Luke 2:41-52
I once heard one of my mentors in ministry preach a sermon in which he declared that at the end of the day Christian faith centers on how God addresses a pair of questions. The first question is: who is Jesus Christ? The second is: what does that mean for me when I die? That has stuck with me for a long time, and the ways in which I think about the church's liturgical year wind up very often centering on how the church and the scriptures address these two questions. In this season of Christmas, and in the celebrations of Epiphany and our Lord's baptism to follow, we find ourselves primarily grappling with that first question: who is Jesus Christ?
Who is Jesus?
Preachers might explore this question of “who Jesus is” for an entire sermon when looking at this text from Luke. The congregation (and preachers themselves) might come to this question with a variety of presupposed answers. The Blessed Virgin Mary certainly has an answer in her mind when she thinks about who Jesus is. Finding him lost, she likely sees him as a disobedient preteen who can't manage to stay with the group. This moment of worry - and the back and forth between Jesus and Mary - highlights the very human nature of Jesus, whose humble human birth we have only celebrated a week before. Considering the words of Colossians in the second reading that remind us to clothe ourselves in “compassion, humility, and meekness,” preachers might well proclaim in this season of incarnation, we answer the question: “Who is Jesus Christ?” by saying that Christ is God become human: human just like us.
“Who is Jesus Christ?” we might ask ourselves, and the words of St. Luke’s Gospel answer: Jesus Christ is God the Son."
The Father's Son
Jesus – of course - has not one nature but two, and his divinity is just as present as his humanity today’s Gospel. Jesus’ answer to his mother’s question: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” makes the relationship of Son to Father plain to see. “Who is Jesus Christ?” we might ask ourselves, and the words of St. Luke’s Gospel answer: Jesus Christ is God the Son. Jesus is the Word of God who speaks the word of God as he did with the teachers in the temple. He answers their questions and opens the scriptures to them. Paired with the Psalm’s depiction of the vastness and majesty of the creation singing praise to God, preachers could well address the question of “who is Jesus?” by reminding the assembly that Jesus - humble and human though he may be – is at the same time the God of heaven and earth.
Where is Christ to be Found?
There is one further avenue that preachers might explore in this Gospel story. When Jesus responds to his mother’s questioning he asks, “…did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” I have personally always found that word “must” to be fascinating. To be in the house of God was an inevitably for Jesus, and it can lead preachers to an interesting mystagogical exploration. A preacher might ask, “…where must Jesus be found?” and explore the promises of God that address that very question. Christ promises to be present in, with, and under the bread and wine of the Mass. The Word of God is joined to the waters of baptism. And, as Luther reminds us, the Bible is the manger in which the Word of God - Christ himself - is laid.
Who is Jesus Christ? Christ is human. Christ is divine. Christ is present with and among us.
PASTOR DOMINIC GUIDO is a graduate of Indiana University and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He is passionate about worship and preaching, and has served congregations in Wisconsin and Kentucky. He currently serves as the president of the annual Lutheran Association of Larger Churches conference. In his free time, Pastor Guido enjoys tabletop gaming; spending time in nature with his family and loyal hound, Zuko; as well as following open-wheel auto racing, Australian Rules football, and sumo wrestling.
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