“In my Father’s House” - Luke 2:41-52

The Gospels waste little time in moving the story of Jesus along. We barely have finished with the promise of the coming Messiah followed by the birth at the time we celebrate at Christmas, and we are moved forward 12 years in Jesus’ life.

However, the lectionary has chosen to have us focus on this story from Luke in this in-between period as there really is no other opportunity for us to hear this story. Once we get to January, we will hear of the baptism of Jesus, the temptation in the desert and then into the heart of the ministry. And, of course, we must leave time for the reflective season of Lent and reexamine the events leading to the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The story of Jesus and his family visiting Jerusalem at the time of the Passover is only recorded in Luke. Luke is often called the historian and he writes his account of Jesus’ ministry in the most chronological order of all the Gospels. He wants the reader to know that nothing that will happen throughout the life of Jesus is by chance or coincidence. Every event is significant because it inserts another piece of the puzzle of Jesus’ life that will be complete on His triumphal return.  And while Luke is not consumed with a desire to show the genealogical history of Jesus, he reveals to us that everything that happens in the life of Jesus is a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and that there is a plan for Jesus’ life.

In the account given before the story of Jesus in the temple, there are two stories of people who recognize that the child is special, and they make predictions about his life. The first is Simeon. Simeon tells Mary and Joseph that the child will bring turmoil to the nation but also be its salvation. He also tells Mary that a sword will pierce her soul. Then there is the prophetess Anna. She told them that the child would redeem Jerusalem.  It is then recorded that the child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him. So we know that the child, according to Luke, was imbued with wisdom from an early age and that the hand of God was upon him even as He grew.

In Jesus’ day, it was probably around the age of 12 that children would start to be trained by the teachers in the temple. Even though there were written records by this point, much of the knowledge would be passed on from one generation to another orally. Even with a written text, there would be much learning to be done and that could only happen, as it does today, with people sitting down together to discuss.  And so Jesus is with the teachers in the Temple, asking questions and giving answers.  At this point, Jesus’ wisdom is amazing to people. The child seems to know things beyond his years. For 3 days, a significant number, he sits among the teachers and learns.  What exactly he learns in this exchange or how it will later impact his ministry is unclear but what is clear is that Jesus will not just all of a sudden burst onto the scene as a mature and wise adult.  His wisdom and maturity would develop over a number of years. At this time it is recorded that he continued to grow in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and with people.

Luke’s account of Jesus in the temple is meant to help us understand that God did not just plant a seed in Mary, conceive a child, leave that child to grow up in a vacuum and then suddenly catapult him into his ministry. The whole of Jesus’ life is carefully planned and lived.  His parents are responsible believers who will do everything according to the law and faith of their ancestors. The child will grow up knowing the commandments and the laws of the people. He will bring to those commandments and laws a wisdom that goes beyond the human, He will bring the divine imperative to them. He will reshape them, remould them but never change their spirit or intent. He will reveal to the people of Israel and all who will listen that he is not just a child of Joseph and Mary, not a carpenter’s son but the Son of the Living God. Even more than that, he will reveal that he is the embodiment of God himself.

When his earthly parents find him, they are upset with His behaviour as any parents would be. Thinking He might have been with His cousins in another part of the group, his parents did not give much thought to the fact that they couldn’t find him. But when they did, they returned to Jerusalem in a panic. And where was he? Not in trouble but in the temple.  For him, the temple was his Father’s house.  Luke wants us to know that at this point Jesus understands that He is destined for something. He knows that his real Father is not Joseph but God.  And only Mary would fully understand his words. To be in his Father’s house would signify to Mary that Jesus understood His divine conception and that he was a person unlike any other before or since.  After this, he returns to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph and the event is never spoken of again. Jesus settles into life and becomes an apprentice in the carpenter trade. Whatever Joseph might have been imagining about the child, Jesus settles it by being obedient and never causing his earthly parents another moment of grief until the time of his baptism.

We have been invited by Luke to see for ourselves another episode in the life of the One born to be the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. A child born in a stable; a unique creation of God and his creation, a seed planted in the history of God’s universe who would grow to be revealed as the Lord and Saviour of mankind.