Sermon for January 4, 2026, Second Sunday of Christmas

Luke 2:40-52 (Second Sunday after Christmas—Series A)

“Obedient . . . for Us”

Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, Enfield, CT

January 4, 2026

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text is the Gospel Reading recorded in Luke 2:

⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

⁴¹ Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. ⁴³ And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, ⁴⁴ 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, ⁴⁵ and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching 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 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.” ⁴⁹ And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” ⁵⁰ And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. ⁵¹ 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. ⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

          Home Alone has become a favorite Christmas movie for many. Kevin’s family accidentally leaves him behind at home at Christmas. They were in a hurry to get out the door to get to the airport on time and had forgotten him in the upstairs bedroom. It was only later that they realized he wasn’t with them. His parents became frantic and immediately began looking for ways to get back home to find him. Meanwhile, Kevin dealt with burglars, cooked for himself, and even cleaned the house by the time they got back.

         In our Gospel Reading, Jesus’ parents realize that they had left Him back in Jerusalem. Only, He wasn’t lost; He had remained behind for a purpose. He was in His “Father’s house” listening to the temple teachers and asking them questions. And even though it was necessary for Him to be there, He still submits to His earthly parents and returns home with them.

         Today we consider what Jesus’ obedience means for us. We’ll see how Christ’s perfect obedience fulfills the Law for us and leaves us an example of humble obedience.

         We all find ourselves among the disobedient sons of Adam. All the descendants of Adam share in his disobedience to the Word of God. Instead of listening to the voice of their Creator, Adam and Eve listened to the voice of the deceiver, who tempted them to eat of the forbidden fruit. They disregard God’s command and eat from the tree of which God had clearly warned, “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17).

         This scene is repeated over and over in the lives of Adam’s children as they disregard the commands that God has given them to do. Our sinful nature that we inherited from Adam manifests itself in our daily lives and callings: Instead of using God’s name to pray and give thanks, people are more inclined to use His name to cure and lie. Instead of hearing the Word of God and learning it with gladness, we grumble and complain if the sermon is too long, or if the preacher tells us something we don’t want to hear. Instead of honoring our parents and other authorities, we grumble against their authority and often only grudgingly do what they ask.

         All the sons and daughters of Adam, therefore, share in Adam’s condemnation and judgment. Death is the result and consequence of our disobedience, as we learn from the apostle Paul: in Adam all die because all sinned (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:22). Whoever does not repent of his or her disobedience will not only die physically but will also experience eternal suffering and torments in hell. We should daily repent of this and all sins, confessing that we are “by nature sinful and unclean” and begging God to be merciful to us.

         Jesus, however, is the perfectly obedient Son of God. God has shown His mercy in giving us His only Son, who “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7 ESV). This, of course, is the point of Christmas: “The Word became flesh,” our own flesh, “and dwelt among us” so that He could keep the Law of God in the place of sinful humanity (John 1:14). Where we had failed to obey our heavenly Father, we needed Him to provide someone to do that for us.

         The Son of God perfectly obeyed His Father’s will. Twelve-year-old Jesus had remained behind in Jerusalem. Soon enough, Mary and Joseph became frantic until they found Him in the temple. Despite Mary thinking Jesus had treated his parents badly, this was no disobedience at all. Jesus was in His Father’s house according to divine necessity: “I must be in my Father’s house.” Then, although He was God Himself, He submitted to the authority of His earthly parents as the Fourth Commandment requires, “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.”

         Later, Jesus, the obedient Son of God, submitted to a Baptism of repentance for us, identifying fully and completely with sinners. Finally, Jesus, still and always the obedient Son, suffered an agonizing death, drinking the cup of His Father’s wrath for us. All this, the Son’s perfect keeping of the Law, He did for us.

         The result is that we also are and live as obedient sons and daughters in Christ Jesus. The Christ’s perfect keeping of the Law for us, our disobedience is forgiven. We read in Ephesians 1, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7 ESV). Through Baptism, we are adopted as sons of God in Christ Jesus, “according to the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:5 ESV). In Christ, we stand before God our Father as righteous and obedience children, covered by the garment of Christ’s perfect righteousness and obedience.

         As reborn sons and daughters of God, adopted through Jesus Christ in Holy Baptism, we have put off the old self, the old sinful nature, with His disobedience and have put on Christ. By the working of the Holy Spirit, we follow Christ’s example of humility before God and people, beginning to keep His Word and obey His Commandments. Instead of fearing, loving, and trusting in other things, we begin in faith to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. We also learn to trust in Him as our only hope and refuge.

         We resist the temptation to use God’s holy name to curse, swear, lie, and deceive, and instead use it to call upon Him in every trouble, “pray, praise, and give thanks” (Small Catechism). We fight and struggle against our natural inclination to despise preaching and God’s Word and instead, with the help of the Holy Spirit, begin to “hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it” (Small Catechism). We resist the sinful urge to argue with our parents and other authorities and instead strive to listen to them in all earnestness, honoring them, serving and obeying them, not grudgingly or simply out of fear of punishment, but joyfully. We do all this out of love for God, not out of fear of punishment or condemnation, but joyfully and gladly because Christ’s perfect obedience has been credited to us.

         Because of our disobedience, which we inherited from Adam, we were under God’s condemnation and judgment. But through Christ’s perfect obedience for us and His carrying out faithfully the will of His Father for us, we are counted as righteous and obedience before God through faith in Him. Through Jesus’ cross and resurrection, our disobedience is forgiven and we have new life through the Holy Spirit in Baptism. We give thanks to God for sending His beloved Son to fulfill the Law for us, and, as reborn children of God in Christ, we strive to follow His example of humble obedience before God and people, to the glory of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.