Patrick Yancey Heroic Wisdom God calls us to help our children (and others) to be wise in putting God first in their lives Luke 2:41-52 May 21, 2017

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1 Patrick Yancey Heroic Wisdom God calls us to help our children (and others) to be wise in putting God first in their lives Luke 2:41-52 May 21, 2017 Opening - I ll start by offering a big thank you for allowing me to be here today. - I have filled pulpits around Northern Kansas for a few years and this is a new experience for me. o I ve lived in Topeka my entire life and know this church well. o I attend the Wednesday morning Bible study group here. o I m married to a stained glass artist, so I know all about these beautiful windows, designed by Louis C. Tiffany. o Over the years working in youth ministry, I ve slept on floor of this church more than a few times. o So again thank you for allowing me to be here and worship with you today. - So we have VBS coming up in a couple of weeks! o And the theme this year is Hero Central: Discover Your Strength in God. o During that week, participants will be treated to stories, crafts, games and music as together we examine the characteristics of those who are heroes in God s eyes. o All of this for the purpose of teaching us how we can be heroes for God. o That is an awesome theme for an awesome purpose! - Today s we learn that God s Heroes have wisdom. - And today s scripture tells the story of Jesus as a young boy in the Temple. Joseph and Mary are worried - The story opens with Joseph and Mary discovering that Jesus is not with them and now they must return to Jerusalem to find him. - I think most anyone who s been charged with caring for a child can relate to what Joseph and Mary were feeling when they realized that Jesus was missing. - Story about Benjamin missing o I ll tell you, during those few moments when I didn t know where my son was, I was nearly panicked. I was so fearful that something had happened to him. When it was over, my panic quickly turned to anger. I was angry that our babysitter had allowed this to happen. o Fear, panic and anger o I think we all can imagine that those were feelings shared by Joseph and Mary. o During that slow and torturous trip back to find Jesus, can you just picture them both vacillating between "Please, dear God let him be OK!" and "Just wait till I get my hands on that kid!" 1

2 - Now, just how could this happen, you might wonder- how could Mary and Joseph overlook the obvious fact that Jesus was not with them? Jesus has courage o Scripture tells us that, just as they had done every year, Joseph and Mary had been in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of the Passover and now they were traveling home. o And it s helpful to consider that while traveling by caravan, men tended to gather with other men and women with women, while children played together. o So, it s not really so difficult to imagine how Joseph and Mary could assume that Jesus is somewhere within the caravan. - I will say that Jesus was a rather courageous 12-year old. - Courage is another characteristic of heroes, explored in an earlier message and what Jesus did took great courage. o As a 12-year old, I d have been too afraid to leave my parents and go off on my own. o And I d have been doubly afraid to face the consequences when they caught up to me. - In his book titled One Crowded Hour, author Tim Bowden tells a story of amazing courage during the Borneo confrontation in o A group of military fighters from Nepal, known as Gurkhas were asked if they would be willing to jump from transport airplanes into combat. Gurkhas are well known for their history of courage in service to the British Army. o Usually agreeable to anything, the Gurkhas provisionally rejected this plan. However the next day one of their commanding officers sought out the British officer who made the request and said they had discussed the matter further and would be prepared to jump under certain conditions. What are they? asked the officer. o The soldier told him that they would be willing to jump if the plane would fly as slowly as possible and no more than 100 feet high. The British officer pointed out that the planes always fly as slowly as possible when dropping troops, but to jump from 100 feet was impossible, because that height was insufficient to allow time for the parachutes to open. Oh, said the Gurkhas, that s alright then. We ll jump with parachutes anywhere. You didn t mention parachutes before! o That is courage folks. I don t know how it was for you growing up, but when I was 12 years old, doing something like Jesus did, knowing I would soon be facing angry parents, would have taken more courage than jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. It was not in me to do something like that. - In life, putting God first can require courage. That is an important nugget of wisdom for young people to learn if they are to grow up wise. Mary and Joseph are amazed - When Joseph and Mary arrive to Jerusalem they are dumbfounded to find Jesus in the Temple and they are amazed at what he is doing when they find him. - Jesus is sitting with the teachers in the Temple, listening and asking questions o And apparently he is asking profound questions - It seems clear that Jesus is wise beyond his years 2

3 o What teacher wouldn t rejoice in having a student like this among them? o The staple of teaching are questions, which are followed by answers. o The student asks a question and the teacher provides an answer To confirm understanding, the teacher asks a question and the student provides the answer. o No doubt, in their profession these teachers had heard many questions and answers, but they had never before heard such questions and answers from a twelve-year-old boy. o The profundity of Jesus questions and answers indicates understanding and insight well beyond his 12 years and everyone there is amazed, including Joseph and Mary. - Perhaps you can think back to a time when you shared an amazing moment with someone close to you? - I recall one such time when my older son Kevin was entering the first grade. o As I walked him into class, we found his teacher struggling to hook up the classroom computer o I work in computers and had taught Kevin from an early age about them o I tell you, it was with deep satisfaction that I watched my first-grade son, go over and show the teacher how the computer works. That s MY boy over there, I thought to myself The student was teaching the teacher It was a proud moment and his father was DELIGHTED! o The teachers listening to Jesus that day were amazed. o And one need not try too hard to imagine God s delight in that moment. Jesus is wise beyond his years - When his parents finally get Jesus to themselves, what follows is a dialog which could have become little more than a conflict between distraught parents and their rebellious child o Mom and dad are NOT happy and Jesus has some answering to do! - Yet, here is in part where Jesus demonstrates wisdom and heart. o He doesn t take the discussion to that level - he doesn t get defensive - he doesn t become quarrelsome. o Jesus is able to look into the heart of his parents and understand their feelings. - So, when Mary confronts Jesus and declares, Son, why have you treated us this way? (2:48), Jesus doesn t get confrontational. Jesus uses his wisdom - he is able to rise above the emotion of the moment. He sees beyond the tension of his present situation and gains a broader understanding. o And he shows amazing wisdom - he offers an explanation which enables his parents to see that he is doing exactly what they have taught him to do. - Jesus looks at his parents and says Why were you looking for me? Didn t you know that I must be in my Father s house? (2:49) 3

4 o You see, here s what Jesus understood - he knew that Mary and Joseph traveled every year to Jerusalem, to observe the Passover - 60 miles each way! And they travelled as a family, taking Jesus with them. o Their practice was a deep expression of faith, belief, and obedience to God. - Even as a young boy Jesus knew who he was and his parents had taught him well, bringing him to the Temple many times. Enough times that the Temple, with its teachers and leaders, felt like home to him. o In his question, what I think Jesus is saying is Why are you worried? It is you who raised me to be faithful and obedient. You taught me to place God first. It is you who raised me to think wisely and be inquisitive. I am doing what you taught me to do. - I also think, Jesus is letting his parents know that things are different now. o Jesus is asserting a maturity and wisdom which would normally go beyond that of a normal 12-year old, but which most assuredly belongs to him. o His words are his way of saying, Yes, I am your son. But I also belong to God and I must do what God calls me to do. - In a clever sort of way, Jesus is placing part ownership of his actions on Mary and Joseph o He is saying to them If you don t like what I m doing, why did you raise me in this way? o It would be difficult for most any parent to argue that point much further and apparently Mary and Joseph do not. - Our story concludes with Jesus accompanying Mary and Joseph home and being obedient to them while he continued to grow: Wrap it up o He grew in wisdom, learning that by going beyond the facts one can achieve greater understanding o He grew in stature, both physically and spiritually o He grew in his relationship to God o He grew in his relationship with his parents and others - I think there are several nuggets of wisdom we can find for ourselves in this story - In this story, we find our calling by God to raise our young people to learn and exercise wisdom. o I believe that teaching wisdom is one of the most important functions to which God calls the church. In today s society, people often seem to lack wisdom. And I believe the church is our best hope to change that. o Wisdom can be something we are born with, but it is also something given to us - by our parents, by our friends and by our church. o Mary and Joseph raised Jesus to be wise. And as they did - we are called to do likewise. - As we examine this story we see the importance of modeling wisdom to our young people. 4

5 o Raising children into wise adults, involves teaching and with each passing year, as we allow them more and more independence, we have to trust that we ve planted the seeds of wisdom with them. o As it was for Joseph, Mary and Jesus, our young people are watching us - learning from us. And what we model to them, they will do. o The question is As our young people regard us, what do they see? Do they see in us, what we see in today s story? Do they see us rising above our emotions and using our abilities in reasoning and thoughtfulness? Do they see us looking beyond our present situation to gain a broader understanding? Do they see us putting God first in our lives? o In the Epistle of James, chapter 3 it says the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. o It is our charge to model wisdom such as that. - I am thankful for a church like First Presbyterian, where young people can learn what it means to live a life of wisdom. - Amen. o It excites me to think about the lasting impact this church might have in the mind of a 12- year old boy. o VBS is barely two weeks away. o And my prayer is that during the week of VBS, God s wisdom will shine through those young people in ways that will amaze our teachers and pastors. o And it is also my prayer that God will be delighted. 5