January 3, 2016 - Christmas 2C

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            “Oh God! Where is God?” That’s probably not what Mary and Joseph said when they realized that their twelve year old son was missing, but this interesting story from Luke poses that question to us – Where is God? This story is found only in Luke, and everyone can find something that they relate to. Parents know that gut wrenching horror of worrying about your child, and then the joy of knowing they are okay. Children appreciate seeing a child hold his own against the expert adults. And teenagers love to have an image of Jesus that is all about resisting authority. But more than resonating with our life experiences, this story of a twelve year old Jesus has something to say about what it means to follow him.

We Can (and Should) Do Better

Recently a parishioner commented that most of my sermons revolve around one theme, sometimes subtlety and sometimes rather plainly. In this person's mind, the theme is that of priorities. Essentially, what comes first in our hearts, in our work, in our words? While I probably wouldn't have articulated my major theme as such, I can't disagree with the observation. I likely would have said that the Kingdom of God is my central theological tenet, but that really is about priorities. God has made us a priority with God's abundant grace and love, and the question we are faced with is- how will we respond?