Colossians 3.12-17, Luke 2.41-52
The First Sunday of Christmas, 29 December 2024, Clapham
Jesus has come a long way in a week. Only the other day we were carolling his birth. Today we’re witnessing his bar mitzvah.
You may know more about Judaism than I do; it was news to me, until I read up about it, that a bar mitzvah isn’t simply a party – a one-off event that you have; rather, it’s something that you are. Bar mitzvah describes the process by which a Jewish boy matures to a point where he becomes accountable for his own actions. And bat mitzvah describes the same process for girls.
According to Jewish law, before children reach the age of 12 or 13 depending on tradition or gender, the parents are responsible for their child’s actions. After that, children are held accountable for their own actions; they become responsible for knowing Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics, and can take part in all aspects of Jewish community life, the same as adults. There is a party, of course: a bar/bat mitzvah ceremony is usually held on the first Shabbat after the birthday when the child comes of age. And at that party, traditionally, the father of a bar or bat mitzvah offers thanks to God that he is no longer punished for his child’s sins.
So by the time Jesus reached his thirteenth birthday, he too had become a bar mitzvah, which literally means ‘son of the commandment’. And Luke’s story of the 12-year-old Jesus in the temple: this is the story of that becoming.
Jesus, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, amazing them with his understanding and his answers – this is the story of his bar mitzvah, this is Jesus engineering his initiation into adulthood.
It shows us that he goes above and beyond. With all their neighbours, Jesus’ parents were at the Jerusalem Passover festival as always, that year: almost certainly they’d be careful to ensure that Jesus was taking part in everything he needed to, for his bar mitzvah preparation. But when the week was over and they were all on their way home, Jesus wanted more. After the panic about his whereabouts was over, everyone could see clearly how this child had a passion for learning which extended way beyond his obligations.
Now, a bar mitzvah is a beginning, not an ending. To become bar mitzvah, children attend prayer services at the synagogue, study at a Hebrew school, take on a charity or community service project and remain in good standing with the synagogue. Some are tutored in Hebrew, in singing the Torah, and learning basic Jewish concepts. The expectation, of course, is that these practices will continue to develop through adulthood, as the bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah matures.
Our gospel stories show us how seriously Jesus took his obligation to keep on learning, to keep growing in faith and practice through adulthood. The boyhood scene in the temple repeats throughout the New Testament as we find Jesus discussing scripture with his disciples, debating points of law with religious leaders, attending synagogue and temple, practicing the faithful life through his many acts of care and healing.
And, of course, in all of this, he goes above and beyond expectations: teaching scripture as no-one had taught it before, stretching the law to its limits to challenge malpractice, showing his passion for the temple by cleansing it of corruption. This child not only came of age – to those who would hear his words he heralded a whole new age, the coming of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of love and peace which the prophets had long hoped for, and which he taught and performed.
From the age of twelve onwards Jesus was about his heavenly Father’s business – whilst still obeying his earthly parents, as a good Jewish eldest son should; and Luke tells us, he ‘increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour’.
New Year is an opportunity for us to reflect, take stock, of everything in our lives. And to recommit to those things which sustain and help us be the best versions of ourselves. Today we might consider how seriously we take our obligation to keep on learning and growing in faith and practice through adulthood.
The early church leader Paul was keen to encourage this reflectiveness among the congregations: to coach them in the way of maturity. So, what better way to enter a new year than by reflecting on the short extract of his letter to the Colossians which we heard earlier, and allowing it to speak to our hearts about the direction we may take this coming year.
Will you open your heart to God’s Spirit as I repeat Paul’s words to you now:
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. [2]
Notes
[1] Background to Bar and Bat Mitzvah from Wikipedia.
[2] Colossians 3.12-17.
