The First Sunday of Christmas, Year C,
December 31, 2000

By
The Rev. Ann M. Smith

It is part of our growing up to be regaled by our parents and siblings about the stories of our childhood. It is usually the naughty things we did or the times we got lost or into difficulty and were rescued by them that are recounted over and over again. As adults, we think back on these same stories with a different perspective. In them, we catch a glimpse of what has made us who we are. They are stories of growth and development in our lives.

The ultimate story of this genre must surely be the movie Home Alone in which parents go on a Christmas vacation inadvertently leaving their young son at home by himself. He copes with every terrible situation that comes along. Despite the slap-stick, comedic way in which he deals with the thieves who break into the house, he learns to take care of himself in a very mature way. What starts out as an excuse to eat junk food and stay up late, becomes a routine that includes caring for his personal hygiene and even his spiritual needs.

And there it is in Luke's gospel this morning! That same kind of story! At the age of twelve, Mary and Joseph take Jesus with them on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. When the festival is over, they pack up their things and head for home along with their friends and relatives. Jesus isn't with them. But that doesn't particularly worry them. There is a sense of community about the festival. They assume that he, in typical teenaged fashion, is making the journey with some of his friends. It isn't until the following day when the crowds thin and Jesus still hasn't caught up with them that they begin to worry. They ask their acquaintances. No one has seen the boy. So they start back to Jerusalem. What panic they must have gone through! Three days of searching all over that huge city! Finally they return to the temple, and there he is, calm and unconcerned, sitting among the teachers, asking them questions and answering their queries as if it is the most natural thing in the world for him to be doing. And, of course, if you really think about it, it is!

This is a preparation for Jesus as he begins his earthly ministry. He is beginning to awaken to the life that lies ahead of him. His inquiring mind is searching for answers. He is ready to risk. He has a need to search out his origins and to begin to assume his role and his identity. He returns, not quite the same person, as we all do in our growing up. Jesus has caught a glimpse of what is in store for him.

It is often so in our own lives. Something happens on a single occasion that continues to reveal itself to us in our lives. It is a point of transformation, a working of the Holy Spirit, whether we recognize it at the time or not. Like Jesus, we return to our home, the incident seems to be over, but it continues to work in our memory until it emerges in some life-changing way at another time in our lives. It may be a time of deep trauma. It may be a simple revelation that seems insignificant and trivial. Yet as adults it may emerge in a totally different light.

For Mary it must have been a terrible experience. Not to know where your beloved child is or what is happening to him! And yet she is able, once it is over, to see it as part of the mystery of the Word made flesh. Once more she is called upon to ponder the happenings. To live with the mystery!

This is a time for us of pondering. It is a time to look back and treasure the things that have made us who we are. It is a time to look back on our spiritual journey and see the path that we have followed in our lives – the path along which Christ has lead us. It is a time to set new goals. And Paul in the letter to the Colossians gives us the picture of what those goals might be as Christians living in community. Our response to the Christmas story calls us to reflect on the qualities and attributes of the family of God. To see one another as holy; to treat others with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience; to be forgiving and forgiven; to let God's peace rule our hearts; and to let the word of Christ dwell in us. It is not enough to be able to quote Scripture. We must live it in our lives. We must see Christ in others and allow them to see Christ in us. We must live as Christ in the world.

It is so profound, and almost unbelievable, the consequences of the Christmas event in our lives! But we do believe, that it is by God's grace, that we begin a new year. We celebrate this cosmic event and its glorious consequences for our lives and the lives of all those who embrace and follow God as revealed through the Christ of Christmas.

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