The Order of Worship

Music Ministry Team:  Kristin Petty, Dwight Huntley, Matthew Leone, Rene Vazquez

Worship Team:  Sarah Haas, Marc Hayden

Technology Team:  Michael Kendall, Mark Raker, Jerry Weissinger

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Key Notes from the reading & sermon:

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming 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. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When 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.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

This story of the boy Jesus in the Temple fits with a literary genre characteristic of heroic figures. Notable persons often have extraordinary experiences in childhood that foreshadow a heroic career in adulthood. In the early part of the 1st century that heroic figure was Caesar Augustus. In the wake of his death, stories of Augustus’ heroics were being recorded in monuments and written records meant to establish an enduring legacy. Luke is interested in demonstrating that Jesus is worthy of our allegiance, even more so than Caesar. Luke’s telling of a story of 12-year-old Jesus who “amazes” Temple scholars builds a case for the unique and remarkable identity and mission of Jesus, the one who is truly worthy of our devotion.

Questions for Reflection:

• What are some of the religious traditions and rituals that add meaning to your life? Is it important to you to share those traditions and rituals with younger generations? How are they received by younger people? What changes need to be made in those traditions and rituals?

• It is a common and necessary experience to separate one’s identity and purpose from one’s parents. How do you see that at work in this story? What are the feelings involved for Jesus, Mary and Joseph? How do you relate to those feelings?

• A young Jesus has a sense of his calling. How did you experience a sense of calling in your life? Does each stage of life come with a new calling? How does your faith inform that process?

• Luke says that “Jesus increased in wisdom and in years”. How does wisdom increase in your life?

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