Missing in Action--Luke 2:39-51

Luke 2:39-51 

Random Thoughts:

Who hasn’t experienced the panic of losing a child or of being a child lost themselves?Ancient families made their pilgrimages in large extended groups of near and not-so-near relations and given the fact that by now Jesus would have had several brothers and sisters (we know he had siblings according to later accounts) it becomes easier to see how Mary and Joseph could have begun their journey home to Nazareth without one of their children. 

Where this story takes a hard right spiritual turn, however, is that this is no ordinary child. The details of the story make this clear. Jesus, now 12 years old, the age of spiritual maturity in Jewish culture, chooses this time and place to make his spiritual knowledge and uncanny wisdom known in the Temple. He is beginning to publicly reveal his identity as God’s son. 

More importantly, it is a full three days before his family thinks to look for him in the temple courts. Three is no arbitrary number; representing divine perfection it is no coincidence that Jesus, “lost” for three days is found not only alive and well but in his father’s house. As if foreshadowing his disappearance for three days in the tomb before resurrecting to reveal his identity as God’s son, Jesus the boy is similarly resurrected. Lost to his family, he is now found and in a place and in circumstances that are demonstrating he is more than anyone can imagine.

More poignant still is the fact that when his parents do finally find him they are dismayed wondering why he was not more considerate of their suffering on his behalf. Like so many of us, wondering why God lets us struggle as we search to know his will, he reminds us (as Jesus did his parents) that he is very much about his Father’s business--even if we can’t see it--and our part in it is so very much a part in it even if we can’t understand it. 

Time is Love--Luke 2:33-38

“There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Pahnuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then had been a widow for eighty-four years. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:33-38) NIV

Random Thoughts:

“Time is money” may be a truism of Wall Street but in God’s economy? I think time is love. Although Luke writes just a few sentences about Anna, his readers would have recognized in a way that we might not that her commitment to singleness in order to pray and fast at the temple for the rest of her life is an unconventional life path. 

Forgoing her culture’s expectations and pressure to remarry or to have children who can care for her in her old age, ensuring her future and securing her social status, she chooses to dedicate her life 24/7 to God. In Anna, it seems, we have a bit of a maverick who’s life choice tells us that our time and what we do with it is every bit as valuable a gift to God as giving materially or serving through more conventional means. Time is love. 

Mushy Peas--Luke 2:33-35

“The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his other: ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’” (Luke 2:33-35) NIV

Random Thoughts:

Good news first? Simeon’s first words to Mary and Joseph (in the previous passage) are full of celebration and joy but he concludes with a warning of tougher times ahead. The good news is quickly followed by the not-so-good; sobering reminders (even frightening ones) of what is to come.

Long-awaited redemption is coming through the Messiah but some will rise to his call and others will stumble over it, refusing it altogether. His presence and claim as God’s Son will force all to choose. Them as well as us. Then as well as now. Will we accept his offer of grace or choose our own way, a way of rules and traditions and sounds-good-to-me-philosophies that cannot ultimately transform us? 

Spirited Away--Luke 2:25-32

“Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of the Israel and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God saying, ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.’” (Luke 2:25-32) NIV

Random Thoughts:

Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in Simeon's life, he was able to be in the right place at the right time to witness the fulfillment of a promise God had made to him. I am often tempted to think of God’s presence in the form of His spirit as an “it” or a “what” but in actual fact, the Holy Spirit is a “who”. And in this story of Simeon we have the “who” of God’s Spirit directing this man’s life and communicating to him in a remarkable way. Perhaps, in part, because Simeon was a remarkable man.

We are told he was righteous and devout. And that is certainly remarkable but I suspect there were others about whom the same could be said. But what set this man apart such that God would preserve his life to fulfill a promise? One clue might be found in what Simeon was patiently waiting for: Israel’s consolation, the Lord’s Messiah. 

But unlike so many who believed the Messiah’s role was simply to take back their nation from the grasp of Roman rule, Simeon’s heart and mind divined the true purpose of God’s promise. Simeon understood that God’s plan was so much bigger than just restoring Israel’s national pride. God’s vision was global; His gift would be for everyone, everywhere. Jew and Gentile. 

Simeon had insight into God’s ways. How beautiful that God would bless him with the the eyes of the Holy Spirit to recognize in an infant child the Messiah who had come to save the world.

Question:

As Christians, gifted with the presence of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to better recognize Christ and His work the world. Is there something God’s Spirit is showing you or helping you to see more clearly? 

Journal Response:

In the shower today I had an epiphany. And it’s not the first time. Something about hot water, soapy bubbles and a few moments sans interruption just makes me start thinking about God-stuff or even praying. Today it was about Passover and Easter. I really love Passover--there’s just something that connects to my heart when I think about sharing a  meal that Jesus himself was sharing with his closest friends the night before he offered himself up for me and the rest of humankind. 

And then there’s Good Friday. I love that too, remembering and marveling that my God gave himself as the ultimate sacrifice to forgive us all for all time. So then what is it about Easter that to me seems so anti-climactic? Why is it that the most life-changing event in the history of the universe doesn’t just make me erupt into joyous celebration? Because I think it really should.

And then God directed me toward an answer that began with a question. (Well, either it was God directing me or the mind-altering influence of my aroma therapy scrub. I’m pretty sure it was the former). And the question confronting me was this:

What is Easter really about? 

Is Easter just about a neat Life-Over-Death trick that no one else has ever done? Well, yes, in part. “He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!” as we like to chant in unison on Easter morning certainly comes to mind. But what is Easter really about? Because as nifty as the empty tomb is, it doesn’t make me want to sing for joy. Smile, yes. Celebrate like I’ve won the lottery? Not so much.

My thoughts moved to images of Jesus, revealing himself to his friends, eating with them, touching them and assuring them that He was real. Really real. And then those images of Easter struck a chord. Something in my grinch-like, hardened heart seemed to soften. What is Easter really about? And I knew.

Heaven.

Easter celebrates the fact that we can know, beyond any doubt, that there is life after death. That there is a Heaven and what is waiting for us isn’t just a nondescript, disembodied lighter-than-air eternity of harp-strumming jam sessions. It’s real just as He is real. And we will be real too, complete with eyes to see and ears to hear and hands that can touch and hug and feel. Easter is God’s proof--his assurance--that Life in the fullest sense of every sense is what awaits each and every one of us who takes hold of Jesus’ invitation to join him. Oh what a wonderful thought! What a wonderful, wonderful thought! 

Something tells me that I’m going to love Easter Sunday this year. 

The Foodie Code--Luke 2:21-24

“On the eighth day when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord’), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: ‘a pair of doves or two young pigeons’.”  Luke 2:21-24 NIV

Random Thoughts:

Dan Brown’s book “The DaVinci Code” with its thrilling mystery-behind-the-numbers message (albeit a wrong message) had one thing right. Taking a cue from God’s own best seller, biblical scripture, Brown was right to suggest that there is meaning behind names, behind numbers and rituals. But unlike Brown’s tale of intrigue, meant to reveal a "secret" that is best kept that way by an elite, privileged few, the message behind God’s numbers, names and ceremonies are meant to point to a universal truth. A shared truth meant to be celebrated by all who hear it. 

From circumcision (signifying a life obligated to observe the Law), to the 40 days of purification (40 symbolizing a fulfillment of God’s promises), to first-born consecration (recognizing God’s claim on their spiritual priestly service as in the order of Levi), this child, Jesus, is capable of doing what no other before or since can do. In perfect observance of the Law, he will fulfill God’s promise of redemption and will become the highest of priests to save us because we cannot save ourselves. In fact, the message behind all of God’s “codes” is contained within his very name, chosen before his birth. Jesus means, “God is my salvation.” 

What is so amazing to me as I read passages like this is how God has been weaving together His message from the very beginning of our human story with elements that often seem like meaningless-must-dos or insignificant details. (There’s a reason that the book of Laws, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, are not on the New York Times best seller list.) But it is those very must-dos and details that when put together at the right time in the right place point their collective neon message straight to God’s greatest work: Jesus come to rescue us.

But whether we are knowledgeable ancient Jews or ignorant current-day gentiles, God’s message is simple and it is a message He wants us all--not just a select few--to understand. “God is our salvation”. We see it on a cross. We see it in His name. It is a code meant to be broken and understood by all.