A man of great wisdom said, “The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good
ending; and to have the two as close together as possible.” This advice is from George Burns, well-
known entertainer of the 20th century.
Last Sunday we left our worship service with the baby, Jesus, wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in
a feeding trough. The shepherds had scurried into Bethlehem from tending their flocks to find the
baby just as the angels had told them.
Today the Gospel of Luke picks up the story twelve years later. Jesus is twelve years old. This visit
to Jerusalem by His family is the only account from Jesus’ childhood that is recorded in the Gospels.
In fact after Luke recounts this story there will be a gap of eighteen years in the life of Jesus. We will
see Him next at His baptism by John the Baptist at the beginning of His public ministry.
We begin our story with Jesus’ parents in Jerusalem having made a pilgrimage to attend the Feast
of the Passover. Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem annually to attend this feast. The Jewish law
required that every faithful adult male go to Jerusalem to attend the three great festivals each year:
Passover, Pentecost and The Feast of the Tabernacles. Passover was the most important festival of
the three because it commemorated the exodus of the Jews from Egypt (and slavery).
At the conclusion of the seven day Passover festival Joseph and Mary begin their return trip to
Nazareth. But there is a problem—a BIG problem! After a full day’s travel Mary and Joseph discover
that Jesus is not with them. He is missing.
Are Mary and Joseph negligent parents?
Is it possible that Child Protective Services will investigate this couple
when they return to Nazareth?
No, Joseph and Mary are not careless parents. They are actually parents who are very human—just
like you and me. Have you ever lost a child in a crowd, at Walmart, at an airport, at a playground—
even in your own neighborhood? [Story about our daughter, Faith, as toddler]
People in Jesus’ day traveled to these festivals in caravans, relatives and whole villages often
traveled together for protection and fellowship. The women and children led the way, setting the
pace, and the men and young men followed behind.
Because this way of travel was a usual custom, Joseph and Mary had no reason to suspect that
Jesus was missing until the caravan halted for the evening. Both parents probably assumed that He
had been with the other. Don’t you think that must have been a very interesting conversation!
We have to remember that there were no cell phones—no texting—and no “Amber alert”. The
caravan’s first day of travel had covered about 20 miles. So Jesus’ parents simply had to retrace
their steps the next morning—traveling one day back to Jerusalem and then spending a better part
of a third day searching within the city. Can you imagine what was going through their minds?
We have a hint of what Mary and Joseph had experienced by the time they found Jesus. Mary
sounds just like any perplexed mother upon finding her son. “Child, why have you treated us like
this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” Considering the
circumstances Jesus’ reply, “Why were you searching for me?” makes Him sound as though He was
clueless to His parents’ situation—almost like a typical teenager.
Jesus as a good Jewish boy of twelve years of age had probably been following Jewish tradition,
preparing to take his place in the religious community. He may have studied Hebrew and Aramaic at
home, at the temple in Jerusalem or in the local synagogue as was the custom. The following year
when He turned thirteen He would enter into His covenant responsibilities. He would become a “son
of the Law”. The bar mitzvah ceremony developed later to express this custom. In our Anglican
tradition this step in our religious life is called “Confirmation.”
The teachers in the temple that Luke refers to were rabbis, experts in Judaism. At the time of the
Passover the greatest rabbis of the land would assemble to teach and to discuss great truths. In
Jesus’ day it was not unusual for students to gather at the feet of rabbis to discuss theology, often in
a question and answer, discussion format. [Fr. Dan and our children]
This is exactly what Jesus was doing when His parents found Him. Evidently all who heard Him
(rabbis and others) were astounded at His understanding and His answers. Scholars differ on how
much Jesus knew of His identity and His mission at this point in His life. However His response to His
mother’s question certainly indicates that He knew He had a unique relationship with God.
“Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?”
It is interesting to note that Jews of that day normally would say, “our Father” or “Father in Heaven”—
not “My Father.” No wonder His parents were baffled! The original Greek reads literally, “Did you not
know that I must be in or among My Father’s?” This allows for the translation “Did you not know that I
must be about My Father’s business?”
God’s timing is perfect! Today is the first Sunday of 2010, the beginning of a new year—a time of
looking ahead. For some it is a time of great hope or great anxiety. The news media has been full of
speculation regarding what will take place in the coming year: the economy, the housing market, the
war in Afghanistan, terrorist attacks on US soil, health care, the list goes on…….
As a child of God and a follower of Jesus Christ, there is only one question to ask about the
possibilities that the new year holds:
“Am I about My Father’s business?”
What are you doing with the life God has given you, right where you are? “Are you about Your
Father’s business?” This is a risky question to ask! One might react as though they had just been
asked to rearrange the furniture in their house. “No, thank you very much. I like everything just the
way it is right now. I worked very hard to get it the way I want it.”
I am not suggesting that you need to turn your life upside down. I know most of you, some better
than others. Whether I know you or not, I do know that each and every one of you has been gifted
for His divine purpose. Scripture tells us that God has given each of us unique gifts and abilities to
use for His Kingdom. Listen again to our New Testament reading from Ephesians.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless
before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his
children through Jesus Christ, according to the good
pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace
that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
As Our Father’s adopted children we have unique gifts to use in this Kingdom building business.
You may say, “I already have a business. I am in business as a realtor, a CPA, a school teacher, a
lawyer, a cabinet maker, a doctor, a dentist, a nurse, an architect, a social worker, an office worker,
a musician, a scientist, an engineer, a pharmacist, an executive, a deacon… whatever your
business, it is the Father’s business. If you are involved, He is involved.
Perhaps it is hard for us to grab hold of the concept of being in business with the Father. We don’t
see many businesses that are partnerships with a parent in the 21st century. It was not uncommon a
hundred years or so ago to have the words “…and Son” in the name of a business. [The small town
in which you lived…]
It doesn’t matter if you are three, fifteen or ninety-three. There are no age restrictions according to
the Ephesians passage. If you are a young person—how wonderful to know that as God’s adopted
child you are in business with the Father for the rest of your life, the possibilities for your future are
endless when you let Him get involved.
If you are like some of the rest of us, the days remaining in our lives are fewer but they are no less
important when God does business through us. If all we can do in our waning years is to pray and to
love, then let us pray and love to the hilt—the world desperately needs the Father’s love expressed
through us.
Ask the Father what you can do right where you are? How does He want to establish His Kingdom
right where you live and work? Our Father knows your neighbors, your co-workers, your clients,
your patients, your schoolmates; He knows them intimately. He is just waiting for you to ask Him how
you can make a difference. I believe that if you ask Him, He will reveal to you what you can do. You
don’t need to go to Africa to let God do His business through you!
You may say, “I already know my purpose and the gifts that God has given me and I am working as
hard at My Father’s business as I can.” May I suggest that you simply reflect on the question and
wait to see if the Father reveals any changes or adjustments. Tomorrow I go for a physical check up
with my medical care provider. Although I am in great health, I am checking in to be checked out.
[Make the parallel…]
As one person we may not be able to save the whole world but God will show us what we can do—
remember tiny drops of water when en masse make up the oceans. God did not plan for us to be
“lone rangers”. Our Father in His wisdom created an all-inclusive community of persons with God
Himself at the very center of this community.
Because He has adopted us as His children and given us a wonderful inheritance in Him, we are
family—the family of God and we call Him “Our Father”. This family has a long and continuous
history, a history that transcends any one person’s life.
Each natural family has particularity. It exists in a particular place and in a particular time. Family is
not chosen because of any merit of its own, but by God’s grace. It is brought into existence solely by
the call of God.
This brings us to the family of God at Hope in the Desert. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We
have a family name: Christian. Our family bloodline goes right to the cross.
I know that you are waiting for me to ask the question:
“Are we at Hope about the Father’s business?”
What are we doing about the family business? We know that we have been called to this particular
piece of land to build this particular building to do His business. This family’s DNA is the ministry of
healing in all its aspects—body, mind, and spirit. God has revealed that it is the business He is in
here at Hope.
So how are we doing? I hope this is a question that our Bishop’s Committee asks often—not just of
each other or of us in the congregation but, most importantly, of Our Father.
“Are we at Hope in the Desert about Our Father’s business?”
“Am I about My Father’s business?”
[Let us pray.]
Father, thank You that You have called us into partnership with You. Give us a passion for being
about Your Business—in our homes, our neighborhoods, our schools, our workplaces—and here at
Hope. We know that wherever we are You want to do business. Thank you for equipping us with the
gifts to do just that. In the Name of Our Glorious Savior and Sustainer, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
ending; and to have the two as close together as possible.” This advice is from George Burns, well-
known entertainer of the 20th century.
Last Sunday we left our worship service with the baby, Jesus, wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in
a feeding trough. The shepherds had scurried into Bethlehem from tending their flocks to find the
baby just as the angels had told them.
Today the Gospel of Luke picks up the story twelve years later. Jesus is twelve years old. This visit
to Jerusalem by His family is the only account from Jesus’ childhood that is recorded in the Gospels.
In fact after Luke recounts this story there will be a gap of eighteen years in the life of Jesus. We will
see Him next at His baptism by John the Baptist at the beginning of His public ministry.
We begin our story with Jesus’ parents in Jerusalem having made a pilgrimage to attend the Feast
of the Passover. Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem annually to attend this feast. The Jewish law
required that every faithful adult male go to Jerusalem to attend the three great festivals each year:
Passover, Pentecost and The Feast of the Tabernacles. Passover was the most important festival of
the three because it commemorated the exodus of the Jews from Egypt (and slavery).
At the conclusion of the seven day Passover festival Joseph and Mary begin their return trip to
Nazareth. But there is a problem—a BIG problem! After a full day’s travel Mary and Joseph discover
that Jesus is not with them. He is missing.
Are Mary and Joseph negligent parents?
Is it possible that Child Protective Services will investigate this couple
when they return to Nazareth?
No, Joseph and Mary are not careless parents. They are actually parents who are very human—just
like you and me. Have you ever lost a child in a crowd, at Walmart, at an airport, at a playground—
even in your own neighborhood? [Story about our daughter, Faith, as toddler]
People in Jesus’ day traveled to these festivals in caravans, relatives and whole villages often
traveled together for protection and fellowship. The women and children led the way, setting the
pace, and the men and young men followed behind.
Because this way of travel was a usual custom, Joseph and Mary had no reason to suspect that
Jesus was missing until the caravan halted for the evening. Both parents probably assumed that He
had been with the other. Don’t you think that must have been a very interesting conversation!
We have to remember that there were no cell phones—no texting—and no “Amber alert”. The
caravan’s first day of travel had covered about 20 miles. So Jesus’ parents simply had to retrace
their steps the next morning—traveling one day back to Jerusalem and then spending a better part
of a third day searching within the city. Can you imagine what was going through their minds?
We have a hint of what Mary and Joseph had experienced by the time they found Jesus. Mary
sounds just like any perplexed mother upon finding her son. “Child, why have you treated us like
this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” Considering the
circumstances Jesus’ reply, “Why were you searching for me?” makes Him sound as though He was
clueless to His parents’ situation—almost like a typical teenager.
Jesus as a good Jewish boy of twelve years of age had probably been following Jewish tradition,
preparing to take his place in the religious community. He may have studied Hebrew and Aramaic at
home, at the temple in Jerusalem or in the local synagogue as was the custom. The following year
when He turned thirteen He would enter into His covenant responsibilities. He would become a “son
of the Law”. The bar mitzvah ceremony developed later to express this custom. In our Anglican
tradition this step in our religious life is called “Confirmation.”
The teachers in the temple that Luke refers to were rabbis, experts in Judaism. At the time of the
Passover the greatest rabbis of the land would assemble to teach and to discuss great truths. In
Jesus’ day it was not unusual for students to gather at the feet of rabbis to discuss theology, often in
a question and answer, discussion format. [Fr. Dan and our children]
This is exactly what Jesus was doing when His parents found Him. Evidently all who heard Him
(rabbis and others) were astounded at His understanding and His answers. Scholars differ on how
much Jesus knew of His identity and His mission at this point in His life. However His response to His
mother’s question certainly indicates that He knew He had a unique relationship with God.
“Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?”
It is interesting to note that Jews of that day normally would say, “our Father” or “Father in Heaven”—
not “My Father.” No wonder His parents were baffled! The original Greek reads literally, “Did you not
know that I must be in or among My Father’s?” This allows for the translation “Did you not know that I
must be about My Father’s business?”
God’s timing is perfect! Today is the first Sunday of 2010, the beginning of a new year—a time of
looking ahead. For some it is a time of great hope or great anxiety. The news media has been full of
speculation regarding what will take place in the coming year: the economy, the housing market, the
war in Afghanistan, terrorist attacks on US soil, health care, the list goes on…….
As a child of God and a follower of Jesus Christ, there is only one question to ask about the
possibilities that the new year holds:
“Am I about My Father’s business?”
What are you doing with the life God has given you, right where you are? “Are you about Your
Father’s business?” This is a risky question to ask! One might react as though they had just been
asked to rearrange the furniture in their house. “No, thank you very much. I like everything just the
way it is right now. I worked very hard to get it the way I want it.”
I am not suggesting that you need to turn your life upside down. I know most of you, some better
than others. Whether I know you or not, I do know that each and every one of you has been gifted
for His divine purpose. Scripture tells us that God has given each of us unique gifts and abilities to
use for His Kingdom. Listen again to our New Testament reading from Ephesians.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless
before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his
children through Jesus Christ, according to the good
pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace
that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
As Our Father’s adopted children we have unique gifts to use in this Kingdom building business.
You may say, “I already have a business. I am in business as a realtor, a CPA, a school teacher, a
lawyer, a cabinet maker, a doctor, a dentist, a nurse, an architect, a social worker, an office worker,
a musician, a scientist, an engineer, a pharmacist, an executive, a deacon… whatever your
business, it is the Father’s business. If you are involved, He is involved.
Perhaps it is hard for us to grab hold of the concept of being in business with the Father. We don’t
see many businesses that are partnerships with a parent in the 21st century. It was not uncommon a
hundred years or so ago to have the words “…and Son” in the name of a business. [The small town
in which you lived…]
It doesn’t matter if you are three, fifteen or ninety-three. There are no age restrictions according to
the Ephesians passage. If you are a young person—how wonderful to know that as God’s adopted
child you are in business with the Father for the rest of your life, the possibilities for your future are
endless when you let Him get involved.
If you are like some of the rest of us, the days remaining in our lives are fewer but they are no less
important when God does business through us. If all we can do in our waning years is to pray and to
love, then let us pray and love to the hilt—the world desperately needs the Father’s love expressed
through us.
Ask the Father what you can do right where you are? How does He want to establish His Kingdom
right where you live and work? Our Father knows your neighbors, your co-workers, your clients,
your patients, your schoolmates; He knows them intimately. He is just waiting for you to ask Him how
you can make a difference. I believe that if you ask Him, He will reveal to you what you can do. You
don’t need to go to Africa to let God do His business through you!
You may say, “I already know my purpose and the gifts that God has given me and I am working as
hard at My Father’s business as I can.” May I suggest that you simply reflect on the question and
wait to see if the Father reveals any changes or adjustments. Tomorrow I go for a physical check up
with my medical care provider. Although I am in great health, I am checking in to be checked out.
[Make the parallel…]
As one person we may not be able to save the whole world but God will show us what we can do—
remember tiny drops of water when en masse make up the oceans. God did not plan for us to be
“lone rangers”. Our Father in His wisdom created an all-inclusive community of persons with God
Himself at the very center of this community.
Because He has adopted us as His children and given us a wonderful inheritance in Him, we are
family—the family of God and we call Him “Our Father”. This family has a long and continuous
history, a history that transcends any one person’s life.
Each natural family has particularity. It exists in a particular place and in a particular time. Family is
not chosen because of any merit of its own, but by God’s grace. It is brought into existence solely by
the call of God.
This brings us to the family of God at Hope in the Desert. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We
have a family name: Christian. Our family bloodline goes right to the cross.
I know that you are waiting for me to ask the question:
“Are we at Hope about the Father’s business?”
What are we doing about the family business? We know that we have been called to this particular
piece of land to build this particular building to do His business. This family’s DNA is the ministry of
healing in all its aspects—body, mind, and spirit. God has revealed that it is the business He is in
here at Hope.
So how are we doing? I hope this is a question that our Bishop’s Committee asks often—not just of
each other or of us in the congregation but, most importantly, of Our Father.
“Are we at Hope in the Desert about Our Father’s business?”
“Am I about My Father’s business?”
[Let us pray.]
Father, thank You that You have called us into partnership with You. Give us a passion for being
about Your Business—in our homes, our neighborhoods, our schools, our workplaces—and here at
Hope. We know that wherever we are You want to do business. Thank you for equipping us with the
gifts to do just that. In the Name of Our Glorious Savior and Sustainer, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
About Our Father's Business
Luke 2:41-52
Luke 2:41-52
January 3, 2010
Deborah Tischler
Deborah Tischler
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