Pondering the New Year

 

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching 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. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:41-52 ESV).

 

We were very fortunate to see our children for Christmas. As we sat around the table visiting in the evening our conversations naturally turned to nostalgic memories of their years spent growing up. You can relax though; I certainly won’t be writing about those stories today. Perhaps I’ll save those thoughts for another time. The key today as we face the eve of a new year is in their natural growth. Mary has been very careful to keep their “baby books.” Those “books” are filled with dates, hospital mementos, and early photographs. Paging through those books triggers all kinds of special memories. In addition she has photo albums of their childhood and adolescence.

 

Mary, the mother of Jesus, didn't have a "baby book" to remember the birth of her son. But she spent more time thinking about the birth of her son than most parents. I know we certainly didn’t take a great deal of time to “ponder” the events of our daily life with our sons. We relished each experience and milestone, but we quickly moved on to the next marker. What Mary thought about were not just memories common to motherhood but especially the incredible things so commonplace in Jesus’ story.

 

Pondering Jesus was Mary's task. It's our task too. Thinking long and hard about Jesus is at the heart of Christian meditation. Thinking about our own lives in the light of Christ's story brings our own purposes into focus. Take time today to ponder Jesus. You will be different for it.