Where He May Be Found

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The prophet Isaiah proclaims, “Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” In today's Gospel lesson, these words find a sort of fulfillment.

St. Luke records that when Jesus was twelve years old, He went with His family to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, just like they did every year. They went to the Temple like good Jews. They sacrificed their Passover lamb like good Jews. They said the ritual prayers and ate the ritual Passover meal like good Jews. And they recalled the history of God delivering His people out of slavery in Egypt like good Jews.

Mary and Joseph, and the others in their entourage, were good, pious Jews. They did what the Law required of them in terms of their worship “according to the custom of the feast,” as St. Luke records. That is, they did the religious things that had become habit for them. In this, they are not unlike most church-going people, or observant people of whatever religion. Why are you here this morning? Is it because of a burning desire to hear some guy in fancy robes drone on? Or is it because you are accustomed to coming here at this time on this day of the week and doing these things?

Custom and habit are not necessarily bad things, when your habitual behavior is a desirable outcome. I will not complain that your life habit compels you to come to church and receive the Lord's Gifts. Thank you for showing up today.

When the Passover feast was all said and done, Mary and Joseph and their entourage packed up and started back to Nazareth. They hit the road, along with friends and neighbors and relatives, and half of Israel. As nice as Christmas is, you cannot live at Grandma's house forever.

And, of course, they thought that Jesus had followed them out of town. Sometimes, in a big group, it is difficult to tell if everyone is present and accounted for. Who saw Him last? Where was He? I thought He was with you? Wasn't He with Uncle Mordecai? Oops. Guess we lost Jesus. They had walked a day's journey before they realized it.

So Mary and Joseph turned back toward Jerusalem and hurried toward the Holy City, hoping desperately to find Jesus safe and sound somewhere. “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.”

They find Jesus in the Temple after three days. It is as though the Bible had someone weaving threads of continuity through it. This same Jesus who was hidden from them for three days and found in the Temple, will be again hidden from them for a three-day rest, to be revealed in the new and everlasting Temple of His Body.

But this is not in the mind of Mary and Joseph. When the Holy Mother finds her son, she is amazed, and probably more than a little angry and exasperated. She asks: “Son, why have You treated us so? Behold, Your father and I have been searching for You in great distress.” Do you not care for your parents? Why do you aggravate and distress them so by hiding yourself from them and staying behind?

Then comes Jesus' first recorded words in the Gospel according to St. Luke. He answers His mother: “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father's house?” Seek the LORD where He may be found.

But Mary did not understand. How could Jesus speak to His mother in such a callous way, especially for a child to an adult? But there is a lesson here, for Mary and for you. Jesus is not simply Mary's son. Neither is He simply your friend, or your buddy, or your hand-holding kaffee-klatsch partner. Jesus is LORD. The One who Is and who Was and who Is To Come. The Holy One of Israel in the flesh. He is Mary's Son, to be sure; but He is also her Lord and God. Even the Mother of God must bow the knee and bend the will to God Himself.

In this same way, you must remember your relationship to Jesus. He is a good God, gracious and loving, but He is not a tame God. You may not presume upon His good graces simply by assuming that He likes you or thinks you are neat or wants to be your BFF. His good graces for you are assured not by your cuddliness, but by His work of redemption for you.

But Mary and Joseph did not understand. Hind-sight is 20-20; you can sit and think, Why did they not understand? They knew that their Son was the Son of God. Why were they surprised to find Him in the Temple, among the teachers of the Scriptures? Of course, they should have looked for Him in the place where heaven is revealed on earth. They should have looked for God where He has promised to be found. How could they not know?

Perhaps they had twelve relatively “normal” years of childhood with Jesus to dull their thinking. Perhaps the recollection of the angels and the shepherds and the Magi, the flight into Egypt, and all that business, had faded into their long-term memory. Perhaps daily life, responsibilities, bills, obligations, family, and society had blunted the impact of raising the Son of God.

Or perhaps sin did its deadly work upon them. Sin did to them what it does to you. It dulls your ears to the Word of the Lord. It hardens your heart to the love of God. It deadens your flesh to the good works which are the fruit of the Spirit. And you do not understand the saying.

Mary and Joseph did not understand when Jesus said, “I must be in My Father's house,” but you do. He is reminding Mary of who He is – the Son of God, the eternally begotten Son of the Father. He is not simply Mary's son; He is her Lord. And His Father's house is not in Nazareth, but in the Temple, where His glory dwells with His people. And in this Temple the Father's work and will are done.

Jesus has not come to be a carpenter, or a fisherman, or a tentmaker, or a physician. He has come to be the Word made Flesh, God tabernacling among His people, revealing the grace of God to a world in darkness. Jesus has come to fulfill the Scriptures which were written by Moses and the Prophets. Jesus makes the Old Testament worth reading, because the Old Testament is the story of Jesus. Neither makes sense without the other; just ask the scribes and Pharisees.

Jesus has come to do the Father's will. And what is the Father's will? That His Son live the life you cannot live, in perfect obedience to the Law. That His Son fulfill the Scriptures for you, opening their heart – the very heart of God – for you. That His Son die the death you cannot die, in perfect completion of the Law. That His Son save His people from their sins. This is the will of the Father, which the Prophets taught from of old.

Ask yourself this question: Have you left Jesus behind, like Mary and Joseph left Him in Jerusalem? Are you traveling along your life, assuming that Jesus is around somewhere, when, in fact, you have left Him behind on the side of the road or on a dusty shelf someplace?

If you can go a day, or two, or three, without speaking to Jesus or without speaking of Jesus, you probably have left Him behind somewhere. If you depend on the fact that Jesus is with you somehow, but you are not particularly concerned about how you know this, you probably have left Him behind somewhere. If you have not read His Word or meditated on His wondrous work of salvation, you probably have left Him behind somewhere.

If you have fallen out of the habit of regular private prayer and public worship of Jesus, and rely on your feeling of peace and comfort for the assurance of your salvation, you have probably left Him behind somewhere.

Look around you. Have you been assuming that Jesus is there with you, but not acting like it? Do you hope for salvation, but are not sure that you have it? Does your comfort rest on your feeling that Jesus is your friend, rather than the conviction that Jesus is your Savior?

Repent. Repent of your leaving Jesus behind. Turn around, which is what repentance is. Turn around and seek Him anxiously and eagerly. Seek the LORD where He may be found.

Seek Him not in the cockles of your heart. Seek Him not in the warmness of your bosom. Seek Him in the courts of the Lord's House – the same place where Mary and Joseph found Him. Seek Him in His Word – the same place His people have always found Him, from the very beginning. Seek Him slaughtered upon the cross – the place where His Word is fulfilled for you. Seek Him risen and ascended to the throne of heaven – the place where He reigns in righteousness for you. Seek Him in the waters of your Baptism – the place where you died with Him and He gave you His own life. Seek Him in the Word of Absolution – the place where He forgives your sin day in and day out. Seek Him on His Altar, in His Holy Supper – the place where the fruit of His sacrifice is given to you in blessing.

Seek the LORD where He may be found. And what does Christ say will happen? “Seek and you will find.” The Lord is in His Temple, precisely where He promises to be, where He has always met with His people to bless them. In His Temple, you will find the Son doing the Father's business – forgiving your sin, cleansing your unrighteousness, replacing your dead heart with a living heart, freeing you from the bondage to sin, death, and the devil. You will find a friend in Jesus, but ever so much more than that – you will find a Redeemer and Savior.

You come to the Lord's house not simply to hear about Jesus, to hear about the forgiveness of your sins. You come here because Jesus Himself is here, forgiving your sins, blessing you, healing you, giving you life. You come here to find Jesus waiting with outstretched arms – outstretched to hold back the evil amassed against you, and outstretched to enfold you in his steadfast love and mercy.

“Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” And the Lord you find is Jesus Christ – your Savior, your Redeemer, and your God.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.