Growing Up Like Jesus – Part 3

Scripture — Luke 2:39-52 (NRSV)

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents were unaware of this. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them, and his mother treasured all these things in her heart.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in divine and human favor.

Devotion

In my reflections last month, I asked what it might mean that Jesus is fully human and also what Jesus’ humanity teaches us about God’s intentions for us.

Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Returning to Nazareth by Leonard Gaultier (1576-1580)

Today, I want to explore four insights from our text from the Gospel of Luke: How Jesus “increased in wisdom and stature and in divine and human favor.” In other words, how did Jesus become a wise and fully mature human being?

1. Jesus became wise and mature through liturgical repetition and practice.
I had no religious upbringing when I became a Christian as a teenager. Much of my early Christian experience focused on developing my interior spiritual life on my own: learning to pray, read Scripture, and cultivate my private devotional practice. In the process, I viewed the church’s liturgies (the repetition of written prayers, readings, hymns, psalms, and other liturgical practices) as unhelpful, except when they spoke directly to how I was feeling at the moment. I didn’t realize that liturgical repetition was intended to help shape the kind of person I was to become.

It’s significant how Mary and Joseph helped shape Jesus’ formation through their liturgical practices as devout Jews. Notice that the text says they went “every year” to Jerusalem, to celebrate the Passover, “as usual.”  Luke’s verbal repetition underscores their faithful practice by describing it as a persistent pattern.

And Jesus likely participated in the pilgrimages well before he turned twelve. So, part of  Jesus being “filled with wisdom” (v. 40) involved faithful, repetitive, liturgical practice.

That’s a helpful reminder for us all.

2. Jesus became wise and mature by discovering and being faithful to his identity and vocation
The story highlights Jesus’ growing awareness of his unique identity and calling. But that increasing awareness takes place in surprisingly ordinary circumstances. There’s little in the story to suggest that Jesus was different from other children his age.

Both Mary and Joseph are astonished by Jesus staying behind at the Temple. Despite the extraordinary events surrounding his birth, neither was prepared for what happened on their annual pilgrimage when Jesus was twelve.

How Jesus became aware of his relationship with God as Father, we are not told. However, it came about in a way that surprised Mary. But when the time came, Jesus was not shy about articulating his own growing understanding of his identity and vocation, even when that was at odds with his mother’s.

Even after the event, neither Mary nor Joseph understood what Jesus meant. It must have been challenging for Jesus to see his understanding at odds with the expectations of his parents. For Mary, it was the beginning of the fulfillment of Simeon’s prophecy about her relationship with Jesus: “A sword will pierce your own soul, too.” To Mary’s great credit, she continued to “treasure all these things in her heart.” Mary embodied throughout her life what St. Anselm would later call “faith seeking understanding.”

For me, this story resonates deeply. Becoming a Christian and discovering my Christian identity and vocation put me at odds with my parents early on. Soon after my conversion, my mother went to my Young Life leader and said, “My son wanted to be a nuclear physicist. Now he wants to be a pastor. What have you done to my son?!”

The process of discovering our identity and vocation in Christ can be challenging, not only for us but also for those who are dearest to us. Becoming wise means being willing to be faithful in that journey, even when those closest to us misunderstand our actions and their meaning.

3. Jesus became wise and mature by being curious
Notice the verbs that describe Jesus’ actions in the temple. Jesus was sitting, listening, and asking questions (v. 46).

Most people skip v. 46 and go right to v. 47, where it says, “All were amazed at his understanding and his answers.” From that, we might infer that Jesus had some supernatural revelation before the conversation. However, both v. 46 and the context point in a different direction.

First of all, Jesus’ actions make it clear that he came to learn and not to teach. We see that by the posture he takes: Sitting at the feet of the rabbis, listening (rather than simply talking), and asking questions (rather than behaving like a young prophet announcing God’s word).

There’s little to suggest that Jesus was a “theological prodigy” who knew everything about the Torah before he came to Jerusalem. For one, if he had been, likely the rabbis would have lobbied Mary and Joseph to keep him in Jerusalem to study with them (or to learn from him).

No, much more likely, Luke was trying to show us Jesus’ astonishing curiosity and the insight that emerged from his conversation with the rabbis. That’s why Luke ends this story with the phrase that Jesus “increased in wisdom” between the ages of 12 and 30. That would have been unnecessary if Jesus (being God) knew everything to begin with.

4. Jesus became wise and mature slowly, and by living an ordinary life
One of the surprising things about the aftermath of Mary’s conversation (confrontation might be a better word) with Jesus in the Temple was that Jesus didn’t remain at the Temple.

If we didn’t know the rest of the story, we might have assumed that Mary would say something like: “Oh my gosh, Jesus, you are right. You should be about your heavenly Father’s business. I will do what my spiritual ancestor Hannah did with Samuel and dedicate you fully to the Lord. You can stay here, serve, and learn from the teachers of the law. And Joseph and I will visit you yearly as Hannah did with Samuel.”

Or absent that kind of response from Mary, Jesus might have said, “Now I know what I’m to do with the rest of my life. Preparing for my earthly ministry will require being fully versed in the Law. What better place to grow in wisdom than here in Jerusalem with the likes of Rabbi Gamaliel?”

Of course, neither of those things happened.

Instead, Jesus chose to return to Nazareth with his parents and continued to be and do what was expected of him as Mary and Joseph’s eldest son. He would help Mary out at home and apprentice at work with Joseph as a carpenter.

If there’s anything that should remind us of the importance of everyday life, it’s the fact that Jesus spent most of his life that way. Jesus lived the majority of his life in ordinary circumstances, just like ours. He didn’t attend seminary as a prodigy at the age of 12 or go on the mission field at the age of 18. His “growing in wisdom” to prepare for proclaiming the gospel didn’t require him to abandon his ordinary life and work.

His spiritual formation primarily took place at home and on the job.

That’s a great reminder that our home and our everyday work are essential locations for becoming mature Christians. Our home and our work are not just “mission fields.” They are sacred places where our spiritual formation is intended to occur.

That was true for Jesus.

And that should be true for us if we want to grow up like Jesus.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Whose Children Are They, Really?.