Date:   05/05/2011

Text:   Luke 2:40-52

Title:   A Bigger House

Theme:   

Introduction:

  I often find myself doing this at home. Cynthia, where is the okra I left out on the counter last night? It's in the bag with the cabbage. Where is the cabbage? Or where is the lid to the small pot. It is somewhere there. Where is there? Oh, it's inside the steamer. If there is something that even she can't find it, most likely it has gone forever. I wonder if this happens in your family. Mothers or women in general are quite amazing, right?

  Generally speaking, mom remembers the PTA notice. She remembers the teacher's conference. Mom remembers to set up the doctor's appointments for the children. She remembers the children's vaccination shots. Mom also remembers the children's and grandchildren's birthdays and wedding dates. How many men can remember all of the above? If we are to remember just half of the above, our brains will be short circuited.

  There was a book published 9 years ago, called, “I don't know how she does it--- the life of Kate Reddy, working mother.” It's a rundown of what she did and must remember items every day. In it is a story about a man whose wife just died of cancer. Among the things she left behind, was a 20 page document named: Must Remember. The husband said, “She put down everything I need to remember, and telling me where to find them. She even put down where to find the Christmas decorations.” Mom can certainly remember a lot of things.

  Remember the movie Home Alone? On the morning the family is set for the big trip to Europe , the house was in a chaos. Mom was giving out last minute orders. And when they were done, they found themselves on the plane to Paris . Then half way there, mom realized that Kevin, the youngest son, was not on the plane, he was left behind, at home, all by himself. Have you ever wondered where the producer of this movie got this idea of the kid being left behind?

  This takes us to today's text: Luke 2:40-52. You may have noticed that this is the 3 rd time in the last 4 months that I have preached from this text. The first time was the first Sunday of this year, the second time was in February, about parenting and today the Sunday after Mother's Day.

  Vs.41-46, “……”This is a familiar story to most of us. Joseph, Mary, Jesus, and the other children took their annual trip to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. When it was over, they went home. In their tradition, Joseph probably travelled with other men, the children played with other children as they travelled, and Mary with other women. Mary must also be thinking about the things she has to do at home. Such as cleaning, cooking, making clothes for the family. The girl may need a pair of new shoes, and for the boys, another overall for its all worn out and didn't fit anymore. Especially Jesus, he has been wearing the same gown for almost two years. Yes, Jesus, wait, where is he? I thought I saw him here earlier. Is he with Joseph? No, how about James? Again, no, and he was not with any children either. No one saw him since they left Jerusalem this morning. She remembered a lot of things, but this time, she left Jesus behind.

  So they decided to back track to where they came from, Jerusalem . It took them a total of 3 days to find Jesus. One can imagine during those three days, the family's anxiety and impatience. Joseph could be blaming Mary, and Mary blaming Jesus' siblings; how come you guys don't keep an eye on your brother. And the children may say, are we our brother's keeper, especially he being older than us! Then of course, there is anger, “Wait till I put my hands on that kid.”

  Vs.46-48, “ 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ” 3 days later they found Jesus in the temple. They saw him sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. The teachers also asked him questions and he answered. Seeing this, the mom said, “ 48 And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”

Just imagine that this morning you and family came to church in 2 cars. After the worship, one of you has to go home first while the other needs to stay behind. After you both got home, you realized that one of the children was not there. I thought he was with you. No, I thought he was with you. One can sense the temperature rising. Without a word, mom left home and drove to church. Arriving at church, she saw the child was watching the adults playing Ping-Pong. Now, if you are the mom, what would you do? Will you think, this is church, I better watch my language and manners. I don't think so; you'll be using some very strong words that is not suitable to utter here. All you can say “Wait till we get home.” How about Mary? Did she think, wait, this is the holy temple, I need to watch my language, I need to put on a nice face and say, we are so glad that we have found you. Let's go home now. No, like many other mothers, her words would reflect what was in her heart. She said it like it is, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” Mary's words were not that surprising.

  However, Jesus' responses was surprising. “ 49 And he said to them, "“Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”"

The central truth in this passage is about God's family. We notice that Mary and Joseph could not understand these words. Mary was thinking about her house, her family. She was considering the well-being of Joseph, Jesus, James and other children, whom we know little of. Yet, Jesus was talking about the heavenly father's house. And then in vs.51, “ 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.” You see, Mary was thinking of her house, her family. Jesus was talking about his heavenly father's house. God's house, the family is much bigger and important than the immediate nuclear home.

  God's family includes the place of worship, the temple or church. It is a place where learning of God's words takes place. It is conducted through questions and answers. Or in today's terminology, it is interactive learning. But God's house is even bigger than this or other places of worship. It is bigger than denominations and organizations. It is bigger than the local churches and it includes Christians all over the world including those in Abbottabad. God's family includes people from all walks of life; from the unborn to the elderly, from those with little or no education to the highly educated. We are all members of God's family. The central, the core truth is that we are to remember God's family, house is much bigger than our own.

  Besides this truth, we notice that after Jesus' response, he went home with the parents and was submissive to them. Yes, the heavenly father's house is important, but it is not to negate the earthly, nuclear family. Often we hear parents say, yes, he is all for God's family, God's people, but he has shown no interest to us. After he/she became a Christian, it seems I have lost a son/daughter. This is not what the bible teaches. In one sentence, Jesus, at age 12, pointed out to his parents and us that God's house is much much bigger than the immediate family, yet he did not negate the immediate family.

  We also take note in vs.46-47, “ 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.” When Joseph and Mary found Jesus, they saw him sitting among the teachers of the law, listening to them and asking them questions. He also answered their questions. It appeared that he was quite natural and comfortable in this setting with the adults, even with people he might not know well. We often say that from a child's behavior in public, we'll have some idea what his family is like.

  A few months ago I mentioned a toddler coming to our Sunday School for the first time. Several teachers noticed his manners, being very polite. Recently I had the opportunity of visiting that family. Even at home, the parents were consistent in teaching their children manners. His behavior in an unfamiliar place reflects his parents behavior. As the adults around Jesus were amazed at his wisdom and answers, some, including us, are wondering what kind of ?? did Jesus have at home? What kind of parents were they? Did they write a book about how to raise a smart and devout child?

  The truth we are to take home with us this morning is that God's family is bigger than our immediate family.

  From this simple passage, we can draw 3 applications. First, God's law, God's word is an integral part of life. As faithful Jewish parents, they knew well the instructions God gave to the Israelites through Moses, Deut.6:6-9, “ …………. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” God's words are to be an integral part of the family's life. It's not just it is teaching time where everyone sit down. But it is taught throughout the day. In the scriptures, the proper way of learning is through questions and answers, it is interactive and not a one way teaching. Later on, we notice that questions and answers is the general pattern of Jesus teaching. If Jesus was taught God's word at home through Q/A, he would be natural when he sat among the teachers in the temple, also being Q/A.

As parents, there is plenty we can learn from this. We are to make God's word an integral part of our adult lives and our children's lives. For Christians, it is very easy for us to delegate the teaching of God's word to the church, to the Sunday School teachers. However, it is important to remember that we parents have the primary responsibility of instructing God's word to our children.

When one of my children was in middle school, he had hard time understanding biology. So after school, I would spend time doing my best to help him with his study. When you children have hard time understand the teacher in the Chinese school, I know many of our parents would spend time to help them with their homework.

Likewise, if the children have problem understand what is taught in the Sunday School or sermons, parents would need to explain and help them to understand and apply. It is more than this is teaching time. I remember Larry Crabb once said that when he was younger, his family devotion time was like a classroom. He would take out the Overhead projector and write down the points. He can laugh about it now. Instruction is not lecture but Q/A. this is what Jesus did in the temple and later on in his public ministry. God's word is to become an integral part of our existence.

Second application, as we parents instruct our children, we must help them to see a bigger world beyond ourselves. Yes, family is important, but God's family includes those in our church, and in all parts of the world. There was a time when children were young; we used some prayer cards put out by OMF. On each card, is information about a certain people group, where they are located and how we can pray for them. Very similar to what we have in today's bulletin. The purpose is to expand the adult and children's world. There is more than our immediate home, immediate city and country. God's house includes other countries and people groups. You see, even as we pray and instruct our children, it is also a geography or anthropology lesson.

The third application, from this passage is we also learn to listen to our children. Joseph and Mary listened to Jesus. Vs.50,51, “ 50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.” They could not understand what he said and Mary kept these words in her heart. Well, this is not the first time. When an angel first appeared to Mary and greeted her, Mary heard but could not understand and she tried to discern its meaning. At Jesus' birth, after the shepherds left, she kept their words and what she saw in her heart. When Jesus was 8 days old, after Simeon prayed, both Joseph and Mary were surprised at what they heard. Here, they listened and heard Jesus' words, but could not understand and Mary kept it in her heart. Mary was a very reflective mother. Certainly, as Jesus began his public ministry, these words began to make sense. And finally after his resurrection, she then fully understood what it was all about. Joseph and Mary listened to Jesus.

What does this mean to us? Two Fridays ago I heard on the radio that this is the first time in history that our children know more than we do. It's no longer “parents know it all.” Instead , we are to listen to our children. I remember a mother shared with me that when her daughter was 13 years old, she would say, “Mom, you worry too much. You need to pray and trust God more.” these are words from a child. Elder Huang shared with us at Jonathan's wedding that often when he and his wife had an argument, their son, Jonathan would become the mediator. They respected and listened to him. As parents, we don't say, what do you know, I know better than you. No, there are times it will do us good by listening to our children.

Conclusion:

We noticed this story of Jesus in the temple is sandwiched between two similar verses, 40 and 52, “ 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him….. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” It is as if Luke was trying to give us an example of how Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature and in favor with God and men.

At age 12, he already knew there was a world bigger than his immediate world. God's house is so much more bigger than his parents' house. His parents had prepared him for this day by helping him to understand God's world. Yes, they didn't fully understand this, but at this time, they listened to him.

Mom certainly can remember many things, much more than a father can. Yes as moms, or for that matter, we parents, make sure we remember to help our children understand God's word, and to show them there is a world so much more bigger than this immediate family. God's house was so much more bigger than this house we live in. With this in mind, we are to slowly let go of our children as they grow up. Don't tie them to this family; that we have to control every step of their way. This is very unhealthy. Instead, let the grown up children go into God's world which is so much bigger than ours. Let them go and trust them into God's hands.