<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18854">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Anxiety is not a fruitful mode in which to listen and ask.
When anxiously asked about his whereabouts (the result of his listening and
asking), Jesus talks about being at home or having come home to himself, to his
particular experience.<BR><BR>But anxiety gets in the way and his parents (still
dealing with both options) did not understand a home different than the one they
had carried on and developed.<BR><BR>Since they couldn't join him in a new place
he went on with them</FONT>.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2006/12/first-sunday-after-christmas-c4.html">http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2006/12/first-sunday-after-christmas-c4.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Wesley White, 2006</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - - </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV><FONT color=#231f20
face=BookAntiqua><FONT color=#231f20 face=BookAntiqua><FONT color=#231f20
face=BookAntiqua>
<DIV align=left><FONT color=#000000 size=4>“Children will relate to Jesus as a
child who, like themselves, wants to</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT color=#000000 size=4>be listened to by adults,” Hornik
suggests. “So often, children have much to say to busy adults</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT color=#000000 size=4>who could learn much by taking time
to sit down and listen; their honest and clear-thinking minds</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=4>may reveal profound
insights.”</FONT></DIV></FONT></FONT></FONT>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/Childrenstudyguide2.pdf">http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/Childrenstudyguide2.pdf</A></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Robert B. Kruschwitz, 2003</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV><FONT size=2
face=BookAntiqua><FONT size=2 face=BookAntiqua>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=4>Recent theological debates in North America have
been bitter and vengeful, in part because our theologies</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=4>are so debased and entangled with political and
cultural agendas. Many participants have been uncharitable</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=4>and lacking in humility; they have not listened for
the truth in their opponents’ views. James</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=4>Boyce’s statement encourages humility. “Wouldn’t it
be refreshing to be in a study group where members</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=4>humbly shared their comprehension, knew they could
not be too dogmatic about a conclusion, and</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>eagerly awaited your insights?” Lockhart asks. “</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT></FONT><A title="permanent link"
href="http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2006/12/first-sunday-after-christmas-c4.html"><FONT
color=#996699 face="Trebuchet MS"></FONT></A> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/CatechismStudyGuide5.pdf">http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/CatechismStudyGuide5.pdf</A></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Robert B. Kruschwitz, 2003</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Very often we do not have listening in a family because there
is fear. There may be fear of appearing weak, of losing face or authority, or of
being refused or punished. This fear leads one to want to control by threat or
violence so that the other person then becomes afraid. If, on the other hand,
there is honest listening there will be a realization that there is a fearful
human being at the other side. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.bible.claret.org/liturgy/daily/sundays_pierse/cycleC/C_HolyFamily.htm"><FONT
size=4>http://www.bible.claret.org/liturgy/daily/sundays_pierse/cycleC/C_HolyFamily.htm</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Gerry Pierse</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>...this simple human story should remind us to be forgiving of
our daily blunders. We do well to remember that in a fallen world the options we
face will often conflict and our chosen path will end up less than perfect, even
compromised. Unlike Jesus, perfection is beyond us. Thankfully salvation rests
on God's grace, not on our capacity to rightly handle life's myriad choices.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.lectionarystudies.com/studyg/christmas1cg.html">http://www.lectionarystudies.com/studyg/christmas1cg.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Bryan Findlayson</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Jesus is here portrayed as a child becoming a man, who is
confronted with competing loyalties. As he is maturing, a fact with which Luke
clearly brackets this story (vv. 40, 52), Jesus is coming to an awareness of his
role in the world. He is now himself becoming aware of what others before had
proclaimed about him. As he is becoming a "son of the law," he is beginning to
embrace the responsibility of what that entails as the Son of God. The future
that was promised to Mary for her baby is now beginning to unfold in this
twelve-year-old. To fulfill that role, to carry out his mission as the
"redemption of Jerusalem" (2:38), as the "light of revelation to the Gentiles"
(2:32), and as the "Savior who is the Messiah" (2:11), to truly be the Son of
his Father, he is beginning to understand that as important as familial
obligations might be, there is a higher calling that he must serve.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.cresourcei.org/lectionary/YearC/Cchristmas1nt.html">http://www.cresourcei.org/lectionary/YearC/Cchristmas1nt.html</A></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Dennis Bratcher</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>The child who is raised in the arms of a compassionate church
with caring adults and a healthy Sunday School/Youth Outreach is far less likely
to slip into drugs or anti-social behavior. In fact, a study by Case
Western University under the direction of John DiAiellio, found that the three
primary actions a father could take to keep his children off drugs were:</FONT>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoBodyText><FONT
size=4>1.<SPAN
style="FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 7pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">
</SPAN>Eat dinner with his family;</FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoBodyText><FONT
size=4>2.<SPAN
style="FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 7pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">
</SPAN>Do homework with his children; and</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoBodyText><FONT
size=4>3.<SPAN
style="FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 7pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">
</SPAN>Take his children to church.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoBodyText><FONT
size=4><></FONT></DIV><FONT size=4>
<DIV class=MsoBodyText>My question is will I ever be as mature as this
12-year-old boy? Last Saturday I gave a eulogy for a woman whose parent’s
wouldn’t take her to church on Sundays. At the age of eight, she began to
bundle herself up and walk to church alone. She finally “won permission”
to take her younger siblings with her. Every Sunday morning, she would
take on the role of parent, dressing all the kids up and marching them to church
for worship. Her younger brother went on to become a missionary, he would
lead others souls to Christ much the same as his sister led him. She
preceded him into God’s arms, yet in my mind I’ve no doubt he was the one who
walked beside her on her last journey before the King.</DIV>
<DIV class=MsoBodyText> </DIV></FONT>
<DIV><A href="http://onefamilyoutreach.com/bible/Luke/lk_02_41-52.html"><FONT
size=4>http://onefamilyoutreach.com/bible/Luke/lk_02_41-52.html</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Jerry Goebel: 2005 © </FONT><A
style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single"
href="http://onefamilyoutreach.com"><FONT
size=4>http://onefamilyoutreach.com</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>We too must work out who we are, not by birth, but by God’s
generous grace. The most important discovery we can make is to find that our
identity is bound up with the one whom Jesus called "Father." Even more
important -- when our children demonstrate that sense of holiness and awe which
speaks of God, the best gift we can give them is to "lose" them to its embrace.
They are, after all, only loaned to us.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2041">http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2041</A></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Peter Storey, 2000 </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4> </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>