
Why isn't there more reliable information available to us about these
missing years? Why don't we know more? Why did the gospel writers neglect to
fill us in on these early years? Please allow me to make a suggestion. The
reason we don't know more about Jesus' life between the ages of 2 and 30 is
because those years were ordinary. His "Wonder Years" were uneventful -
maybe even boring. There wouldn't be enough material to produce a show like
"Smallville" for Jesus. The exciting episode would be the one we read in our
lesson today. It wouldn't be very entertaining after that because it would
be about a common, ordinary, and routine life. The show wouldn't give a lot
of insight into Jesus because it would look pretty much like any other life.
The Revised Common Lectionary and the church year calendar are interesting
during Advent and Christmas and again during Lent and Easter. We can be
challenged and encouraged to think about and reflect on spiritual matters
during special holiday seasons. We are receptive to the idea of focusing on
our spiritual essence during those special events. But between the Christmas
and Easter seasons, we are in "Ordinary Time." It's a good time to think
about daily life and its routine. During this moment, in light of our
lesson, you might ask yourself, "How will I grow mentally, physically,
spiritually, and socially as I enter into the routine of 2004?"
We are physical and spiritual beings. But it's important to recognize the
great danger of compartmentalizing our physical and spiritual essence. To
categorize them in departments leads us to miss the opportunity to grow
during the routine of daily life. It is at these times, as we enter a New
Year, that we choose whether to make it through our daily routine or to live
our daily life on high.
It is during ordinary time that we can begin to sort through the spiritual insights we have gained or might have overlooked during Advent and Christmas. It is during the regular routine that we can test truths we have heard or learned during the spiritual feasts. Now is the time we can take what we have received and not only try it on, but wear it around. We are finishing the season that focuses on Jesus' coming. Now Jesus has arrived.
It is time to decide if we are just going to make it through the routine of
daily life or live the ordinary life fully. The question we now are faced
with is how will we live with Jesus? How will we live our daily life on
high?