Rev. Adam Schell
“Missing Christmas”
Luke 2:41-52
December 30, 2012
Just last week, as we gathered together to worship in this place, Christmas trees sat in the corners of our
living rooms, covered in glowing lights and vibrant decorations. Piles of perfectly wrapped presents
covered our tree skirts and began bulging out and invading the rest of the living room floor.
Personalized Christmas stockings lined the mantles of our fireplaces. Evergreen wreaths hung from our
front doors, adorned with beautiful red bows. And a little bustle of mistletoe was hidden just beyond
the threshold, giving us an excuse to greet our loved ones with a kiss. Icicle lights hung aglow from the
gutters of our roofs. And maybe even a brave soul or two managed to place jolly old St. Nick along
with his reindeer atop of their homes. Decorative cans of Christmas cookies were piling up on our
kitchen counters. That spiral cut ham still sat on the bottom shelf of our refrigerators waiting to be
baked. A new box of candy canes waited to be opened and passed out to the grandkids. But what a
difference a week makes.
Just last week we were all still able to hum the melody of It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
in our heads as we went about our holiday business. But this week our homes look a lot more like a
scene from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Sure, our Christmas trees are still up, but we haven't even
bothered to plug it in the last few days. A few of the vibrant decorations that once filled those artificial
branches are still lying on the floor after being knocked off by kids in search of gifts. Those piles of
perfectly wrapped presents have vanished like a puff of air, leaving behind sacks of shredded up paper
to be carried to the trash. Our stockings have found their way back into a Rubbermaid tote, and so has
our Christmas wreath. The icicle lights will continue to hang from our gutters until we have a warm
day, but they won't be getting turned on again for another year. Those beautiful Christmas cans that
were once filled with cookies are left with only a few crumbs inside. The spiral cut ham was finished
off days ago with one last plate of leftovers. Those candy canes have been eaten or broken and ended
up in the trash. It is a amazing what a difference a week makes.
Even as we all made our way into the sanctuary this morning, an observant eye could tell that
Christmas Day has come and gone for 2012. It's true that most of our seasonal decorations remain from
our tree in the corner of the stage to the greenery hanging high up on projection wall. But there's still
plenty missing this morning. Our poinsettias have been picked up. The Christmas sweaters and ties that
we've donned over the last few weeks have disappeared. And those unfamiliar faces that have filled in a
few spots in our pews since Thanksgiving have vanished leaving empty seats behind.
But there is one thing I noticed last week that has driven home the fact that Christmas is over for this
year more than anything else. I saw it as Ashley, Hannah and I traveled to Ohio to spend a little time
with my extended family this past week. As we drove through a neighborhood leading up to my
grandfather's home, my eyes were drawn to a partially decorated home. Boxes and plastic containers
were lining the front porch with a decoration or two peeking out from inside. A man stood on a ladder
leaning against the roof with a dozen feet of Christmas lights dangling beside him. A Christmas wreath
was propped against the wall beside this home's front door waiting to be packed away. But none of
these things were what caught my eye.
It was actually the nativity scene in their front yard that I noticed. And as my eyes quickly scanned the
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scene as we drove by, I couldn't help but think something was missing. Their plywood creche had not
yet been disassembled, still offering the perfect backdrop for the scene. But the shepherds and wise
men had already been drug onto the porch, looking as if their journey to the newborn king wasn't quite
complete. Mary and Joseph were both lying on the ground, making it look like they were resting after
Jesus' birth. And as odd as it was to see Mary and Joseph on the ground, and the shepherds and wise
men drug off, the strangest part was that baby Jesus was nowhere in sight. I don't know if he had been
put in a box, hauled into the house, or stolen as a prank. All I know is that as I saw that nativity I
realized Christmas was over, because Jesus was missing.
It was actually kind of funny at first. And I couldn't help but think of all of the work that family had put
in to prepare their house to celebrate Christ's birth. I imagined the hours they spent untangling lights
and then hanging them from the gutters. I thought about the time they spent fluffing the wreath on their
front door and making sure the bow looked perfect. And I envisioned the work they put in to assemble
their nativity scene, just to remind their neighbors that there is a meaning behind the Christmas season.
But now Christmas was over and Jesus was gone.
Then I thought about us. I thought about the time we spent over the course of 2 Sunday afternoons
putting together artificial trees and decking the halls of this church. I remembered our Hanging of the
Green service and the work we put in to make our church look perfect. I reflected on our Sunday
mornings spent together and the effort we put in to remind people of the true gifts of Christmas – the
arrival of God's son who brought us hope, peace, joy and love. And I wondered, now that Christmas
Day is over, if we'd all feel like Jesus was missing when we came back to church this morning.
Let's just face it, after a week of holiday celebrations, it can feel like Jesus is a long way off. Sure, we
talked about the hope that Christ brought to the world...but what about the despair our nephew felt
when the one gift he really wanted wasn't under the tree? And we were reminded of God's peace
leading up to Christmas...but life wasn't too peaceful as we sat in the chaos of hours of holiday traffic
just trying to see our families. We joined in the angelic chorus and sang of the joy Christ brought to this
world...but the way your cousin complained that you bought her the wrong size sweater made you feel
anything but joy. Our hearts were warmed as we thought of how much God must love us to send his
son into this world...but that message was easy to forget when your uncle got drunk and picked a fight
with his wife. The sad reality is that even though we spent the last week celebrating Christ's birth, many
of our Christmas celebrations were simply missing Jesus.
But maybe we shouldn't feel too bad about the way we tend to miss Christ during Christmas, after all
we are far from the first people who have overlooked our Savior. As a matter of fact our scripture
reading for this morning tells us how the last people you'd ever think could overlook Jesus did. So let's
listen to this story from Luke 2:41-52:
Every year during Jesus’ childhood, His parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration.
When Jesus was 12, He made the journey with them. They spent several days there, participating in the
whole celebration. When His parents left for home, Jesus stayed in Jerusalem, but Joseph and Mary
were not aware. They assumed Jesus was elsewhere in the caravan that was traveling together. After
they had already traveled a full day’s journey toward home, they began searching for Him among their
friends and relatives. When no one had seen the boy, Mary and Joseph rushed back to Jerusalem and
searched for Him.
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After three days of separation, they finally found Him – sitting among a group of religious teachers in
the temple – asking them questions, listening to their answers. Everyone was surprised and impressed
that a 12-year-old boy could have such deep understanding and could answer questions with such
wisdom.
His parents, of course, had a different reaction.
Mary [said to him], “Son, why have You treated us this way? Listen, Your father and I have been sick
with worry for the last three days, wondering where You were, looking everywhere for You.”
Jesus [answered], “Why did you need to look for Me? Didn’t you know that I must be working for My
Father?”
Neither Mary nor Joseph really understood what He meant by this. Jesus went back to Nazareth with
them and was obedient to them. His mother continued to store these memories like treasures in her
heart. And Jesus kept on growing – in wisdom, in physical stature, in favor with God, and in favor with
others.
Luke 2:41-52 (The Voice New Testament)
When you first hear this story, it's almost impossible not to put yourself in Mary and Joseph's place as
every parents worse fear begins playing out in their lives. Their son has gone missing, and their sheer
panic has aroused a frantic search to find him. They check with their family, friends, and neighbors; but
there's still no sight of him. They begin retracing their steps in hopes that he wandered off somewhere
along the way. They fear the worst, wondering if their son is gone forever. And for a split second we
almost feel like Jesus is gone.
The truth is we all feel the same way sometimes. As we sit by the hospital bed of a suffering loved one,
we feel like God is missing. When the doctor shares a troubling diagnosis, our sheer panic causes us to
frantically call out to the divine. When an unspeakable tragedy happens to our family, friends, or our
neighbors, we look every which way for any sight of God's presence. When the pain and suffering of
life continues to pile up, we wonder if we've been completely abandoned. And even if it's only for a
split second, we almost feel like Jesus is gone.
But then we hear the rest of the story. Mary and Joseph return to the temple and find Jesus is still there.
And when Mary asks Jesus why he had abandoned his parents, he simply responds that he has been
doing God's work. When we're finally able to see beyond the pain and suffering of this world, we see
that the same is true in our lives. Even though it seems that Jesus has vanished, Jesus is still
there...doing God's work all around us.
That's part of why I love this story, because even though it took place thousands of years ago, it isn't
that different from where we are today. This scene unfolds inside the walls of the temple, and here we
are sitting inside the walls of the church. Only days before this story begins the temple was overflowing
with people who had gathered for the festival of Passover. An early historian, named Josephus,
estimates that as many as 2.5 million people came to Jerusalem for the Passover each year.1 Over the
1 Accessed from the historical writing of Josephus found at http://www.josephus.org/Passover.htm#number
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last few weeks countless people have flowed through the doors of our church as well. Granted, we
haven't had 2.5 million people...but we've had plenty of people come together for banquets and
Christmas programs, for a cantata and to sing carols, for a candle light service and for a Christmas
breakfast. But now the holiday is over and the crowds have thinned out. But even though the crowds
are gone, Jesus is still there in the temple...and Jesus is still in this place today.
Just because the world around us seems filled with despair, chaos, anger, and hatred; it doesn't mean
that Christ's hope, peace, joy and love are missing. Just because we've unwrapped our Christmas
presents, that doesn't mean Christ's presence is gone. As Christians, we are the presence of Christ in
this world. We are the ones living out the hope, peace, joy and love of our Messiah. But far too often
we rather pack it all up and wait for next Christmas to come.
Let's make this year different. Let's keep the hope, peace, joy and love of Christ alive in our actions all
throughout the year. Let's help one another and those around us, and work to make sure no one thinks
that Christ is missing after Christmas this year.
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