Growing Up
A sermon based on 1 Sam. 2:18-20, 26; Col. 3:12-17; and Lk. 2:41-52
By Rev. Rick Thompson
When
I was a child and youth, I used to both eagerly anticipate and, at the same
time, dread the annual family reunion.
I
enjoyed reuniting with those shirt-tail cousins, the ones I saw once a year at
most. We’d have a great time running around the park, playing, laughing,
and talking. (Especially when I got into my teen years, some of the females
even looked pretty attractive!)
But
then there were the embarrassing comments of the older ones. “My, Ricky, how
you’ve grown!” Now, I’m certain that some of them hadn’t seen me between the
ages of five and fifteen so, of course, I’d grown—in their eyes. But, in my own
eyes, I didn’t think I’d grown nearly as much as I wished. So hearing
that comment, “My, how you’ve grown!” always embarrassed and even annoyed me.
(Now that the shoe’s on the other foot, I must say that I often find myself
making that comment myself about the children of Holy Shepherd! So I apologize
to any children whom I’ve embarrassed—and also warn you that I’ll probably do it
again!)
“My,
how you’ve grown!” Now, as I’m older, I find myself hoping to hear that
comment! Oh, not so much about my physical stature—but certainly when it
comes to matters of the spirit. Because, on this 1st Sunday of
Christmas, the readings we’ve heard all remind us of the importance of growing
up—growing up as disciples of Christ, growing up as children of God.
We
heard part of the story of Samuel. We encountered Samuel as kind of an
apprentice priest, serving with and learning from the old priest Eli in the holy
place at Shiloh, even wearing miniature priest garments. And, as you may
remember, Samuel was a special child. His mother, Hannah, had been childless,
and for years she had prayed and prayed and PRAYED for a
son. She had even promised that she would dedicate that son to God’s service.
Finally, Samuel was born—and here he was, serving as a child in the holy place,
preparing for a key role in the story of God’s relationship with the children of
Israel.
And
did you notice how the reading ended? “The boy Samuel grew up in the presence
of the Lord.”
As
Luke writes today’s Gospel reading, the story of Jesus at age 12 discussing
theology with the elders in the Temple, he seems to have the story of Samuel
squarely in his sight. Here is a special child—Jesus, born to a virgin, brought
to the Temple by devout human parents, being prepared for a crucial and saving
role in God’s plan and purposes. When a worried Joseph and Mary locate him and
ask the inevitable question, “Where have you been?”, Jesus replies, “Should I
not be in my Father’s house?” Or, as an equally valid translation has it,
“Should I not be about my Father’s business?” And then the story concludes—with
echoes of the story of Samuel—“Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in
divine and human favor.”
Put
simply, Jesus grew up.
And
that makes me wonder: Do you suppose that, if special children like Samuel and
Jesus had some growing up to do, then you and I may need to do some growing up
as well?
I
think the answer is “Yes”, and that’s why I think I’d no longer be embarrassed
to have people say of me, “My, how you’ve grown!” (But none of that “Ricky”
stuff for me any more!)
Jesus grew up. Here, already, at age 12, he is deeply immersed in the teachings
of the Hebrew Bible and traditions of the Jewish people. But he had more
growing to do.
With
the loving guidance of his devout human parents Joseph and Mary, Jesus grew up.
As this story of the youth in the Temple began, we were reminded that they had
gone to the Temple
for Passover as usual. It was their custom. In the home of Mary and
Joseph, Jesus was reared with a love for God and God’s teachings, raised as a
devout Jewish youth. They helped him grow up!
And
when he did grow up, Jesus did amazing things! He hung out with the
outcasts of society, proclaiming and modeling the love of God for all and the
grace of God which knows no boundaries. He healed, and he taught with amazing
insight into God and God’s ways. Jesus even raised the dead! He loved all, he
forgave sins, he came to serve, he came to save. And save he did!—through an
agonizing death and astounding resurrection to eternal glory and power!
When Jesus grew up, AMAZING THINGS RESULTED!
He really WAS about his Father’s
business—fulfilling the work of God the Father on earth!
And so we
find ourselves here, in this holy place, on a cold winter morning, two
days after Christmas, worshipping Jesus as Savior and Lord of all! Here we are,
desiring to grow, too—because, by the grace and mercy God pours out in Christ,
we are claimed as God’s children and invited to live under the rule of God’s
strong and gentle grace.
We
live under God’s grace and, by that grace, we grow up. We keep on
growing as God’s children! As we hear God’s Word together, we grow up. As we
gather at the Lord’s table, and receive there the body and blood of the One who
grew up to serve and save us all, and enter a New Year fortified by these gifts
of grace, we grow up!
That’s one of the chief tasks of children, isn’t it—to grow up? And isn’t that
what we are—children, children of a loving, merciful, forgiving, gracious God?
So,
as we live in the afterglow of Christmas, and on the threshold of a new year,
let us resolve to keep on growing in God’s grace! Let us be determined, like
Jesus, to “be about our Father’s business”. And what is that business? Serving
and loving others. Forgiving sins. Mending creation. Knowing and telling and
living the story of God’s love. Or, as we put it in the Holy Shepherd mission
statement—say it with me, if you can…
Worshipping and Growing Together in
Christ,
Serving and
Reaching Out Joyfully to All!
Worshipping and Growing Together in Christ, Serving and Reaching Out Joyfully to
All! That’s our Father’s business, that’s our calling, that’s
what we will do as we keep growing up as children of God!
Even
if it makes us “different”.
Pastor William Carter tells of a family living near the church he served as
pastor. It was a three-story row house, with the grandparents on the ground
floor, the parents on the second floor, and the children sleeping on the third
floor.
One
day, the grandfather beckoned Pastor Carter—Grandpa’s pastor—to the back fence.
“I’m worried about my grandson,” he said.
“What’s the problem?” Pastor Carter asked.
“When he gets up in the morning,” Grandpa reported, “he reads the Bible before
he does anything else. Every time he sits at the kitchen table, he insists on
saying grace. Now he’s talking about joining a prayer group with his
girlfriend.”
“Walter,” Pastor Carter repeated, “what’s the problem?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Reverend,” Grandpa replied. “Religion is a good thing, as
long as it’s in small doses. I’m worried my grandson is becoming an extremist.”[i]
Well, was the grandson becoming an extremist? Or was he just growing up—growing
in God’s Word, fed by God’s Sacraments, growing up in Christ?
As
we live in the afterglow of Christmas, and on the threshold of a New Year, shall
we resolve to grow up in Christ, grow up in the one who was born to love and
forgive, to serve and to save? Wouldn’t it be an amazing thing if we gathered
again, a year from now, and each one of us heard someone say to us, “My, how
you’ve grown—grown as children of God?”
If
we want to grow up as God’s children, then I suggest we take to heart the
encouragement Paul offers in today’s second reading:
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against
another,
forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you,
so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love,
which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the
peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were
called
in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom;
and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and
spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
to God the Father through him.
That’s excellent advice for people who have just celebrated Christmas.
Excellent advice for people entering a new year under God’s grace. Excellent
encouragement for those who want to grow up—grow in Christ, grow as children of
God.
So I’ll only add one word.
I’ll simply say, “Amen.”
