This week's sermon is titled "Childhood's End." It was given by Eric J. Thorsen, pastor of the Hudsonville Congregational United Church of Christ, originally on January 2, 1994.

Texts: Luke 2:41-52

"Childhood's End"

But now, these few short days later, we are at the 1st Sunday after Christmas, and Luke leap frogs us 12 years of time into the future and we have this story, this only story in the Bible of Jesus as a teenager. And if you are like me, it is a faintly troubling story - it's troubling because we would like to stay on with Christmas a while longer - to sing the Christmas carols - to rest in that slower pace that actually comes at the moment of Christmas - and we find we do not want to leave it. A big part of us wants to cling to Christmas with all of our might. Now that it's here, don't let it pass. And that is okay.

And part of us, perhaps our most central part, wants to cling too, to Jesus as a baby - to that incredible part of Jesus that needs our care and our nurture and that humbles us, because our God has entrusted salvation to this frail baby - and to us - a baby born while his parents were forced to be traveling who were on the move - born under suspicion of illegitimacy - a baby that would soon have to flee to Egypt - for men with swords would soon be coming. And our desire to cling to the young tender baby Jesus is definitely okay.

In today's scripture we find Mary and Joseph and Jesus traveling once again - to Jerusalem for the celebration of the great liberating event in the history of Israel, the Passover - the final act of God that freed the people of God from the slavery of Egypt. They were going to celebrate freedom. Traveling to a city to which Jesus would again travel.

Those of us who think like parents may be familiar with the saying, "there is nothing wrong with teenagers that reasoning with them won't aggravate." There is a quality to this age in life that challenges us and provokes us. It is Erma Bombeck who said, "Never lend your ear to anyone to whom you have given birth." I think it is troubling to us to see that Jesus did not make the trip back with his parents - that he apparently was separated from them for more than three days and instead of saying he is sorry he says, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" No baby Jesus here.

So, I think it is important for us to try to come to grips with this story - that speaks of traveling and family and an already radical commitment to faith, and occurs in the season of Passover which, at its core, has to do with breaking free from slavery.

I would lke to share with you a part of a story. It is from a play by Bertoholt Brecht, called "The Caucasian Chalk Circle." In this story a child is born to the royal family. But immediately the royal family is over thrown by a rival royal family - who execute the King and send their soldiers in search of the mother and especially the child - Michael.

In the rush to escape, the prince's wife became preoccupied with the fine clothes she wished to take with her, and in the confusion, the baby Michael was set on the ground, in a basket. As the troops approached, she ran off with her fine clothes, but the baby was left behind.

It turned out that a young unmarried woman, a servant, who worked in the kitchen found the baby in the basket. Realizing who the baby was, she hesitated over what to do, but she knew that the soldiers were in search of this child and would surely kill him, for he was the heir. As the soldiers approached she grabbed hold of the basket and ran off into the woods to escape.

As this young women flees with the child her entire life is changed. She doesn't intend to keep the child, only to hand him off into safety -- but it turns out, this child is dangerous -- no one who suspects who he is will take him to be a mother to him -- only to use him for their gain. Even her brother and his wife to whom she flees in exhaustion over the glacier have but one interpretation of this young single woman and the young child. As time goes on she endures tremendous hardship but she and the child become mother and son, until one day while walking by a stream, the soldiers finally find them, arrest them and take them back to the capital for trial. For the noble mother has also returned and wants her child and his inheritance.

At a certain point in the trial the judge leans over to the young women and says "are you sure about your claim to be the child's mother? For if you are not, he will be rich beyond measure and powerful, he will have a palace and many soldiers in his service and many petitioners in his court yard."

The young women at first is silent but through the voice of a singer her thoughts are known. Her song ends:

"Then let hunger be his foe!
Not Hungry men and women.
Let him fear the darksome night.
But not daylight!"

And she answers, "I won't give him up. I've raised him, and he knows me."

To this the royal mother replies, "He's in rags!" The judge, pondering the situation, tells his marshall to draw a large white circle on the floor before him and then announces a test. He has the marshall place the child in the center of the circle and he directs each woman to take hold of one hand of the child. The true mother, he says, will be the one who is able to yank the child away from the other and out of the circle. And the judge orders, "Now pull!"

The noble woman yanks with all of her might but the young woman immediately lets go and the child is quickly pulled out of the circle. The judge orders the test repeated and again the young woman lets go. At this the judge rises and looking into the young woman's eyes he renders judgement, "Take the child and go -- I advise you to again leave the city with him."

The true mother was the one who loved the child -- the true mother was the one who was able to let go. Her final act of love was to let go.

And it seems to me that this morning's passage from Luke has everything to do with letting go. For Mary and Joseph wanted to hold onto the baby Jesus too -- they wanted to take the safe road to Jerusalem -- the one that had been traveled for generations "they went up as usual to the festival," Luke says. But the teenage Jesus is already starting to point the arrow toward a startling different road.

Continued ....

If you are a church pastor or religious leader in the community and would like to submit a sermon or essay for an upcoming Sermon of the Week or for more information, call the Wowcom.net office at (616) 392-3020, ext. 3015.