Commitment is an act and not just a word

Luke 2: 41-52

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents were unaware of this. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them, and his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor.

The essential nature of Christian life has been determined for all time by the ministry of Jesus Christ. In Luke’s Gospel we are given an opportunity to see moments in the life of Jesus that challenges our thoughts and may transform our lives. In addition, these moments should shape our ministries. When Jesus was 12, Mary and Jospeh had journeyed to Jerusalem as was their custom. They were committed to their faith, and they traveled to the festival of Passover year after year. Perhaps like us, they had become accustomed to a certain routine, and had shaped their expectations around the habits they had adjusted their lives around. There was a certain time to arrive and a certain time to leave. There was a certain level of comfort and security in traveling with familiar faces and numbers and their movements and actions influenced by the crowds around them. This year their routine was disrupted, their expectations challenged, and their plans shifted.

One act and decision by Jesus changed everything. Instead of leaving with the crowd, Jesus stayed a little longer at the Temple to listen to the elders, sit among the teachers, ask them questions, and amaze them with his answers. His parents did not understand when Jesus declared, “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Jesus did more than listen to a sermon at the festival as his commitment moved him beyond any ritual and routine.

Throughout this season of Lent, we have been given the opportunity to alter our routines and make some changes so that we can follow through on our commitments. Jesus made a commitment that was seen through his actions. Our lives and our ministries should be shaped by the life of Jesus and recognize that commitment is an act and not Just a word. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian, and pastor once stated, “One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.”

prayer

Oh God, our heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the privilege above all privileges, and that is the privilege to worship Thee. Grant that we will never misuse worship, that we will direct it in the proper channel and receive all the great rewards that come as a result of our kneeling before Thee in humble submission and worshipping Thee throughout the whole wide world. In the name and spirit of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

—”We Thank Thee for the Privilege to Worship Thee.” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Thou Dear God”