A Thrill of Hope!
…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?" — Luke 2.48b-49
Happy Sunday, Middle!
The text from today reminds me of the popular Christmas movie “Home Alone.” A family leaves town, thinking they’ve got everyone. When they realize a child is missing, a frantic search begins. They find the child where they left him, living his best life.
It helps me remember that, at one point, Jesus was a precocious child— doing what he wanted to do, maybe even (if we dare read) a little smart-alecky.
(I would NOT have been able to get away with mouthing off to my mother like that!)
It helps me remember Jesus the Child a bit longer after Christmas, rather than rushing to the heartbreak at the end of his life. Through today’s periscope, I’m reminded of the curiosity and audacity of a child— one who is brave enough to ask questions of the teachers in the temple and share what he thought about things. It reminds me of our kids at Middle— who make their own signs to go march and protest with us. Who raise their hands at school to call out injustice in their classrooms. Who lean into our microphones in worship and say, “Listen to us! We have something to say!”
I pray we can remember that feeling in ourselves. The courageous questioning of what is around us— not taking for granted what we see and hear, continuing the search for truth. May we, by the reading of our ancient texts and by observing the younger ones among us, find an even braver voice than you’ve ever used— that speaks truth to power, questions respectability politics, and is rooted in God’s call on our lives.
As we go into this new year, I pray this for us all.
Blessed Christmastide, Fam. See you at church!
Rev. Natalie Renee Perkins
Executive Minister for Digital Church