Luke 2:41-51 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 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. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” 49 He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

Mortified

My palms were sweaty.  Butterflies were flying loops in my stomach.  I was 16 and I bringing my first boyfriend home for dinner with my family. Worst-case scenarios kept playing through my head, but nothing prepared me for what would occur.

Daddy fixed a huge southern dinner: Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, sweet corn

and all the trimmings. We sat down dinner.  Daddy to a chair to the left of my boyfriend and my big brother took the one on his right. 

Dinner was going smoothly.

I started to relax.

Then, without warning, daddy sneezed with a mouth full of food.  Corn and mashed potatoes flew out of his mouth and onto the face, shoulder, and lap of my boyfriend.  He sat there, clearly in shock and unable to move. The family dog woke from a deep slumber. Sensing there was food to be had she started pawing at his lap.  I was mortified and wished desperately to be able to magically melt into the floor boards.

The funny thing is, this story has become a hilariously happy memory.  It is a classic family tale that we regale people with.

As writer Gretchen Rubin says, “Often, it is the things that go wrong that make the best stories.”

I believe that it’s the failures turned success stories and fiascos that become happy memories which make up the core of the joy and contentment that we experience in life.  

Stop and ask yourself, what are some of your most embarrassing turned hilariously wonderful stories? A first date experience, a wild sporting event moment, a fumble on the job, a trip with unexpected detours?

They forgot Jesus

The major events in life rarely go on without a hitch, but we can choose to find the silver lining in the stories that make up our lives. 

 Look at the parents of Jesus as a prime example: Mary and Joseph lost Jesus and could not find him for three days! How would you like to be remembered as the parents who forgot Jesus?

I’m betting that the last thing Mary and Joseph expected to lose was their son.  It had been a hectic week. Everyone had packed up, traveled miles and miles, but instead of grandma’s house for Christmas dinner they were in the big city center of Jerusalem for the festival of Passover.

[Side note: Passover is the Jewish “Festival of Freedom” commemorating the release of the Hebrew slaves from captivity in Egypt by miraculous acts of God. To this day, Jews from around the world go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to remember and celebrate the Passover feast.]

Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and their entire extended family traveled for this annual pilgrimage.  Then, on their way home, the parental units realized that they had misplaced Jesus [ a.k.a the savior of the world.]  It took them three days before they found him in the temple, schooling some rabbis.  

Joseph and Mary were petrified by their initial site of Jesus – a 12-year-old questioning and teaching the temple priests.  I’m guessing that Mary had been giving Jesus the evil eye and preparing a good tongue lashing while Joseph pulled his leather belt off, ready to whip some discipline into their child.

Then, Jesus stoped them dead in their tracks by a one liner: “Didn’t you know I’d be in my father’s house?”

Years later, sitting around the dinner table Mary and Joseph might have reminded each other of this event. How their worry and embarrassment had been turned to awe and humility. 

The Best Memories

The best memories of our lives are a compilation of near misses, luck, surprise and improvisation.

This moment of losing Jesus was clearly a parent fail but it turned from failure to success them moment Mary and Joseph chose to listen to their child and accept what they could not understand. Scripture tells us, “Mary treasured it and pondered it in her heart.”

As we approach the new year I am challenging you and I’m challenging myself to be intentional about happiness.  We can choose to be happier in life. 

For the next 7 weeks of the New Year,  I will post a sermon based on a series I created called “Happier.” It is based on scripture and uses The New York Time’s Best Selling Book “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin as a foundational read.  

Do you want to be happier in the New Year?
Do you want to help others find happiness and contentment?  Then these posts are for you!  

Follow the Action Steps Each Week and share this post with a friend (or 10) that can be an accountability partner with you.

Happiness Action Steps:

1. Take 10-15 minutes to Ponder: what would make you happier in the New Year?
2. Write 1-20 Resolution(s) that are attainable, specific, measurable, and relate to your answers from step number one.
3. Find an accountability partner to share your Resolution(s) with and set a regular time to discuss them.  (I recommend 1-4 times a month.)  
4. If you are up to it, share your Happiness resolutions with me and on the RevWren FB page.  

May the Road Rise Up to Meet Y’all,

Rev.Wren