The Day After Christmas
“The Sacred of the Ordinary!”
Luke 2:21-40 (NAS95)
The Day after Christmas (1st Sunday of Christmastide)
These are the events a week after the Christmas miracle of Immanuel, God with us! Then, the story goes silent for twelve years with these two verses, Luke 2:39-40: “When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”
Then, after a short snapshot of Jesus at twelve (41-50), the story goes quiet again, this time for even longer (approximately 18 years) with these two verses, Luke 2:51-52: “And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
So, with the exceptions of his miraculous birth story, dedication at eight days, and pilgrimage at twelve years old, the epic story of Jesus Christ, is silent on the first thirty years of His life. The next time we see Jesus is at His baptism, ready to fulfill the purpose of His life.
What happened in each of those ordinary days, along the way, in thirty years of preparation for the epic journey of Jesus Christ to the Cross—the gospel story, which is the recording of the most sacred life ever lived! There are some hints in our two passages:
- Verse 40, “The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”
- Verse 52, “Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
While we normally celebrate the high points of Jesus’ epic life: His conception, birth, dedication, baptism, and ministry for three years that culminated with His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. And while we exhaustively discuss and debate His second coming and His promises for the future, we don’t discuss those first thirty years of preparation—the ordinary humdrum days of Jesus’ humanity in a small community as the son of Joseph and Mary, and then as a carpenter. Those ordinary years that daily shaped and prepared Jesus for his extraordinary ministry that has become the greatest Story ever told—the gospel—were just as sacred as the high days we call Christmas and Easter. Because, without each of those ordinary days, Jesus would not have grown up, increased in wisdom and stature, and in God’s grace (favor). Every day is sacred in the epic story called the gospel of Jesus Christ—the greatest Story!
I love epic stories! Whether it is a classic tale such as C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, or J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, or a contemporary epic story such as Ted Dekker’s The Circle Trilogy, or Andrew Peterson’s The Wingfeather Saga, I am all in and can’t get enough of an epic story well told! My heart comes alive and my soul years for something better as I join the characters in their story!
Epics spin tales of different worlds while, simultaneously, giving us glimpses into the very best and worst of what lies in each of our hearts. Epics tell us the truth in a way that gets beyond our normal defense mechanisms so that we may hear truths that are otherwise veiled from our eyes or caught in the shadows of our own choices. Epics are stories of biblical proportion and, whether the author knows it, point to the greatest Story ever told, because everything that is good and true and right comes from our Heavenly Father! Epics draw us in and rescue us from living in the humdrum of the ordinary by showing to us the sacred of the ordinary!
I want my life to point to the greatest Story ever told! I want my life to be fully alive—a life that causes other people to yearn for something more for their life. I believe, with every ounce of my being, that we can live this life today! Our stories are intended to point to His Story—the gospel of Jesus Christ! The gospel is the truest story ever told and it pierces the darkness of our souls and calms the storms of our hearts. We come alive when we find ourselves inside His Story! Jesus rescues us through His epic life, so that we may live the epic life today (John 10:10). Jesus calls us to join with Him in the great rescue of all human history—the epic story, called the gospel, to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). Our story points to His Story!
The Apostle Paul was radically rescued by Jesus Christ, and he devoted the rest of his life to telling others God’s epic story come alive in Him through a personal encounter with the resurrected Lord (Acts 9). It was not enough for Paul to experience the grace of God for Himself, it was His deepest desire for God’s people to be strong in the grace of God that comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul believed that the epic life of Jesus Christ was available to every person, not just for an eternity, but, also, for today!
The key is to learn how to grow strong in grace like Jesus Christ did, as recorded in our two theme passages of Luke 2:40 & 52, and like Paul did after His encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. Paul teaches us what it looks like for us to grow in God’s grace in 2 Timothy 2:1-7:
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
It is from this passage that we are going to launch our 2022 sermon series next Sunday and learn how to grow strong in God’s grace by remembering our sacred call within the ordinary details of our everyday lives. With the same discipline and intentionality of a soldier, athlete, and farmer, we are to grow strong in the grace of Jesus Christ and live the epic life today. In 2011, we learned the life of a champion athlete and, in 2022, we will learn the life of a soldier on mission!