(Part 1)
“Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.”-Luke 2:41-47
I don’t know if Luke 2:41-47 would be considered a traditional Christmas passage, but there are some interesting parallels that can be found in it that have a lot a great application to our current holiday season.
In this passage we read how Mary and Jospeh lost sight of Jesus during an important “Holy Day” celebration. The phrase Holy Day is where we derive the word holiday. The Passover was a feast celebrated in Israel that commemorated the historical moment at which God delivered Israel out of Egyptian bondage. However, according to Colossians 2:16-17, the feast foreshadowed much more than that:
“So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.”
The feast foreshadowed the coming of Jesus Christ, Himself! So, how do you lose Jesus in the midst of a Holy Day centered around His coming? Joseph and Mary got so caught up in all the traditions and family business, Jesus slipped away unnoticed. Which got me thinking that if Mary and Joseph could lose sight of Jesus during the holidays; it isn’t too far fetched to believe that we might lose sight of Him too.
How do we know if we are losing sight of Christ at Christmas? Well, if you can stand two hours in a line to see Santa, but complain if the church service runs over an hour long; you might have lost sight of Christ. If you can spend three hours shopping online for the perfects gifts, but don’t have time to read a chapter of Luke each day to remind yourself of Christ’s work; you might have lost sight of Christ. If your Nativity set is buried in the corner of your home, but you’ve posted 50 pictures online of your Elf on the shelf for the whole world to see; you might have lost sight of Christ. If you spend more money on Christmas this year than you’ve given to missions the past ten years combined, you might have lost sight of Christmas.
If someone walked into you home, would they know Jesus is the center of your celebration?
The problem started for Mary and Joseph when they assumed that Jesus was still with them. How many of us have fallen into that trap? Not just at Christmas, but all year long. We get so caught up in our life pursuits that we fail to recognize that Jesus has a mission that He came to fulfill. Jesus was on a mission here in Luke 2. He had to be in His Father’s house. Joseph and Mary assumed that Jesus’ only mission was to follow them around.
Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church
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