Michael A. Walrond, Jr. - "Looking for Jesus in All the Wrong Places" (December 28, 1997)

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-	The third lesson this morning comes	0:05
	from the Gospel according to Luke,	0:07
	second chapter verses 41 through 52.	0:12
	Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year	0:19
	at the feast of the Passover,	0:23
	and when he was 12 years old they went up to Jerusalem	0:26
	after the custom of the feast.	0:30
	And when they had fulfilled the days	0:33
	as they returned the child, Jesus, tarried	0:36
	behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph	0:39
	and his mother Mary knew not of it.	0:42
	But they supposing him to have been in the company,	0:46
	went a day's journey and they sought him	0:51
	among their kinsfolk and acquaintance,	0:54
	and when they found him not they turned back again	0:58
	to Jerusalem seeking him.	1:02
	And it came to pass that after three days they found him	1:05
	in the temple sitting in the midst of the doctors,	1:09
	both hearing them and asking them questions.	1:14
	And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding	1:18
	and answers, and when they saw him they were amazed.	1:22
	And his mother said unto him, "Son,	1:28
	"why has thou thus dealt with us?	1:32
	"Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing."	1:35
	And he said unto them, "How is it that ye sought me?	1:41
	"Wist ye not that I must be about my father's business?"	1:48
	And they understood not the saying	1:53
	which he spake unto them.	1:55
	And he went down with them	1:58
	and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them	1:59
	but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.	2:05
	And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature	2:10
	and in favor with God and man.	2:15
	This is the word of God.	2:19
-	Thanks be to God.	2:22
-	I am indeed grateful once again	2:26
	for this opportunity	2:28
	to come to this great pulpit.	2:30
	I've learned in my short life	2:33
	to always appreciate second chances	2:35
	and if you're invited back,	2:39
	I take that as a good sign.	2:41
	So I take the opportunity this morning as a good sign	2:44
	and indeed, a tremendous pleasure.	2:47
	I will not be long this morning	2:50
	for I learned something else	2:52
	that it's not always good	2:53
	to be long winded.	2:56
	There's a story that was told to me some time ago	2:58
	about an elder preacher	3:02
	and his young protege	3:05
	and one morning after Sunday worship service,	3:08
	the young man came to the older preacher	3:11
	and said, "Reverend, this morning, you were brief."	3:14
	He said, "Well, son, it's like this,	3:19
	"I've learned in my life	3:22
	"that it is better to be brief	3:25
	"than it is to be boring."	3:27
	And he said, "Well, Reverend,	3:30
	"this morning, you were both, brief and boring."	3:31
	(congregation laughing)	3:34
	I don't hope to be brief and boring this morning.	3:35
	I want to lift up this morning the 49th verse	3:42
	as primary piece of scripture.	3:45
	Jesus poses the question	3:51
	to his parents,	3:55
	"How is that ye sought me?	3:57
	"Wist thee not that I must be about my father's business?"	4:00
	I wanna talk this morning	4:07
	from the subject looking for Jesus	4:09
	in all the wrong places.	4:13
	Looking for Jesus	4:16
	in all the wrong places.	4:19
	It was customary,	4:24
	it was required	4:27
	that male Israelites	4:30
	should make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem	4:33
	for Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles.	4:37
	Thus, the family's journey	4:44
	to Jerusalem for Passover	4:47
	partially fulfilled this requirement.	4:50
	Joseph took his wife Mary	4:54
	and their son Jesus	4:59
	to Jerusalem to help fulfill this requirement,	5:01
	this mandate of all male Israelites.	5:05
	So as we read the scripture.	5:09
	Jesus accompanied his father	5:10
	and mother to the Passover feast.	5:14
	When the feast was concluded,	5:17
	Mary and Joseph traveled with the caravan back toward home	5:20
	and the record tells us	5:28
	that when a day's journey was complete,	5:29
	they went looking for Jesus amongst their kinsfolk	5:34
	and acquaintances and they did not find him.	5:38
	They retraced their steps all the way back to Jerusalem	5:45
	looking for their son whom they deemed to be lost.	5:50
	Now, I cannot imagine	5:55
	how they must have felt.	5:59
	I had a member of my church last week	6:02
	during the busiest time of the year	6:05
	come to me, eyes filled with tears,	6:08
	telling me that she's just going	6:13
	to continue to thank God	6:14
	because she was in the mall	6:17
	and had her granddaughter with her	6:19
	and as most children become,	6:22
	she was very adventurous.	6:24
	And wandered off from her grandmother.	6:26
	Her grandmother was calling her name	6:30
	and could not find her	6:32
	and some four hours went by	6:34
	and she still could not find her.	6:37
	Well, she heard a page over the loudspeaker	6:41
	of the mall calling her name.	6:46
	When she went to the information desk,	6:49
	she saw her granddaughter	6:51
	and her granddaughter said,	6:54
	"Finally, we found my grandmother."	6:55
	(congregation chuckling)	6:58
	Now, I know the pain that can come	7:00
	from having your child wander	7:01
	away from you for a moment.	7:04
	But here in this passage,	7:07
	a day has gone by and they did not know	7:08
	where Jesus was.	7:11
	They made their way back to Jerusalem	7:14
	and the record also tells us	7:17
	that they looked for him some three days.	7:18
	Can you imagine the terror	7:22
	that must have been in their hearts?	7:23
	How they must have felt	7:26
	not knowing where their son was,	7:28
	not knowing where their child was.	7:30
	They must have been horrified	7:33
	not knowing what could have happened	7:35
	but all they knew is that he was nowhere	7:38
	to be found.	7:41
	And they looked and they looked	7:43
	and they looked.	7:47
	And to their surprise,	7:51
	they discovered him	7:55
	in the temple	7:58
	dialoguing and talking	8:00
	with the elders, the learned men of the day.	8:02
	They came to him, "Son, we were looking for you.	8:07
	"We did not know where you were.	8:12
	"You wandered off, we have been looking now some three days	8:14
	"in the city and we did not know where to find you	8:17
	"and by coincidence, we have come upon you today."	8:21
	And Jesus' response is not a response	8:25
	of a sorrowful child	8:28
	for putting his parents through the anguish	8:31
	but his response is one of determination and confidence.	8:34
	"If you understood me,	8:39
	"you would not have been seeking and sorrowful	8:43
	"because where else would I be	8:50
	"but about my father's business?"	8:53
	Where else would I be	8:58
	if you really, really, really understood.	9:00
	If you were really, really concerned,	9:03
	if you really, really were worried.	9:06
	Why worry?	9:08
	Did not you know where I would be?	9:09
	You see, you were looking for me	9:14
	but you were not looking in the right place.	9:17
	You were looking in the wrong places.	9:22
	I am about my father's business.	9:26
	That statement echos	9:33
	through the chasms of time	9:36
	and for many of us, still haunts us even on today.	9:39
	Those of us who go on our own spiritual journeys,	9:44
	trying to find Jesus,	9:48
	trying to get closer to him,	9:50
	trying to understand him more,	9:52
	trying to just get a glimpse of him	9:55
	sometimes find ourselves knocking on the wrong doors,	9:59
	walking down the wrong streets	10:03
	and looking in the wrong places	10:06
	in order to find Jesus.	10:09
	I've learned something from this passage of scripture.	10:14
	I've learned that Jesus continually assaults	10:18
	our assumptions as to where he might be.	10:23
	Time and time again, Jesus has an uncanny ability	10:29
	of constantly assaulting our assumptions	10:35
	as to where we might find him.	10:38
	Even up to this point when we read the scripture,	10:43
	he already has a track record	10:45
	of showing up in some unusual places.	10:47
	For the Jewish people were waiting for a messiah,	10:53
	they were waiting for a deliverer,	10:55
	someone who would come and restore them	10:56
	to their rightful position of power.	10:59
	For years, they had been told of this messiah,	11:01
	for years they had been told of the power he would possess	11:04
	and they were waiting and watching and looking.	11:08
	And we learn now through history	11:13
	that while certain Greeks were delving in philosophy,	11:15
	and while certain Romans were trying to conquer the world,	11:19
	God was on God's way to a stable in Bethlehem.	11:23
	God's arrival, God's appearing totally assaults	11:28
	how many of those persons expected the messiah to come.	11:34
	And he still assaults our assumptions	11:42
	of how he would come,	11:46
	when he would come	11:48
	and where he might come.	11:50
	Look at the story, look at the story	11:52
	that we so celebrated on this week.	11:54
	In terms of a place,	12:00
	a city called Bethlehem,	12:03
	in terms of people,	12:05
	Joseph and Mary.	12:08
	In terms of environment,	12:10
	a little barn, some swaddling clothes	12:12
	and an ox crib,	12:15
	all of those things assaulting our assumptions	12:17
	at where the one who would be called the Lord of lords	12:21
	and the King of kings would come.	12:24
	Totally unexpected.	12:28
	And always challenging us	12:30
	to think through his arrival a little bit deeper	12:33
	and to think about where we might find him	12:38
	a little bit more.	12:41
	And even today,	12:44
	many of us in this society still make assumptions	12:46
	about where Jesus resides.	12:52
	There was a time not so long ago	12:56
	in the history of this country	12:57
	when it was believed that Jesus could only come	12:58
	and be found in places where people	13:03
	of certain color were.	13:06
	It was thought that Jesus only associated	13:09
	with a certain class of people based	13:12
	on how many of us lived out our Christianity.	13:15
	But even in the Gospels,	13:20
	we get a story of a Jesus	13:21
	who consonantly is found in unexpected places,	13:23
	associated with blind persons,	13:27
	associated with the outcasts and the rejects,	13:29
	associated with people	13:32
	whom many of us would look upon as an insignificant	13:34
	and there we would find Jesus in the dark corners	13:37
	of society, in the unwanted places	13:41
	is where he seemingly is so comfortable.	13:45
	Did not you know	13:51
	that I would be about my father's business?	13:53
	And wherever God's work and God's power is needed,	13:58
	there you will find me	14:03
	but the lesson to all of us	14:07
	is not to assume where God's power is needed	14:08
	because I've come to learn to find Jesus	14:14
	in the places where I myself do not always expect.	14:17
	I've learned in my community	14:22
	where I pastor to find Jesus	14:24
	on the street corners, dialoguing	14:26
	and talking with people whom many of us	14:29
	would not choose to associate with.	14:32
	I've learned to find Jesus	14:35
	in the eyes of little children	14:36
	who are crying because their parents	14:38
	have abandoned them.	14:41
	I've learned to find Jesus	14:42
	in places that I normally would not look first	14:44
	but then again, I'm always reminded	14:47
	of those words that echo throughout the Bible,	14:49
	that echo even in my own mind,	14:53
	my thoughts are not your thoughts,	14:55
	my ways are not your ways	14:59
	and as soon as we believe that we can isolate Jesus	15:03
	to a particular quarter,	15:08
	we've missed the whole point of Bethlehem	15:10
	and of Jesus' arrival.	15:14
	But I've also learned something else.	15:18
	That many of us make assumptions	15:22
	about where Jesus ought to be	15:26
	because we are fearful of going to those places	15:30
	where he really might be.	15:33
	You see, no one likes having their comfort zones shattered.	15:37
	No one really likes being made	15:42
	to feel uncomfortable	15:44
	but time and time as I look at the Gospels	15:47
	I see a portrait of a man	15:51
	who was constantly making people feel uncomfortable	15:54
	because of what he was challenging them to be,	15:59
	where he was challenging them to go	16:03
	and who he was challenging them to be like.	16:07
	He said it in this very Gospel,	16:13
	the Spirit of the Lord is upon me	16:15
	because he has anointed me to bring good news	16:19
	to the poor.	16:22
	He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives	16:23
	and recovery of sight to the blind,	16:27
	to let the oppressed go free,	16:30
	to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.	16:33
	In a nutshell, there's the mission	16:38
	of Jesus Christ.	16:41
	Sometimes following him	16:43
	and seeking to find him	16:45
	may lead you to be in circumstances	16:47
	that you normally would not seek after.	16:50
	But your position as a follower	16:54
	is not to make assumptions.	16:57
	But to simply follow	17:01
	and declare like the song writer once declared,	17:04
	"Where he leads me, I will follow	17:06
	"and I will go with him, with him all the way."	17:11
	It's not easy looking for him.	17:18
	It's not easy following him	17:21
	but if you have joined in this journey,	17:23
	that is what you have called on upon yourself.	17:27
	I commend Mary and Joseph for one thing.	17:32
	That they did not give up	17:35
	in their quest to find their son.	17:39
	Do you know someone	17:43
	who has given up on their quest to grow closer to Jesus?	17:45
	Do you know someone who has decided for themselves	17:52
	that the requirements are just too high,	17:55
	the road is just too rough,	17:58
	the way is not as easy as I thought	18:00
	and they have given up, they have stopped searching,	18:02
	they have stopped looking?	18:05
	But they didn't.	18:11
	His parents did not.	18:13
	The journey in which we are all on	18:16
	is one in which morning by morning,	18:22
	we are challenged to see new mercies.	18:25
	Day by day we are challenged	18:29
	to open our hearts a little more,	18:32
	to broaden our horizons a little more,	18:36
	to move beyond the narrowness of our own dimly lit places	18:39
	and to venture out to those new places,	18:46
	to those new challenges, to those new possibilities,	18:49
	constantly reaching or trying to grasp	18:52
	at our greater good	18:55
	and God's greater glory.	18:58
	Keep on searching.	19:01
	Keep on trying to find new ways	19:03
	of knowing him.	19:06
	New places of finding him.	19:08
	And new ways of being committed to him.	19:12
	And I remember when I entered the ministry	19:17
	and my grandmother reminded me	19:21
	that ministry was not easy,	19:25
	it was challenging.	19:29
	It was quite difficult.	19:32
	She said, "There's a song that I want you to take with you	19:34
	"no matter where you go."	19:39
	She said, "If when you give the best of your service,	19:41
	"telling the world that the Savior has come,	19:50
	"be not dismayed when men don't believe you.	19:55
	"He'll understand and say well done."	20:01
	Are you looking in the wrong places?	20:07
	Are you challenging yourself	20:11
	to enter new communities?	20:14
	To enter different places?	20:18
	Are you challenging yourself	20:22
	to no longer assume anything	20:24
	about Jesus Christ	20:27
	but to take him just as he is?	20:30
	We are not here to play,	20:34
	to dream nor to drift.	20:38
	We have hard work to do	20:42
	and loads to lift.	20:45
	Shun not the struggle,	20:48
	'tis God's gift.	20:51
	Be strong and Jesus will be with you.	20:52
	Amen.	20:57
	(tranquil organ music)	21:01

Item Info

Title:

Michael A. Walrond, Jr. - "Looking for Jesus in All the Wrong Places" (December 28, 1997)

Description:

Sermon start time: 02:26. Sermon end time: 20:58.
We have a tendency to look for Jesus in all of the wrong places. He is constantly challenging our assumptions of where he would be, regularly finding his home among the marginalized corners of society. Often we do not look there because we are afraid to get out of our comfort zones. But that is what the call to follow Jesus means: making ourselves uncomfortable for the sake of being with him. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: Weepin g may be the first prophetic move to let go on our tight grip on present arrangements, where we might move forward to something more substantial than the present. Maybe you should think of church as public processing of pain. Have you ever come to church and found yourself in tears? What is that? It takes a lot of faith to rage and complain and shake fists and cry out ‘O god Why’.

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https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4bk17390

Date:

December 28, 1997

Speaker:

Walrond, Michael A., Jr.

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Duke University. Chapel

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UA.17.01.0003 CS-0887
ref9923_ygu
uachapelsermaud
duke:320507
dcrau001531
ark:/87924/r4bk17390
7561c680-a851-4a7e-a918-5fa33b0ad6f9

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Michael A. Walrond, Jr. - "Looking for Jesus in All the Wrong Places" (December 28, 1997)

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