“Let Jesus Grow Up”

“Child, why have you treated us like this?” Sound familiar? Think back to your childhood. Do you remember hearing those words or words like them? Did you ever say anything like that to your children?

Mary’s question to Jesus in this week’s Gospel from Luke 2:41-52 is probably not unfamiliar to most of us. We tend to focus on the tension, conflict, and misunderstanding that surrounds the “Child, why have you treated us like this?” times of our lives. But maybe there is something more going on. Maybe, at a deeper level, that question and the associated feelings are more about the change and growing up that needs to happen in us more than our children.

I wonder if Mary and Joseph heard echoes of old Simeon’s prophecy about her child’s destiny and the sword that would pierce her side (Luke 2:34-35). I wonder if Mary and Joseph were struggling with letting Jesus grow up. I sometimes wonder if we struggle with letting Jesus grow up? Jesus is no longer a manger baby. Things are changing for him, for Mary, Joseph, and, yes, for us. Listen again to Jesus’ response to Mary.  He says: “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?” “Did you not know…?” What does that mean? What do you hear in Jesus’ words? For sure, those words have the familiar ring of adolescent confidence. But, Jesus is saying more than the words he is speaking.

Jesus might also be saying to Mary, “Did you not know that I must be about my Father God’s business? Did you not know that the bands of cloth would be removed and I would leave the manger? Did you not know that I came not to fulfill your desires but to do my Father’s will?

Sisters and brothers, as we enter 2025, we cannot keep Jesus small and helpless. Jesus’s words are not only to his mom but to us “Did you not know?” We must let Jesus grow up so that he can help us grow in him. In other words, somehow his growing up grows us up as well. Images of sweetness, sentimentality, and sanitized manger scenes might make us feel good, but they don’t do much to transform our lives. We need One who will call us into God’s house and teach us our Father’s God’s business.

So what if, in this last week of Christmas, we took a hard look at that and asked ourselves some questions. What would we have to change or do differently to let Jesus grow up within us and within our hearts? Let us allow Jesus to grow in our hearts so that he will not only challenge our thinking, but in so doing, he will transform us as well.

As we invite Jesus to grow up in us this coming year, consider accepting this invitation to “come to Grace this Christmas Season – be part of this congregation that is filled with prayer, fun, laughter, and our love for Jesus! Experience the presence of Jesus in the Holy Sacrament.  All come at Jesus’ invitation – young and old, the assured and the doubting, the wise and the foolish, and the in-between.  All are welcome here! Come to the Feast!

Looking forward to seeing you this Sunday as we “celebrate God’s love together,”

Blessings and Peace,

The Reverend David O. Guss, Ph.D. - Pastor, Grace Lutheran Church