1 Samuel 2:18-26; Colossians 3:12-17; Luke 2:41-52
Rev. Kenneth M. Locke, Interim Pastor
Orchard Park Presbyterian Church; Carmel, IN
December 29, 2024; First Sunday of Christmas
Things are not going well at Shiloh. In fact, things are horrible. The only bright spot is young Samuel. He seems to be doing well. Otherwise, the place is a disaster.
Eli is old. Not his fault. Live long enough and you get old. But managing the sanctuary has gotten beyond him and he has given over the day-to-day operation to his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas.
Sadly, Hophni and Phinehas are failing badly. They’re not just failing themselves and their families. They’re failing all of Israel, too. Their scandalous behavior is bad enough. But they’re also not training young Samuel. They’re neglecting their duty to make sure Shiloh always has a well-trained priest to serve God and the people.
To put it nicely, Shiloh is a dumpster fire. And it’s burning out of control.
Compare this to what we find in our Gospel Lesson.
Joseph, Mary and Jesus have been in Jerusalem, celebrating the Passover Festival, with a bunch of people from Nazareth. They travel in a group, caravan style, there and back. Jesus, being a 12-year-old boy, doesn’t want to spend all that time with his parents. He wants to hang out with his friends and get into the kind of trouble only 12-year-old boys can. Mary and Joseph aren’t concerned until the first night when they can’t find him.
So of course, the next morning they turn around and hustle back to Jerusalem. They spend three days looking for Jesus. (Hello! Three days! Foreshadowing!)
When they finally find him, where is he? He’s in the Temple. And what’s he doing? He’s“sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” Jesus is learning. He’s learning what it is to be a man. He’s learning what it is to be Jewish. He’s learning about being a child of God and serving the people.
These two stories are extreme examples. Nevertheless, they point to a major function of the church. One of the things every worshipping community, every church, has to be doing is training, teaching, empowering. Every church has to be in the business of teaching how to love God and humanity.
And not just children. All of us. All of us. All of us could stand to grow in spiritual wisdom. All of us could learn more about being in favor with God and humanity.
But what does that look like? What does growing in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and man, actually look like? I think it looks a lot like Colossians.
Paul is telling the people of Colossae how to live together in Christian love. He tells them to live lives of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other. Forgive each other. Clothe yourselves in love and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
This is what it means to grow in favor with God and man. This is what new growth in the church looks like.
Let me hasten to add we all have individual responsibility. We all have a responsibility to model appropriate behavior and teach others how to live. We also have a responsibility to learn. Every teacher I have ever had has told me the teacher’s job is to teach. The student’s job is to learn. Worship, Sunday school classes, special opportunities – the church can only do so much. We as individuals still have a responsibility to go out on our own and learn.
As this year ends and we look forward to the next, let’s praise God for our education program. Let’s praise God for our teachers and all those who make their ministry possible. Not just children, of course, but all ages. Every age must be on the path of spiritual growth.
As well as giving thanks, let’s also commit ourselves. Let’s commit ourselves to making a point of growing in faith. Let’s make a point of growing in compassion, kindness, and humility. Let’s make a point of forgiving each other and welcoming the peace of Christ into our hearts. So that, whatever we are doing, whether in word or deed, we do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Amen.
