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This has been a wonderful Christmas at my house. Living with a four year old is the most fun I’ve had in long long time. Jaime, as everyone knows, is a delight. Lest I take unfair advantage of the pulpit to brag about my daughter, let me couch this in terms of our scriptures this morning. We have brief glimpses of a childhood scene in the life of Samuel and Jesus. Let us suspend for a moment the fact that we know these boys grow up to be notable leaders as well as spokespersons for God. Let us imagine ourselves friends of the family, living in the present tense of the story.

Hannah and her husband Elkanah had waited a long long while to have a child together. Actually, it was Hannah who had waited, had grieved, and prayed so hard to become pregnant. In those days men had several wives. Elkanah had offspring. But scripture tells us Elkanah loved Hannah dearly and it was his wife Peninnah, not him, that scorned Hannah for her closed womb. We are the neighbors and we see and hear the goings on.

We see Hannah’s sorrow and hear Peninnah’s teasing. We understand the judgment cast upon women unable to conceive. It is a sad situation. Hannah is a loving friend and devout Jew. A most amazing thing happens one ordinary day. We learn that Hannah is pregnant! She’s in the backyard hanging up laundry singing at the top of her lungs, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; God has given me a child.” Indeed, with God all things are possible! The other wife, Penninah, is momentarily silenced.

And then another amazing thing happens. Hannah, in her thanksgiving to God, dedicates her son Samuel to live and serve in the Temple shortly after he is weaned. Samuel will make his home in the Temple with Eli, not with his mother. Can you believe it?! No way could I do that. I’d like to think that I dedicate my life to trying to serve God, giving thanks. But giving thanks by giving back the gift of a child?! Amazing. Simply amazing.

Today’s scripture is a snippet of an annual visit to the Temple by Hannah and Elkanah. The occasion is the yearly animal sacrifice. It is a time to see Samuel. Hannah brings to him a little robe each year. What must have Hannah and Elkanah felt in seeing their son? How he would have changed with the passing months. Did Samuel remember them? Did he look forward to their visits? Did Hannah ever regret her decision?

I wonder what Samuel shared with his parents during those brief visits. I’m assuming that they were brief, in the scheme of things. Perhaps they spent a day or two together. Did he rush into their arms as a child and as he became six hesitated? Did he ask them to play the Pokemon card game of the day? Did Samuel and his mother exchange long glances, both quietly offering prayers? What shall become of our children? This is a question we live alongside forever. Whether they dwell under our roof or the roof of another, awaiting an answer is ultimately about trusting God. Not that God is some form of life insurance or force field; faith in God allows us to let go, recognizing we are not ever as in charge as we think we are. Bless you Hannah. Letting go of a child is heart wrenching. Scripture paints a noble loving spirit in your action. It seems to me that there is a whole lot more to the story. Ah but it all still comes down to faith. Loving and living the questions.

Jesus was twelve when he lingered longer than the others in the Temple. We might call this the Amber Alert story of Luke. Luke is the only gospel to mention this incident which causes me to wonder why Luke’s community had this story and others did not. Theologically, Jesus being “lost and found” in Jerusalem is a rehearsal for the Easter story. Passover is a mega celebration, entire villages traveled to Jerusalem. Crowds were part of the scene now and crowds were part of the scene a few decades later when Jesus entered on a donkey.

Partner the emotions of Mary and Joseph upon discovering young Jesus was not among them with the emotions of the followers of adult Jesus. Business as usual with excitement thrown in, is suddenly interrupted by terror. What has happened to Jesus?! Where has he gone? Who is with him? Can we imagine life without Jesus? Anger. Worry. Panic. Action. Ultimately, resurrection but not without shedding real sweat and tears.

The image of Jesus in the Temple among religious leaders, scholars if you will, is intriguing. What do you imagine? Take note of the print Jean Caswell has posted in the entryway concerning this text. It’s poignant. How do we imagine Jesus asking questions? Contrary to classic depictions of a boy standing in front of his elders preaching, I imagine Jesus sitting at the feet of his elders, much like our kids at Children’s Time.

I imagine Jesus being a good listener. I imagine him being familiar with Jewish scripture. I imagine him being thrilled to listen to the teachers discuss and debate the meanings of laws and stories. Note I said “meanings” not meaning. Judaism is wise in its understanding God’s ways being multi-faceted and mysterious. A recent example of this is the statement made by the Conservative Jewish community concerning homosexuality as we understand it in our time. There is room for both readings of scripture, positive and negative. There is no one definitive interpretation on this issue.

I imagine Jesus being one of those older children that has a certain way about them. He is both wise beyond his years and very twelve. I imagine Jesus respectfully asking smart questions. I imagine the elders looking at one another and thinking, WOW! I imagine Jesus reflecting out loud how he has a text or situation figured out. There is a capacity and gift of insight that is scary and profound. Kids have a way of catching adults off guard.

Remember a few weeks ago when Vicki was leading the Time with Children highlighting her upcoming South Africa trip? She was quite effectively explaining apartheid to the children. Two thirds of the way through, a child asked, “Was Jesus white?” So simple, so huge.

The questions and statements of children are often profoundly religious. The questions and statements of adolescents and adults are equally spiritual, though not always so spontaneous. Why did this happen? What am I supposed to do? Where is God? Who is God? What is God? How many wars, how many deaths will it take? Which word of God is credible? Am I the only one who doesn’t know how to pray?

Questioning one’s faith is part of developing a mature faith. Challenging the simple answers or tried and true conclusions of our childhood Christianity is integral to our constructing relevant, personal faith. Key to this process is construction following on the heels of de-construction. Many a crisis of faith results from questions of faith. While uncomfortable and disconcerting, these are opportunities to journey deeper into one’s soul. What do we find there? It is different for each person.

My experience has been initial silence. There are no landmarks and I am lost. Sometimes I am angry for being betrayed, by God, by the Church, by others. In the void, we begin to find or make meaning. For some it may be through cynicism, others, mysticism. Here I am preaching to the choir but let me go ahead and say it. An unquestioned faith is likely not a hardy faith. Hardy faith is not fragile or defensive. Nurturing faith is the ministry of this church and its people. We seek to support one another in our journeys of faith, exploring belief. And knowing what we believe (and to a lesser degree what we do not), we go forth into society and act accordingly.

Speaking of going forth…You have or will soon receive in the mail a report from the Strategic Planning Task Force. The Task Force has done an outstanding job distilling the thoughts and insights of our community. This report outlines 26 goals for Christ Congregational Church in the next 3-5 years. We are asked to prayerfully consider these goals which reflect the priorities and needs voiced by the congregation in gatherings this fall. Come Saturday, January 20 we will meet as a congregation to identify 6-10 goals as our top priorities. This is exciting and important work. This is a very tangible way CCC asks questions and faithfully responds.

A new year is upon us! A time to take stock and consider resolutions. Rosh Hashonah is the religious new year for Jews. It is the celebration of the mythic anniversary of the day of Creation. (Pentecost is the Christian new year, celebrating the birth of the Christian Church.) To get us going on our New Year resolutions I offer some sobering ideas from an un-named Jewish therapist and spiritual seeker.

She writes:

So how do we celebrate and behave righteously toward the Creation? There is just too much pressing our us, disturbing and threatening us, for today to be a day of niceties. Have a good year; Be kind to each other. We must ask much more difficult and terrifying and disturbing questions of ourselves, each other, and all our leaders. And we must demand a much more difficult and uncomfortable search for answers.

I wish to apply the spiritual demands of this holiday to our difficult political, social, environmental questions. And I will. I will spend this holy day of Yom Kippur, in such contemplation. I will ask about the unthinking sacrifices we are making of our children and our earth as indicated by the story of Abraham and Isaac retold today. I will ask about how I individually and we collectively must serve as good stewards of the Creation… and declare that spirituality and right moral action are one and the same. I will personally apologize to those I have wronged, and seek ways to stop further harm in my individual as well as our collective lives. I will continue to dedicate myself, my work, my life to ultimate concerns, remembering that power and money are just tools to use for good or ill, and should never be pursuits in themselves. I will tremble with righteous indignation at the daily abuse of our freedom and use of our power to abuse others and our planet. And I will never agree to allow my children, yours, or distant strangers’ children to be sacrificed on the altar of our vanity and greed.

Not exactly run of the mill New Year’s resolutions. Who needs run of the mill? I haven’t yet come up with my New Year resolution. Like the season of Lent, identifying something to do or not do, has a way of being postponed.

I know one thing for sure. This next year I will continue to be amazed and infinitely grateful for my daughter. I resolve to pay attention. The child has a big name, Jaime Michele Emmanuel Dodson. She embodies her name. Jaime is the name her Guatemalan birth mother gave her. I spell it differently but it is pronounced the same. Michele means, God’s messenger. Emmanuel means, God with us. Both those names have family significance. They fit her well.

I close with a Jaime story. While she has zillions of questions spanning the continuum from fascinating to annoying this is a Jaime statement story.

Being a preacher’s kid and a perceptive child, a recent walk/stroller excursion resulted in the following. A doll came along. It became Jesus. Jaime saw at the playground under the tall slide, a manger. We played Mary and Joseph (guess who I was). As we were heading home, Jaime was pushing the stroller with Jesus. She says to me, “When Jesus gets older, he will lead us.”

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