Lookin' For Jesus In All The Wrong Places?
Text: Luke 2:40-52
Grace and Peace to you from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Mary and Joseph must have
had a bit of anxiety that day when they realized Jesus was not with them. Indeed, Mary and Joseph were traveling back
home to Nazareth—a five days journey—from the large and yearly Passover Feast
in Jerusalem, when they noticed that the twelve year old Jesus was nowhere to
be found. He was not among their
relatives; He was not among their friends as well. We
can just imagine the thoughts racing through Mary’s head, “Where could He be?
Did He travel on ahead or did He get left behind in Jerusalem?”
Well, as indicated by today’s
Gospel reading, when it became apparent to Mary and Joseph that the young Jesus
was not with them, they immediately returned back to Jerusalem to search for
Him. And search for Him they did.
They searched for three
days, looking with a great deal of distress and anxiety. Over those three long days, most of Jerusalem
was most likely combed; every rock was overturned, doors were knocked on, and
people in the market were approached. “Have
you seen a young youth? My Son is
missing; He is only 12 years old!!”
I am sure that with each
passing hour the angst of Mary and Joseph increased. With each failed attempt of finding Jesus,
their anxiety was most likely heightened.
Where can He be?
Are we not searching hard
enough?
Are we looking in the right places?
All tension and anxiety
dissipated though when they came to the temple in Jerusalem and found the young
Jesus sitting among the teachers where He was listening to the teachings and
asking questions.
Like any decent mother, Mary
then came to Jesus and said,
“Son,
why have you treated us so? Behold, your
father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”
In response, we hear
something quite remarkable from Jesus.
He said,
“Why
were you looking for me? Did you not
know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
Take a moment to reconsider
these words of Jesus,
““Why
were you looking for me? Did you not
know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
We get the impression here
that Mary and Joseph were looking everywhere for Jesus, but failed to look in
the most obvious place. At least this
was the most obvious place from Jesus’ perspective. Otherwise stated, they should have known that
Jesus was about God the Father’s business; they should’ve known that this is
where Jesus was. Why did they waste
three days looking for Jesus when the most obvious place to find Him was in the
temple? Yes, it appears that Mary and
Joseph searched everywhere, except the temple.
They searched for three days that is until they finally came to the
temple, the place where the Word of grace was supposed to be taught and the
place where the Son of God would obviously be.
Now for us as
twenty-first-century readers we hear this story and say to ourselves, “Well
that makes sense!” We say, “Duh,
obviously that is where one would expect to find Jesus!” However, let us not be too quick to place
judgment upon Mary and Joseph, for I believe that much has not really changed
since Mary and Joseph’s great three day seeking expedition. In other words, where do we seek Jesus today?
It is amazing to do a simple
internet Google search on the topic of, “Where can I find Jesus?” All sorts of posts will pop up with all kinds
of strategies to find Jesus. Furthermore,
the vast amount of posts will not only present strategies on finding Jesus
today, but will also guide and direct a person to specific places where Jesus
can be found.
Permit me to give two
examples.
Pope Francis recently stated
that you and I won’t find Jesus by hanging out in a first-class lounge or in
the library; we can’t find Jesus in peace and quietness, but rather we find
Jesus by being out in the real world, be being involved with Him in the messy
and noisy problems of the world.[1]
On another website though,
we are told that we need to leave the loud and busy world and go somewhere
quiet where we can get on our knees.
Then and only then we are told to go deeply into ourselves with quiet
meditation and prayer. Once we have
escaped the busyness of the world and the busyness of ourselves and are in deep
peace and quietness, we can then wait and listen to hear Jesus talk to us in
the inner caverns of our heart.[2]
Now, these are just two
examples that give us guidance where we can find Jesus. On the one hand we are told that Jesus is not
found in the quietness and peace of a private setting, but in the busy noisy
world. On the other hand, we are told
that we need to leave the busyness of the world to go to an unobtrusive place
to find Jesus in the quiet meditations of our heart. Which is it?
Is Jesus found in the quietness of our heart or in the busyness of the
world?
Dear friends, like Mary and
Joseph we can spend not only three days but up to three years and beyond trying
to find Jesus in all the wrong places. In
other words, if we fail to understand who Jesus is and what His mission was, we
can end up like Mary and Joseph searching in all the wrong places. For example:
We
can attempt to find Jesus in the busyness of the world.
We
can attempt to find Jesus in the mystical caverns of our sinful heart.
We
can attempt to find Jesus in the successes of life.
We
can attempt to find Jesus in the popular spiritual fads of the day.
We
can attempt to find Jesus on a lake while fishing.
The list can most certainly go
on and on and on.
The problem with all of
these options is that none of these places are places where the Lord has
promised to meet us. Truly, my dear
friends, you do not need to wander aimlessly through life constantly trying to
find Christ. You do not need to be
distracted by every single new spiritual guru that comes out every two years on
Oprah; those gurus that claim that they have found the secrets to finding
God. You do not need withdraw from the
church and look within the layers of complexity in your heart to find
Jesus. You do not have to leave your
present jobs and callings in order to venture out on hyper-spiritualized
humanitarian objectives to find Jesus. No,
none of this is necessary in seeking and finding Jesus, for although our
Sovereign Lord is over all things, He has not promised to meet us with grace,
forgiveness, and peace in any of these places.
But where shall we find
Christ? Where shall we find Christ when
we need Him the most? The scriptures
answer you and me saying, “He is on the cross, where you need him the
most. There [on the Cross] Jesus
fulfilled God’s promise for you: ‘Neither death, nor life … nor anything else …
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. There we discover ‘in all things God works
for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to his
purpose.’”[3] Furthermore, despite all of the seeking for
peace and assurance in all the wrong places, the Lord Christ has promised us
that the benefits of Calvary’s Cross are with us. Yes, the benefits of the Cross—forgiveness,
grace, peace, and assurance—are with us specifically in His Word and
Sacraments.
What does this all
mean? It means that Jesus is right where
one might expect to find Him. He is in
the waters of your baptism. He is
present in His precious Word—the Bible.
He is present in-with-and-under the bread and wine that is given to and
for you.
Baptized Saints, as we think
about this, I do confess that this may not sound flashy and exciting. In fact, to acknowledge and proclaim that
Christ is present before you where He has promised to be in the Word and Sacraments,
can take the fun out of the spiritual seeking game. Otherwise stated, as the world attempts to
find Jesus and eternal peace in movements and fads, and as the world attempts
to find Jesus and eternal peace in mystical meditations, you may be tempted to
the thrill of their chase and the excitement of their trying to find the hidden
location of the treasure of peace. Hold
steadfast though dear Saints. Do not
embark on a wild goose chase seeking for Jesus where He has not promised to
be.
My fellow redeemed, “Jesus
Christ’s life-giving ministry of Word and Sacrament, which He has entrusted to
us as His stewards, is what makes disciples of all nations and ages. This Word and Sacrament ministry of the very
Word made flesh is the only thing that bestows true life, peace, and
forgiveness.”[4] But we may say to ourselves, ‘”That isn’t too
flashy or exciting or even successful according to today’s standards.” Baptized saints please keep in mind that, “Success
in God’s eyes is not understood in terms of simply having more names on a
roster, more bodies filling seats, or more dollars in the offering plate.”[5] Success in God’s eyes is not about seeking the
Lord in vague happenings of culture or seeking Him in the inclinations of the
sinful heart. But rather, “Success in
God’s eyes is simply grounded in the faithful proclamation that we have all
sinned and we have all rightfully earned death and damnation for our sin, but
Jesus Christ Himself has already made full atonement for each and every sin by
laying down His life on a bloody cross as an all-redeeming, all-forgiving
sacrifice. Success in God’s eyes is simply understood in terms [of people
being] where Christ is, [where He has promised to be for you and for me].”[6]
As we look forward to 2015, what
will 2015 bring for you and me? While
you and I can't say for sure, I am fairly certain that we will all experience
our fair share of heartaches, as well as joys.
We will experience ups and down.
We will take turns that we will never have expected and travel into
unforeseen territory. In the midst of
everything that 2015 will bring upon us though, I am happy to announce that the
Lord and His Gifts will be here for you and for me, right where we can expect
them to be. That is right, the Lord's
Word and Sacraments, which have been that constant source of hope, sustenance,
and strength over the past year, will also be present for you and for me in
2015. The reason why? The Lord has promised to neither leave us nor
forsake us; He will be with us to the end of the age in this church, in our
baptisms, in the Word, and in the Supper.
May the peace of God, which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] “Pope Francis:
Get out in the real world to find Jesus,” (26 September 2013)
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/09/26/pope-francis-get-out-in-the-real-world-to-find-jesus/
(3 January 2015).
[2] “How to Seek
the Presence of Jesus Christ in your Life,”
http://www.wikihow.com/Seek-the-Presence-of-Jesus-Christ-in-your-Life (3
January 2015).
[3] Richard Eyer,
Pastoral Care Under the Cross: God in the Midst of Suffering (Saint Louis, MO:
Concordia Publishing House, 1994), 143.
[4] Jason Zirbel,
“Seeking Christ? Well, Duh!” (4 January 2015)
http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3996 (3 January 2015).
[5] Ibid.
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