Lost

The Rev. Joseph Winston

December 27, 2009

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.1
A child is missing. Out of all the fears a parent has, this is one of the worst.
Your child, your baby, your loved one is gone and cannot be found. Somewhere
out there in the cold, hard world is your flesh and blood.
Thousands of questions flood your mind. Where do you start? Where will they
sleep? Who needs to know? What will they eat? Why, oh why did this happen to
me? What were they wearing? What do you do?
Ever so slowly, plans come into focus. Retrace your steps. Go back to the last
place you saw your precious baby. Look carefully. Comb the area and see if you
can find even the smallest clue on what happened. Ask. Talk to strangers and hear
what they have to say. Listen. Put your hand to your ear and search the airways
for their voice. Call. Shout out their name until you can cry no more. Plead. Beg
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3.

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as if your life depended on it. Find others that will help you in your search. Pray.
Cry out to God with all your heart. Tell Him what you are feeling.
You can easily feel these raw emotions in today’s Gospel lesson. It has been
twelve short years since Mary and Joseph made the trip required by Roman law
from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The infant born in the stable is now grown.2 He does
not remember those early days, but Mary and Joseph certainly do. They still can
picture the shepherds bringing them the news from the angels. They know first
hand the difficulty of bringing a newborn and His mother back about eighty miles
to their home in Nazareth. They can hear the words of Simeon and Anna echoing
in their ears after the family’s first trip to Jerusalem.
By now, Jesus knows the way to Jerusalem from Nazareth. He has made the
sixty-five mile trip at least once a year.3 This is what this family does (Luke 2:41).
They celebrate God’s mighty deeds with their friends and families in the temple.
This year is different from all the rest. Jesus decides to stay behind in the
temple.4 Somehow, Mary and Joseph did not hear this message. They set off for
Nazareth believing that Jesus is going with them.5 A day’s journey brings them
the horrible truth (Luke 2:44). Jesus is not here. He cannot be found.
It really does not matter how you loose your child. It hurts deeply. Maybe they
2
Later documents such as the Pirke Aboth (Sayings of the Jewish Fathers) 5.21 state a child
of thirteen can keep the commandments and others say a boy of twelve must keep the vows he
makes. Luke Timothy Johnson; Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., editor, The Gospel of Luke, Volume 3,
Sacra Pagina, (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991), p. 58-59.
3
Passover, Feast of Booths, and Pentecost are the three festivals that Jews want to celibate in
Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 16:16; Exodus 23:14-15). Ibid., p. 58.
4
The author of Luke makes it clear in Luke 2:54 that Jesus makes the decision to stay behind.
5
The term συνοδία indicates a group of relatives traveling together. Ibid., p. 59.

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wandered away from you in the department store during the hustle and bustle of
Christmass shopping. Perhaps you fought and the two of you are no longer talking.
It even could be that your child died before you.
Becoming lost is a universal experience. It happens to you even if you do not
have children. Someone who loved you unexpectedly walked away and left you
all alone. Circumstances took your friend to the other side of the world and it is
now difficult to see her. You lost your job.
These different examples point out the current state of the world. It is broken
far beyond our ability to repair it.
Yet, we still believe that Jesus only came to pay the price for all the things we
do wrong. Make no mistake about it, this is very important. We certainly need to
have our slate wiped clean every day. But there is much more in the world that
needs fixing. Children need to play without the fear of being lost forever.6 Friends
deserve the peace of mind that comes when one knows you can always see each
other. Homes should be a place that warmly welcomes everyone. We all have the
right to a good life.
In other words, we need a Savior that gives us the freedom to live as God
intended. This is Christ’s mission on earth. He came to repair all the brokenness
in our lives. He lives for the lost.
This is Christ’s mission among us. He heals the hurt that comes with loss. He
helps the hopeless find meaning. He repairs the relationships that we shatter.
6
In our country, the god we fear is named accident since it takes our life from us. Arthur C.
McGill; Charles A. Wilson and Per M. Anderson, editors, Death and Life: An American Theology,
(Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1987), p. 44.

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 He does all these things and more not because you deserve it. Instead, He saves
all of the world because He loves you.
Loosing someone we love is frightening. Parents live with this fear their entire
lives. They are not the only ones who deeply fear loosing someone. Everyone
knows this pain in one-way or another. Be their friends, offer them a hand, show
them somehow or another different way of life.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”7

References

Johnson, Luke Timothy; Harrington, S.J., Daniel J., editor, The Gospel of Luke,
Volume 3, Sacra Pagina, (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: The
Liturgical Press, 1991).

McGill, Arthur C.; Wilson, Charles A. and Anderson, Per M., editors, Death and
Life: An American Theology, (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1987).

7
Philippians 4:7.