We Lost the Messiah!

Losing track of your kids can be a horrifying experience for a parent. My wife experienced that when our oldest daughter was 8 or 9 years old. Janice needed to make a quick stop at a grocery store near our home and Kari, disgruntled with this added stop on the way home, didn’t want to go in the store. So, she convinced her mom to let her stay in the car. Mom agreed, telling her to keep the doors locked and reminding her that she’d only be a minute or two. However, when Janice returned to the car, Kari was gone. Panic immediately set in. Janice began to work through the logical answers. Perhaps Kari had gotten bored and wandered in the store to find her. So, she ran back in, grabbed a store clerk and they began to search the store. They searched every aisle—no Kari. Then, on a whim, Janice decided to go home, which was only a couple blocks away. Janice entered the house and went immediately to Kari’s room. There she was, sitting peacefully watching videos. When asked why she decided to wander home on her own, she simply said something to the affect of, “I have things to do.” When Janice told me the story that night, I was horrified… but for only a minute. I remembered a time when I decided to wander off from my parents because I had better things to do.

As a kid, I hated shopping. Probably because the stores my parents and sisters dragged me were far from my interests in life. Clothes, fabric, groceries, home appliances—I had no interest in them. So, when my family made plans to hit some sidewalk sales, I needed to find a better plan for me. Our family was up in Sault Ste. Marie near where my oldest sister lives. She was newly married and I was just an 11 or 12 year old kid. As my mom and sisters began to pick through clothes racks, I asked if I could go check out a “fudgy” shop across the street— you know, one of those tourist fudge shops with all the cool overpriced souvenirs. I think because they were so tired of my whining, they relented and off I went. As it turned out, Sault Ste. Marie has a bunch of these little shops and I proceeded to work my way through most of them. I loved the freedom from the clothes racks and stacks of women’s shoes. I wasn’t going back anytime soon. Then I realized that the Soo was the home of the Soo Locks where the boats and barges pass from St. Mary’s River to Lake Michigan. Before the boats can pass, they have sit in the locks where the water rises or lowers to the level of the body of water they are going to. I needed to find the Soo Locks. So off I wandered, losing track of time.
I’m not sure how long I was gone but when I finally wandered back to the stores, I was greeted with fury. “Where have you been? We’ve been looking all over for you! You’ve been gone for hours and we were worried!” Frankly, I was a bit surprised as I had a wonderful afternoon of exploring. They got to shop and I got to explore, what’s the problem? I was oblivious to the worry and inconvenience I had caused.
I think there’s a quest in every child to explore their own independence.

Unfortunately, kids typically do this before they fully understand the dangers and difficulties that surround them as they wander away. But it does my heart good to know that Kari and I were not the first kids to wander from their parents. Jesus, the 12-year-old incarnate Son of God and Messiah, wandered from Mary and Joseph and clan. It’s kind of refreshing to know that, isn’t it? For three days, Mary and Joseph journeyed to find their “special” son who got separated from the family. Can you imagine their conversations? “I thought he was with you. When did you see him last? Where did he say he was going? I can’t believe we lost the Messiah!” As a parent, I can relate to their horror.

But there’s something I really love about this story from Jesus’ perspective. Remember, this is the Son of God, the second member of the Trinity in 12-year-old human skin. As God, he’s given up his divine attributes of knowing everything and being all powerful. He’s vulnerable and needs to grow in knowledge and understanding. But as human, he has a childlike innocence that allows him to wander and explore. He pursues independence and discovery as he grows to understand who he really is and what his mission and purpose are all about. I love the fact that God chose to reveal himself, and rescue us from our sin, by becoming human. It tells me that he relates to the human stuff that happens to me.

Read Luke 2.41-52 today and see the common humanity in this family story. But, look deeper for signs of Jesus’ deity. He’s beginning to grow into his mission.