30/12/12 Christmas 1 - 1 Luke 2:41-52

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Luke 2: 41: 41 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they travelled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." 49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them. 51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men.

One of the news stories on 2012 was when David Cameron left his eight-year-old daughter in the pub following a Sunday lunch, after a mix-up with his wife Samantha. The couple's daughter Nancy wandered off to the toilets while they were arranging lifts and they only realised she was not with them when they got home. The prime minister rushed back to the Plough Inn in Cadsden, Buckinghamshire, where he found his daughter with staff.

In today's gospel we have a glimpse of Joseph's family. Joseph, Mary & Jesus would have been part of a larger group from their village including friends & family travelling together to Jerusalem for the great Jewish religious festival of the Passover. There was a large group of them for safety, company and support. They would have walked about 65 miles each way to and from Jerusalem. With a larger group and a variety of people, they would probably be walking for about 5 days. This is why it is understandable that they assumed that Jesus was with their group, especially at age 12.

The Jewish religious leaders were astonished at this boy's religious knowledge. Joseph and Mary are astonished for another reason. They could not believe that their son caused them such grief. In contrast Jesus is calm and he shows that already he has a knowledge of who he is and of his purpose in life.

Jesus honoured his earthly father, Joseph, 51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. Yet, Jesus knew that His true identity was to be found in his heavenly father, God. 49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"

Jesus calling is to follow the will of God the Father and so it is natural for him to be in the temple, the centre of Jewish worship, discussing theology with the experts. Developing his own understanding and also challenging the experts' knowledge of God. The reason why the young Jesus could astound the experts is that whilst they were older, had more experience and had read and studied more, He had a personal relationship with the one whom they were studying.

Everyone needs the opportunity to ask questions about the Christian faith, which is why we are starting a course based on the "Alpha Course" shortly to help people who are thinking about baptism &/or confirmation to understand more about the Christian faith. We have led a number of these courses and have been encouraged by the way God uses them to bring people on in their faith. I have also enjoyed discussing the difficult questions that have arisen in these groups.

There is, perhaps some tension between Jesus declaring who he is and what his mission is and his relationship with his parents, especially Joseph. At this stage Joseph and Mary do not understand. But this, and other things were retained by Mary who appreciated the full significance of them much later.

Last Friday a Breakfast Television program asked people if they had rowed during Christmas and what it was about. Most people said "Yes", they had rowed, and that it was about petty things like the tree, turkey and presents. An expert commented that this was understandable as people in families are thrown together for a time, tensions can be unearthed and expectations can be different. Perhaps there were tensions for Joseph over his own identity. Joseph & Mary certainly didn't expect to find Jesus discussing theology on the temple, otherwise they wouldn't have taken three days to find him.

Jesus was setting the foundations for a new family. One built on a relationship with God the father, through His son, Jesus. This family will be founded on love, forgiveness, peace and thanksgiving. This family does not share blood or DNA but the Holy Spirit. This is what our Epistle reading talks about.

Paul starts of by talking about how we are members of God's family, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,

We are chosen by God. Our salvation is a free, undeserved gift from God, through Jesus, enabled by His Holy Spirit. We are holy, the word means set apart for and by God. We are to live for Him and through Him. We are dearly loved. Many people feel unloved and some are damaged psychologically because of this. Yet no-one is unloved. God loves each and every person so much he sent His son Jesus to die in their place on the cross.

Christians have, by definition, received that wonderful, unconditional, free love and are called to live lives that reflect this. This is the only true proof that we have received God's love. That is where the "Therefore" at the start of verse 12 fits in. Therefore, because you have been unconditionally loved and chosen by God to be different, put on, as you would clothes, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, like an overcoat which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Compassion is referring to the sharing of pity, mercy, sympathy that comes from within. Jesus showed this to the sick in an age when the sick, injured or elderly were left to fend for themselves, and many died as a result. We should be concerned about meeting people's needs.

Kindness is related to compassion, a graciousness that is not harsh. This is linked to humility which is thinking of other people before ourselves, epitomised by Jesus' example. Gentleness is also linked. It is not weakness but a willingness to suffer injury rather than inflict it. It is one of the nine fruit of the Spirit. We need to rely on God's Holy Spirit to grow these fruit.

Patience is another. The patient person does not get angry, is not resentful, does not seek revenge. One of the factors for the arguments at Christmas, according to the "experts" is long held resentments surfacing when people are close together. Patience is linked to bearing with one another and forgiving one another. We all have our own faults. God has forgiven our faults and so, who are we, who have been forgiven, to withhold forgiveness from someone else? If we are unforgiving, it questions if we have really appreciated our own forgiveness. For this is based on God's choice and love for us and is completely undeserved.

The peace of Christ, which was freely given through the forgiveness He earned for us on the cross, is to rule in the hearts of God's people., We are to be thankful for what God has done for us in Jesus. This will put into perspective any problems that are, in the light of eternity, no more serious than a Christmas tree or turkey!

This is not to say that there should be no correction of conduct that is not God's will. Paul's teaching to put on these virtues is evidence of this. Also, he wrote v. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom

An ambassador represents a country in a foreign land. They bear the name of that country. This is what the final verse is about. 7 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

We are Christ-ians. We bear the name of Christ our ruler. We should reflect his kingdom values in everything that we do. This is especially refers to the way that we treat one another.

People have joined our church in the last year or so because they have felt loved and accepted. This is encouraging, but is not a cause for complacency. For 2013 my prayer is that our church family will show even more compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. That we would bear with each other and forgive one another. That we would put on love like an overcoat, and let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. To let the word of Christ dwell in us richly as we teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as we sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in our hearts to God. And whatever we do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Let us be ambassadors for Christ.