Mild, Obedient, Good as He?

Mild, Obedient, Good as He?

First after Epiphany

Collect: O Lord, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of they people who call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to do the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Gospel: St. Luke 2:41-52

41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.

42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.

44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.

46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Every year the Festival of Lessons and Carols at King’s College, Cambridge begins with “Once in Royal David’s City,” by children’s hymnwriter, Cecil Frances Alexander. Two lines teach that “Christian children all must be mild, obedient, good as he.” Charles Wesley also wrote a children’s hymn that addresses our Lord as “gentle Jesus, meek and mild.”

I have a question. Was Jesus mild?

1. Jesus at Jerusalem

1.1. The Old Testament Law commanded that Jewish males appear before the Lord in Jerusalem: “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths” (Deuteronomy 16:16). Joseph went every year to Passover, the celebration of God’s working salvation for Israel by delivering them from slavery in Egypt.

1.2. Women were not required, though not forbidden to attend. Mary accompanied Joseph every year. The one way trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem was about 62 miles and took about 3 days. People often travelled to and from Jerusalem in caravans.

1.3. Jesus may have gone with his parents every year, but St. Luke tells us about his going with them when he was 12 years old. The next year he would turn 13, the year when he would no longer be a boy, but a “son of commandment,” a full member of the synagogue. Parents were encouraged to take their sons to Jerusalem, at least once before he turned 13, as part of his preparation for assuming the religious privileges and responsibilities of an adult male member of the synagogue.

1.4. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus took seriously the life of faith, which involved both the heart attitude and the practice Old Testament worship. We might summarize this for us as, “Love God; go to church.” It is not enough to go to church, to participate in public worship, and to engage in devotional practices at home, if we do not in our hearts love God. On the other hand, it will not do to love God but not to engage in worship and the practice of our faith. A husband cannot choose between loving his wife and taking out the garbage. He must do both. So in practice of our faith we need both the devotion of our hearts and the practice of our faith, especially in worship.

2. Jesus at the Temple

2.1 The Festival Jesus and his parents attended lasted 8 days, the Day of Passover and the following 7 days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. When that year’s visit was over, Joseph and Mary started out on the trip home. They had traveled a day and were one third of the way home, when they realized Jesus was missing.

In the 80s we served a small congregation with a number of young families and a great many kids. One family had 6 children, so each Sunday they came to church in 2 cars. One Sunday they arrived back home to find that the youngest, a toddler, was missing. Each thought the other had him. When they went back to the church to look for him, they found him happily playing in the sugar bowl from the coffee table.

Something like that must have happened when Jesus went missing. Joseph and Mary may have assumed he was with another family who had a son about his age. Or, since sometimes at least, men and women traveled in separate groups, each may have thought Jesus was with the other parent.

Whatever the reason, they could not find Jesus among the travelers. Once they concluded he really was missing, they had no choice but to turn back and try to find him. By the time they found Jesus it had been three days since they last saw him - one day of travel to Nazareth, one day of return to Jerusalem, and one day of search.

2.2. Where was Jesus? He had intentionally stayed in Jerusalem, and, when they found him, he was in the Temple, sitting among a group of teachers or Bible scholars. They were asking him questions, he was giving answers, and he was asking them follow-up questions. Jesus at 12 was taking the opportunity to learn from them.

One method of teaching was that teachers asked questions and the learner answered. One valuable method of teaching that has fallen by the wayside is catechism, a series of questions with written answers that a learner memorizes. I have never forgotten the question, “What is the chief end of man?” and the answer, “To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”

But the teaching method going on with Jesus was more like a discussion. Teachers would pose problems in the form of questions, and the student would give an answer reasoning from the Scriptures, then the student could ask more questions to get more understanding. The teachers and others who listened were amazed at his understanding revealed by the answers he gave to their questions. They found unusual the breadth of his knowledge, the depth of his understanding, and the clarity of his answers.

2.3. However, Mary and Joseph were astonished - that he had remained in Jerusalem, that he was in the Temple talking with the scholars, and that he seemed to think all this was normal and reasonable. Mary was not happy. She said, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” Mary was upset. If you have ever had a child wander away, you know how frantic you feel until you find him. And then, when you find him, you scold him for what he put you through. You can understand Mary’s feelings and words.

2.4. Jesus’ answer shows he thinks they should not have been surprised: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I had to be in my Father’s house?”  (The word translated “business” in the KJV is likely better translated “house.”)

Jesus’ answer reveals his priority. His most important commitment was to his Father - not his step-father, Joseph, but his Father in heaven. This is his Father’s house, and his Father’s house is what is most important to him. Even though he is only 12 years old, the Father’s house takes precedence over everything, including his mother and Joseph. Nothing is more important for him than being in the building devoted to his Father and growing in knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures.

Jesus also reveals his early grasp of who he is. God the Father is “my Father.”  Even now he begins to understand that his relationship with God is unique. God is his Father in a way that he is not anyone else’s father. Perhaps this had become clearer to him as he had discussed Scriptures with the teachers. Jesus, knowing that he is the Son of God the Father, puts his Father’s interests above all things and must be in his Father’s house.

Why are they surprised? Did they not understand? Did they not know that he had to be here in his Father’s house? No, they did not understand. Though they knew the miraculous circumstances of his birth, had been visited by amazed shepherds, had heard the prophecy of old Simeon, and had been found by worshiping wise men, they did not yet understand who their Son was and why he must be in his Father’s house.

Was Jesus mild? Yes, in the sense that he was not harsh. But he was not mild in the sense of being diffident and weak. He had a strong and confident personality, even at a young age, something that would be expressed many times in his ministry, not the least on two occasions when he cleansed the house of his Father from those who corrupted its worship.

3. Jesus at Home

After this, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus went back home to Nazareth. There he submitted himself to them. It is likely that, after listening to his mother that day, he had a clearer grasp of what it meant to honor his father and mother. This was part of his humbling himself and being obedient to the will of his Father in heaven and to the will of his earthly parents. Jesus is the Son of God. He understands this more clearly than before he went to Jerusalem. Nevertheless he voluntarily submits himself as a child to his parents. Mrs. Alexander was right to teach children to sing that “Christian children all should be …obedient...as he.”

Mary did not understand these things, but she did not forget them. She thought about and treasured all the wonderful things about this boy who was her Son but also the Son of God.

3.2. Through the rest of his childhood Jesus grew in wisdom and stature in favor with God and man. We might wonder why Jesus asked questions of the Bible scholars and why he grew in wisdom. If he was the Son of God didn’t he know everything and have perfect knowledge and wisdom?

There are two big mistakes about Jesus. One is not to affirm that he was and is fully God. That’s the mistake of liberal Christianity. The other mistake is not to understand and affirm his full humanity. That’s a mistake made by some conservative Christians who are anxious not to compromise his Deity. But the truth of his full humanity is very important for us. He nursed at his mother’s breast. She changed his diaper. He grew in knowledge and wisdom. He experienced hunger, thirst, and weariness. He wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus. Jesus is God, with unlimited power to save. But he is also man with unlimited understanding of our weaknesses and sufferings.

Mrs. Alexander got what that means for children:

For he is our childhood's pattern;

Day by day, like us He grew;

He was little, weak and helpless,

Tears and smiles like us He knew;

And He feeleth for our sadness,

And He shareth in our gladness.

We adults need that, too.