“Panic in a Parent’s Heart”
Sermon December 29, 2024
Sermon Sunday December 29, 2024 Rev. Norman A. Michaud “Panic in a Parent’s Heart” Luke 2:41-52 Both parents and children may have shared the tension presented in today’s reading from Luke. Luke’s account of the twelve-year-old Jesus is exclusive to Luke. It offers a glimpse of Jesus as a child and concludes by echoing Samuel 2:26, 2:26: “Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and with the people.” Being devout and respectful Jews, Joseph, Mary, their relatives, and friends travel on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship and praise God at the Temple. Herod’s Temple would have been shining white marble with gold and reflected the light throughout Jerusalem. Those reading or hearing Luke’s Gospel would