Traditionally, the passage from Luke’s Gospel we heard read this morning, the passage we call “Jesus in the temple,” is read on the first Sunday after Christmas Day, the Sunday known as the Feast of the Holy Family. One purpose of it was to portray the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, as the model for all Christian families. However, the reading presents a less than idyllic, if realistic, depiction of family life with teenage children. We meet Jesus at 12 years old, acting impetuously; seemingly oblivious of the impact his actions have on others. Despite the fact that he eventually caves in to his parents’ demands, it is clear that a decisive break has occurred. Jesus is separating himself from his earthly parents and following his own heart’s path.[1]
This is the only story in the canonical gospels in which we meet Jesus as an adolescent. It is the first time Jesus speaks in the gospel of Luke. In it we begin to get a glimpse of the difficult path that lies ahead for the Son of God and we also get some clues as to the challenges and difficulties – and the joys and fulfillments — that lie ahead for our own adolescents and for their families and religious communities.
For, you see, this is not the first time in Luke we find Jesus in the temple. Remember with me the earlier time. It was when Jesus was a newborn and his parents carry him to the temple to present him to the Lord (Luke 2:22-34). On that visit Simeon and Anna recognize him as destiny’s child, seeing in him something that amazes even his mother and his father. The temple turns out to be a place where others see something in him at his parents do not.
No, the story of Jesus at age 12 was not Jesus’ first visit to the Jerusalem temple and it is also not the last. For, you remember, near the end of his life Jesus again enters the temple to challenge the money changers and again amaze all who watched.
Before the industrial revolution children were routinely raised in homes with at least four adults. Now, of course, our children are raised in homes with only one or two adults. This, obviously, points to the vital importance of a spiritual community in a child’s life.
Most of these young people we honor here today have been at St. Stephen’s for years and years. Five of them were baptized here. And, as in the case of the boy Jesus, the temple, or the church, has turned out to be a place where others – we – have seen things in these young people that – maybe – their parents have not. (Anyone remember Danny Coulombe asking if he could have the Missy the Pig?)
Research shows that the significant people in a young person’s life and those who most strongly influence his future religious choices are his or her parents and “satellite parents,” that’s all of us. Research also shows that what young people need most after supportive parents are trusted mentors and role models to show them how to grow into healthy, God-loving adults.[2] The other thing teenagers need is a safe place. A safe place is one where they can test boundaries, try risky behavior, fail, and grow all the while knowing they are loved and cherished. All young people need what Jesus had in the temple: trusted elders who were neither too busy nor in need of so much control, elders who were willing to take him at his word, listen closely and respond in ways that moms, dads, and guardians simply cannot. All young people deserve the time and attention of trusted elders.[3] That sounds like a description of St. Stephen’s to me.
Adolescence is hard on everyone because it requires everyone change. And that’s why we’re here this morning. We’re here to say to these seven youngsters that you are loved and you are special. You matter to us. Your lives are of inestimable value. The journey you are embarking on is incredibly significant. We will stand by you and support you as you change from adorable, precocious children into adorable precocious teenagers. This is your “Temple.” You belong to us and we belong to you.
We’re here this morning to say to their parents, don’t worry, St. Stephen’s has your back! We’re here to say that we’ll support you, too. We’ll leave the porch light on and be here for you, too, whether you need physical help or emotional help. This is your community of faith, your “Temple.” At the baptism of your children we promised to do all in our power to support your children in their lives in Christ. We will make good on that promise. There will always be an elder here for you, too, as you are forced to change. When your child prefers the company of his or her friends to your company, when your child seeks the opinion of his or her peers and not your opinion, we’ll be here for you. This is a turning point in life and you can count on your “Temple.”
This morning’s ceremony is a first step. There will be other steps, Confirmation, driver’s licenses, graduations. We celebrate the children Camryn, Daniel, Maddy, Natalia, Paula, Rebecca, and Zachary were and the adults they will become. This morning is about affirming all the good things that you are and it is a vote of confidence for all the good things you will discover about yourselves in the next few years and for the rest of your lives. Today is a way for St. Stephen’s to say we think you are already pretty wonderful and we have lots of reason to hope and believe that you will become pretty spectacular adults.
Can I get an “amen” to that? Amen.
Lent II (Year C) • February 24, 2013
Sermon by the Rev. Jo-Ann R. Murphy, D.Min.
Assistant Rector
1 Feasting on the Word, Year C, Volume 4, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2009, p. 164.
2 Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, by Christian Smith with Melinda Lundquist Denton. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 56-7.
3 Lost and Found: Adolescence, Parenting, and the Formation of Faith by Amanda Millay Hughes. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cowley Publications, 2002. P. 97.