Don’t get me wrong, I am not pointing a finger at those who have already taken down decorations. I know life is busy, other stuff has to happen, but to me it is such a sad sight to see all the marvelous build up to Christmas come crashing down immediately after we sing Silent Night on Christmas Eve. Trees come down on Boxing Day. All the twinkling lights are put away soon afterward. Is there a sadder sight in the world than those inflatable lawn Snowmen or Santa Claus once the air has been let out of them?
Even if your decorations are securely boxed up in self-storage I invite you to dwell a little longer in the Season of Christmas, for the Incarnation is not so much to be understood as it is to be experienced. We struggle with what it means to have God come among us. I can do my best to preach on this mystery, but all my words will fall short of capturing the love that brought heaven and earth together. So, instead of rushing on, I think we must stay here a little bit longer in the manger, in Jesus’ childhood, in the glow of the light of the world, so that we can ponder and experience more fully Emmanuel. Otherwise Christmas Day ends and everything deflates like the blow up Santa Claus, and we are left light-less in the dark and cold of winter.
So how do we sit here with him who came to save us? Back before most folks had un-decorated for Christmas there was a sign in a yard that read: “Wise Men Still Seek Him.” While I wish it said wise people still seek him, it would not make as much sense, seeing as though the Magi were men and not people. Still this sentiment beckons us to continue to wonder and wander seeking God with us. When we attempt to find the incarnate God, I think we make it too complicated. We go on elaborate pilgrimages, we pay for expensive retreats, and we take on unruly disciplines, instead we do well to search for him in the most obvious of places. This was precisely the dilemma that Mary and Joseph went through in today’s gospel story.
It was the Festival of Passover and every good Jew was in Jerusalem. This meant that people were everywhere. Those going would travel in large groups, dozens and dozens of people from small towns walked and rode with one another. For this reason, parents would often not worry about their children, especially as their children reached the age of maturity. Jesus was almost an adult at age twelve, so Joseph and Mary would have been more worried about their other children.
For some reason, I get an image of Home Alone, the movie, when Kevin’s mother finally realizes they have left him home alone in Chicago while they traveled all the way to France. At the end of that film Kevin and his mother are reunited with a joyful embrace. This is not what I see happening in today’s gospel. Mary says, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” I can see Mary grabbing Jesus by the ear when she says “Child!” Make no mistake this not a loving sort of nickname, this rather is an insult towards the almost “of age” Jesus.
This is the only canonical instance of Jesus as anything other than a baby or a full grown adult. Even in early puberty, he possesses such wisdom. All had been amazed at him, but what is more amazing is his response to his anxious parents. “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” They had gone all over the place looking for him, but with these two questions the young Jesus pierces through the generations and gets us to wonder for ourselves why are we searching for him, as we ought to know that Jesus is still dwelling in his Father’s House.
Yes, at this point in time Jesus was speaking specifically of the Temple. And, yes as Christians we believe that we have been adopted as children of God through faith in God’s death conquering love in the work of the Cross and Resurrection. So, the Holy Place has been expanded beyond just one spot to all of Creation. And yet, here we are worshiping together in God’s House.
I remember the first time I walked into this church. Evan brought me through St. Mary’s Chapel. The lights were off, it was night. He flipped on the lights and tears welled up in my eyes. I was stunned by the beauty of this place and by the holiness of this space. I could feel the walls and ceiling dripping with over a hundred years of prayerful devotion. Immediately, I knew that Jesus was here, the Spirit was here, God was here.
The Season of Christmas is about God coming to dwell with us. Sometimes we rush through life, we rush through our services, we rush through seasons, such that life never seems to slow down at all and we miss God who is with us. In this season of the Incarnation when God became flesh and dwelt among us, we are invited to sit a little longer in the manger and in the mystery. Jesus wants to know why are you looking for him? And if you want to find him, looking here is a good place to start.
No comments:
Post a Comment