Luke 2:41-52

Now the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem every year 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.

What are we to make of today's Gospel reading?

What are we to make of parents who for a day didn't know their child was missing?

How could a child, left behind on his own, find food to eat for two days or pay for a bed at night?

We are not given even the hint of answers. For the author of the Gospel is not writing to satisfy curiosity for historical detail. He is interested solely in holding up Jesus as one whose words and deeds demonstrated the purposes of God to the amazement of all.

Luke sets this story about Jesus within the Jerusalem temple. Here leading Jewish religious intellectuals taught and debated interpretation of Scripture. They discussed and disputed the relationship of religion to the Roman state and of Jews to non-Jews. They argued over whether to interpret the Torah literally or figuratively, in a conservative way or liberal way. Burying themselves in the ancient texts of their tradition, they sought wisdom for deep questions. They asked about illness and whether it was a punishment from God. They asked about the problem of evil, and how that could be reconciled with a faithful God. They asked about the future and how God's will would triumph, and when, and how.

Luke's story tells us that they brought into their conversations and debates a twelve year-old boy named Jesus. They listened to his questions, and listened to answers he gave to their questions. And they marveled at the wisdom of this child.

Now I want to suggest to you that there is more to marvel about in this story than the wisdom of a child. I find it marvelous that a community of learned people welcomed a child into their conversations and treated him as an equal. I find it marvelous that these adults truly did believe that children could be a source of wisdom, and that adults had something to learn from listening to children. I find that marvelous.

Isn't that worth reflecting on?

Let me encourage that reflection by putting forward a series of six affirmations or propositions of my own. I plan to publish these in our newsletter to encourage continuing conversation among us about them.

One: When Jesus said in the Gospels, “Whoever welcomes a child, welcomes me,” he actually meant it. Whoever welcomes a child, welcomes Jesus, and whoever welcomes Jesus, welcomes God who sent him.

Two: Children deserve to be accorded the same degree of recognition and respect as adults. Children deserve to be accorded the same degree of recognition and respect as adults.

Three: You can tell how much a community cares about its future by looking at how much it cares about its children. You can tell how much a community cares about its future by looking at how much it cares about its children.

Four: Children should be both seen and heard. Children should be both seen and heard.

Five: When considering any change, ask: How will it affect the children. When considering any change, ask: How will it affect the children.

And six: If you really want to know what children are thinking or feeling about anything, or what they want, ask them. If you really want to know what children are thinking or feeling about anything, or what they want, ask them.

I see many of those affirmations and propositions lived out in the words and actions of the Jewish teachers in today's Gospel reading.

They invited, welcomed, and included a child. They not only spoke, they listened. They not only taught a child, they learned from one. And they accorded a child the recognition and respect that they would an adult.

I guess on second thought I should not marvel over the consideration they gave to Jesus. For wasn't it the work of these learned adults to ensure that the religious traditions and values of a people with a thousand year history and more were carried on and transmitted from one generation to the next?

Wasn't their work more than their own enlightenment – wasn't it also to educate, train, and inspire children to embrace their tradition, shape it through their own experience and insights, and carry it forward to meet new challenges.

There has always been in Judaism a strong sense of the people as a whole – in time and space. Great attention is paid to telling the stories by which past experiences are remembered and values are passed down. Each generation knows and practices its responsibility to the next. Children are valued as integral to the continuing life and wellbeing of community. The future is already being formed in their active minds by what they are learning and integrating and already practicing. Children are a people's future.

Christians too have their own sense as themselves as a people – as church, and not just as individuals. We celebrated all 50 years of our church's history just last year. Even though few of us were here for all of those fifty years, and few of us will be here fifty years from now, we do lay claim to it all. The first fifty years were our years as a congregation. They belong to all of us.

And we all likewise belong to St. David's future, which we are helping to create right now, no more so than by how we teach, train, and inspire young people in our midst. And the success of our next 50 years depends in no small part on what we do for the children and youth among us.

I invite you to begin a process of reflection with me on what we can be doing to make St. David's known for its hospitality and commitment to children. I have my own ideas about what can be done to help make that so. I hope you do too, so we can learn from each other.

But most of all, we need to be learning from the children among us. So, let's ask them first what needs doing for our community to be a more welcoming place for them. I plan on doing that soon in children's time at worship, so you can all listen in.

But don't let that keep you from asking any child that beforehand.