Sunday Worship Service June 4, 2023

Call to Worship Deuteronomy 8:5
Hymn JBC # 3 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness
The Lord’s Prayer
Prayer Time
Offering
Scripture Luke 2:41~52
Prayer
Sermon “Jesus in His Father’s House”
https://youtu.be/fdMAosbZCEg
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 327 Lead on, O King eternal
Doxology JBC # 676
Benediction


The passage today tells us about an event that happened when Jesus was 12 years old.
The four Gospels in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) speak of the birth of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, as well as his ministry of proclaiming the kingdom of God to the people when he became an adult.
The Gospels also describe how Jesus was eventually arrested, crucified, and resurrected.
However, among the Gospel accounts, the story of Jesus' childhood is only recorded in today's passage. In that sense, today's Scripture is a valuable account that tells us about Jesus' childhood.

　The previous passage to today's describes Joseph and Mary, Jesus' parents, bringing him to the temple in Jerusalem to perform a ritual to dedicate him to the Lord.
Just like any other person, Jesus surely went through many things in his infancy, childhood, and adolescence.
However, the Gospels do not provide any further details about Jesus' youth beyond what is recorded in today's passage. We do not know the reason why no other information about Jesus' youth is mentioned.
Nevertheless, even from this short passage centered around Jesus as a young boy and his parents Joseph and Mary, God is speaking a rich message to us. Let us listen and take in the message that God is speaking to us together.
The passage begins with the following sentence:
“Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover”

It tells us that Joseph and Mary, Jesus' parents, would travel from their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee to the temple in Jerusalem every year during the Passover festival.
The Passover festival commemorates the event when the Israelites, who were once enslaved in Egypt (several hundred years before Jesus' time), were led by Moses to escape from Egypt.
The Egyptian King Pharaoh at that time stubbornly refused to let the Israelites leave, so the Lord God sent several plagues upon all of Egypt.
However, the final plague, which was the death of all firstborns (both human and livestock), passed over the houses of the Israelites, sparing them. This event came to be known as the Passover and God decreed that it was to be observed that way by law.
In remembrance of this event where God saved their ancestors, the people of Israel continued to celebrate the Passover festival every year (even today, Passover is an important celebration for Jewish people).

I think that Joseph and Mary, by taking their son Jesus to Jerusalem for Passover every year, taught him that they are given life today as an extension of that event (God's grace) that saved the Israelites from a life of slavery.
“We are sustained and given life by the grace of God.” Through the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Jesus also learned about this grace.
Even Jesus during His childhood and youth experienced the process of learning about God's grace through the repeated journeys with His parents to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem (by such the repetition of humbly living out His faith
While Jesus' adolescence is only recorded in this passage of the Bible, I believe that Jesus, who would later begin His ministry around the age of thirty, would have from very early years received training for His future work from His parents and the community to which He belonged.

As Christians today, we do not celebrate the Passover. Instead, we celebrate and give thanks for the ultimate grace of Jesus Christ, who offered Himself for the forgiveness of our sins.
We have special worship services every year to celebrate the birth of Jesus during Christmas, the resurrection during Easter, and the event of the Holy Spirit descending on the disciples and the beginning of the Church during Pentecost (which was last week on 5/28).
However, not only those special worships, by faithfully observing worship on every Sunday (the day of Christ's resurrection), we remember God's grace and offer our gratitude to God.
By wholeheartedly and steadfastly dedicating ourselves to a life of faith centered around Sunday worship, we learn from today's passage that this becomes the most significant training in faith for those who come to the church seeking the faith anew and for the generations to come (our children).

As I mentioned in the previous sermon, worship itself is the primary purpose for us coming to church, but let's never forget that our diligent and sincere life of faith serves as training for ourselves and for the next generation.
In today's passage, after the festival ended, when everyone was on their way back to Galilee, astonishingly, the young Jesus remained in Jerusalem. His parents did not notice and assumed He was among their companions, so they continued their journey for a whole day.
They probably thought, "Our son is already 12 years old (13 years old was considered spiritually mature in Judaism), so He should be somewhere in our travel group."
It seems that Joseph and Mary were part of a considerably large group traveling to Jerusalem at that time. Traveling in large groups was safer to protect themselves from thieves and other dangers.

Since it was a journey of several hundred kilometers primarily on foot, the people of that time likely managed these long trips by traveling in large groups and helping one another.
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were traveling to the temple in Jerusalem in such a group (a group with the same purpose) to celebrate the Passover. This scene reminds us that our faith is meant to be walked together with others.
We do not walk the path of faith alone (nor can we). We walk together in faith as a community, helping and supporting one another.
If someone stumbles, someone else helps them up, and the person who receives help then helps another person in the future. This cooperative and supportive pilgrimage is the very embodiment of our faith.
Let us be grateful for the blessing of having a family in the faith with whom we can walk the journey of faith, supporting and assisting one another. Let us also pray for more companions to be given to us to walk the journey of faith together.
However, after a day had passed and they searched among their relatives and acquaintances, Jesus could not be found. So Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem, surely filled with worry.

　They found Jesus sitting in the midst of the scholars in the temple courtyard, listening to them and asking questions (verse 46).
Since Jesus is the Son of God, did He really need to learn from humans? God does not inherently need to learn anything from humans. However, as a human, Jesus lived just like us.
Except for the fact that Jesus was born without sin, He lived a completely ordinary human life. From birth, He received care from His guardians, received education, and went through the process of growth, including learning.
Although Jesus was sitting among the scholars, His attitude was humble. He listened to the scholars' teachings and asked them questions.
Jesus received instruction from them and engaged in dialogue with them.
Jesus' humble attitude is simply amazing. He humbled Himself, listened to others, and asked questions when He didn't understand, seeking knowledge and understanding.
Such an attitude of dialogue with others is perhaps what we need today. We can learn from others, and we should be open to learning.

　In the New Testament, in Philippians 2:3, it is written, "Rather, in humility value others above yourselves." This is the very attitude that Jesus already practiced at the age of 12, as we see in this passage.
As we walk the journey of faith together, let us cultivate an attitude of learning from one another, listening to each other with our spiritual ears, and cultivate relationships based on faith.
Let's look at what Jesus said in verse 49: “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

Because Jesus was the Son of God, he said, "It is natural for me to be in my Father's house (the temple)."
However, at that time, his parents Joseph and Mary did not fully understand that Jesus was the Son of God and the nature of His mission.
So naturally, as mentioned in verse 50, they did not understand the meaning of His words. But today, through Jesus' words, we understand that Jesus and the Father in heaven are one.
Jesus' humility to learn from others and His absolute assurance and boldness in saying, "I am with my heavenly Father" are both evident here.
We too can have the humility of faith and the absolute assurance and boldness (courage) that "the Father in Heaven, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are with us."
We don't need to be ashamed of recognizing our ignorance and the need to learn from others. In fact, the Bible teaches that it is shameful not to acknowledge it.
We support and teach one another, as such we are all created by God with love and purpose.
We are constantly learning and growing, and as long as we live on this earth, the process has no end.
Therefore, let us walk the journey of faith together, having the assurance that God is with us, the humility to learn from others, and the courage and strength that God provides.