The Boy Grew (Dec. 26, 2021)

Imagine you have gone to Disney World with the extended family. Now, imagine that it appears that everyone has the same idea. There are people everywhere. Crowds that defy the imagination. People on every side of you, in front and behind. It all seems a bit claustrophobic. You have your family which includes a preteen girl who is not a problem child. In fact, one would say that this child is a model of good behavior. Your time in Disney is fun and relaxing and the family enjoys the time together. On the last day, you go to the parks one last time. When going back to the resort hotel, you have to take two buses.

When you get back to the resort, you discover that the preteen is not with the group. Not any part of it. One group thought she was with the other group and vice versa. Now it is discovered that both groups were mistaken. The girl is nowhere to be found.

The question now is where to look for her. Disney World is a big place and you have been in many of the parks. Where was the last place you saw her and what time? The last place would be the Magic Kingdom, biggest of the parks. And how long ago? It would have been at least 3 hours.

So, back to the parks you go. Mother and father head to the Magic Kingdom to check there and to see if you can find her. One hour goes by, nothing. Two, then three hours. Finally, as time for the parks to close begins to get near, you say “let’s go to the castle and check there. We’ve been everywhere else.” And so, you go to the castle. There to your surprise, shock and relief is your daughter visiting with one of the many Disney Princesses.

You quickly claim your daughter, thanking the princesses for keeping her company while she was there and move outside. When away from the castle a bit, you turn and begin scolding the girl. “What were you thinking?” Don’t you understand how dangerous that was?” “Anyone could have taken you.” And other phrases in the parent’s handbook of scolding come out of your mouths. You had been worried sick about her and here all this time she had been conversing with the princesses of the park.

The girl is a bit surprised. Sure, she had not thought about what she was doing and she should have told someone that she wanted to visit the castle one last time, but she was caught up in the moment. And she was having such a wonderful time visiting with the princesses that she lost all track of time or the thought that she should have gone to a park service to get help. And besides, why had you been looking all over the park for her? Did you not realize that she would have been in here favorite place in the park?

Now you have had a chance to cool down a little and realize that this is one of those time when you will look back on this incident and probably laugh about it. But right now, you are just happy to have your daughter back. And she goes with you willingly and behaves like she had before, the model child.

It goes without saying that this story is a parallel to the scripture text for today. The parallel of the crowds can be understood. During the time of the Passover, Jerusalem swelled to over 200,000 people making it one of the larger cities in the Roman Empire during that time. It makes Disney World look small in comparison. And there would have been no park police, no guest services, no cast members to help find the boy Jesus. Just the parents and those who might have gone back with them to help find him. The text does not tell us just how anxious Joseph and Mary were but we can surmise that they were very upset at Jesus when they found him. But find him they did. Not only that, but what some have taken as a rebuke from Jesus can actually be seen as a moment of surprise from him. Why did they not look in the one place where they should have known that he would be? The temple was a special place for him. There he could worship and be close to the work of his father. Again, why are they so surprised?

We are told that he went with them willingly. The text says: “Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them[1]” We are also told that: “Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.[2]” It would appear that Jesus was just like us in many ways. He grew up like we all did, from a baby, to a toddler, to a teen, to an adult. He experienced what we all experience: He grew tired, he was hungry, he was happy and he was sad. Whatever we experience growing up, he did as well. Steven Curtis Chapman in his song This Baby says this:

Well, He cried when He was hungry, Did all the things that babies do; He rocked and He napped on His mother's lap, And He wiggled and giggled and cooed. There were the cheers when He took His first step, And the tears when He got His first teeth; Almost everything about this little baby Seemed as natural as it could be.

And this baby grew into a young boy, Who learned to read and write and wrestle with dad; There was the climbin' of trees and the scrapin' of knees, And all the fun that a boy's born to have. He grew taller and some things started changing, Like His complexion and the sound of His voice; There was work to be done as a carpenter's son And all the neighbors said He's such a fine boy

And love made Him laugh and death made Him cry. With the life that He lived and the death that He died, He showed us heaven with His hands and His heart, 'Cause this man was God's own son. This man was like no other one, Holy and human right from the start

It is what we call the incarnation, God becoming a human and experiencing what we experience. The only difference is that Jesus was also God at the same time. There is the mystery of the incarnation. Jesus was both man and God. It is something that we cannot comprehend but something that we confess many times when we say our affirmation of faith.

So, what does all this mean to us in our lives? What does a story about Mary and Joseph losing Jesus have to do with our faith? Well, there are several things that it can say to us.

First, is that it tells us what Jesus thought was of first importance. He was not found in the marketplace, or somewhere where some of us would be found. He was found in the temple where service to God was held. R. Alan Culpepper asks if our faith in God is a peripheral matter or something deeper in our lives? Is our faith just something that we do to get help in times of need or when we are to fulfill our obligations? As we reflect on the story of Jesus, let the twelve-year-old boy cause us to reflect on the significance of God’s claim in our lives.

Second, we find how to live our lives in the light of how Jesus lived his life. Philip Graham Ryken has this to say about how our lives are to be shaped: “This means growing in stature, taking good care of the bodies that God has given us. It means growing in wisdom, expanding our minds by learning as much as we can, especially about the Bible and theology. It means growing in our love for God… It means serving God by submitting to the people God has placed in authority. And when we find it difficult to do these things—when we must endure the sufferings of the body, or wrestle with things it is hard for us to understand, or submit to imperfect authority—we can pray for Jesus to help us. Jesus understands. From the time that he was a boy, he experienced all of these difficulties himself, and now that he has reached his full and glorious maturity, he has grace to help us in all our need.[3]”

Finally, it tells us that we have been remiss sometimes when we think about Jesus. Too often we think of him as divine and forget his humanity. There have been many movements through the centuries that have forgotten the human side of Jesus. These have been deemed heretical because they try to put one part of Jesus over the other. When we forget the humanity of Jesus, we forget that he was just like us. We forget that he was a twelve-year-old boy who caused his parent great anxiety. We forget that he went and learned and was obedient.

Hebrews tells us that in Jesus “we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are[4]” and yet he did not sin. This is the one difference between our humanity and Jesus’. But he knows our weaknesses and is able to help us get through them. It is not because he is all knowing and all-powerful God (though he is that), but it is because he was fully human who understood what it was to be like us and is willing to help us in all our need. Thanks be to God. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [3]Ryken, Philip Graham. Luke. Ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani. Vol. 1. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2009. Print. Reformed Expository Commentary. [4] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.