By Rebecca Stoltzfus, president
Scripture: Luke 2:41-52 (NRSV)
Christmas includes heavenly angels and stars, but at its heart, the story is earthy and human. God in the flesh. And as today’s scripture reminds us, God in a family.
We all come from a family, of one sort or another. And we all go through periods when our family loses us — either literally or otherwise. They don’t understand who we are, or are surprised to discover what we truly love, confused by who we were meant to be.
And that is what we see in the story of the twelve-year-old Jesus lingering in Jerusalem and hanging out at the temple. He was drawn to what he loved, learning about spiritual matters and about God. His mother, like all mothers in their not-so-great moments, takes it personally and thinks it’s about her: “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
However, my favorite line from the story is this: “But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.” This is a family story of loss and fear and anger, and then reunion. Yes, a treasure.
As you are with your family this season – or not, as the case may be – remember that Jesus also grew up in a family, full of love and commitment but also hurt feelings and wrong assumptions and crossed signals. Maybe this is part of your experience too, even on Christmas.
The spiritual writer Karen Armstrong describes families as “schools of compassion.” Being in a family means that we mess up and get messed up, but we also hope to give one another enough love and big-heartedness that we find our way home and grow in wisdom.
Greetings and love, from my messy family to yours. Merry Christmas!
NOTE FROM THE EDITORS:
Merry Christmas, and thank you for joining the Goshen College community through this season of Advent. Our hope is that you found the devotions as inspirational and comforting as did the writers. May God’s presence surround you and God’s love sustain you.
Scripture: Luke 2:41-52 (NRSV)
Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” 49He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50But they did not understand what he said to them. 51Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.