Luke 2:41-52
The Message Translation
Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
REFLECTIONS:
Thoughts from Cory:
This seems like an odd choice for a reading at this particular point in the calendar. Christmas, the day chosen to celebrate the birth of Jesus, is this week. And we are reading about 12-year-old Jesus.
One connection to the Christmas story that I see is with the popular Christmas movie series Home Alone®. Kevin McAllister was not the first get kid to be forgotten by his parents! Even Jesus got Home Aloned.
There is some foreshadowing happening in this story. Mary loses Jesus but finds him in three days. If we jump ahead in the story, we see Mary losing Jesus on the cross but finding him alive and well outside of his tomb three days later.
In both instances, Jesus is not where he is supposed to be. When Mary goes searching for 12-year-old Jesus, he is not in any of the expected places, like the safety of his extended family, or with other members of the caravan. And when she goes looking for him some two decades later, he is not in the expected place, the only place, that he should be—the tomb.
This season, “this season of over consumption and unmet expectations — in this season of family obligations and “I should feel happier than I do” or “I’m deeply happy and don’t feel like I can share that since so many people are miserable” in this season of loneliness and warmth and cookies and toxic nostalgia and having way too many people around, in this season of the very longest nights,” may we find Jesus, God-With-Us, in some unexpected places.
PRACTICE:
Meditative Advent Calendar:
December 1: Spend 1 minute reflecting on waiting.
December 2: Spend 2 minutes reflecting on mercy.
December 3: Spend 3 minutes reflecting on justice.
December 4: Spend 4 minutes reflecting on goodness.
December 5: Spend 5 minutes reflecting on forgiveness.
December 6: Spend 6 minutes reflecting on wholeness.
December 7: Spend 7 minutes reflecting on love.
December 8: Spend 8 minutes on social media. Send a message of encouragement to a person on your feed.
December 9: Spend 9 minutes focusing on your breath.
December 10: Spend 10 minutes outside in silent awareness.
December 11: Spend 11 minutes in a public locate, silently observing the people around you.
December 12: Spend 12 minutes tending to your yard, your garden, or your plants.
December 13: Spend 13 minutes stretching your body.
December 14: Spend 14 minutes reflecting on waiting.
December 15: Spend 15 minutes in gratitude.
December 16: Spend 16 re-reading a favorite text.
December 17: Spend 17 minutes re-listening to some favorite music.
December 18: Spend 18 minutes reflecting on creation.
December 19: Spend 19 minutes reflecting on liberation.
December 20: Spend 20 minutes intentionally creating.
December 21: Spend 21 minutes reflecting on waiting.
December 22: Spend 22 minutes on a walk through your neighborhood. Pay attention to what you see.
December 23: Spend 23 minutes in silence and solitude.
December 24: Spend 24 minutes writing down hopes for the coming year.
December 25: Merry Christmas!
Outward Mindset Application
In the movie Home Alone, what could Kevin and his mom done to “get out of the box?” What is one practical thing you can do this week to “turn toward” someone with whom you are in conflict?
Non-Violent Communication Question of the Week
What expectations and desires are driving your friends and family this week? How can you be more curious about what they want?
Pathways toward Centeredness
Ascetics: Loving God in Solitude and Simplicity
We often find ourselves doing more than one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is, for some of us, our normal way of being in the world. This week, try to do one thing at a time. When you are driving, just drive—no music, no phone calls. When you are watching a Christmas movie with your family, just watch the movie—no phones, or to do lists.
Questions for Reflection
Where is one unexpected place where you have found life, or truth, or redemption?
“Liturgy” refers to the habits and practices humans use to form community around shared values and meaning. At Church at the Park, we desire to be a community of practice, becoming people who see the world through the eyes of the marginalized, making meaning through the lens of pain and suffering, and committing ourselves to non-violence in a wounded world. This weekly email is intended to provide pathways of practice for becoming the type of people who embody these values.
Many of our reflections on each week's text come from other sources. If you're interested in reading more of what inspires us, here our our two favorite reflections.
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