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First Sunday after Epiphany (1905)

Luke 2:41-52 The Epiphany season in particular shall serve to make Christ great in us and in His glory in all directions, to carry Him before our eyes as Savior and King of His people and for the Gentiles, in His youth and as a Man, in His way of life, in His works and in His preaching, in His divine Person (in the Transfiguration on the mountain). Jesus in his youth, the glory of the Boy Jesus is the center of our Gospel today. What made the Holy Family of Nazareth so great and glorious was Jesus in their midst. A truly wonderful family is one that makes Christ's presence glorious in following Jesus. A truly beautiful life is one that places Christ at the center. A truly beautiful youth is one that follows in Jesus' footsteps. All is well when the image of the fairest among the children of men shines forth from their lives! But if Jesus' image is to be seen among us, then we must rightly know Jesus. We are shown his youthful image in a brief silhouette in the final verse of our text. We mainly want to lay a foundation of our following observation. We consider: The marvelous growth of the Christ Child, who also grew with increasing age 1. in wisdom and 2. in grace with God and men. 1. The "Everlasting Father" is and was, according to our text, He Who was twelve years old. Even so, the truth of his name "Wonderful" comes before our eyes. But this happens even more when we hear that He also increased in age with wisdom. a. Who is He Who grows in wisdom? The Christ Child, the God-Man, He "in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge of God"1: Who was like another Man. He, Who knows everything, had divested Himself of the use of communicated by omniscience and divine wisdom according to His human nature and trod the path to learn wisdom, as other people like Him, His brothers, must go. We cannot draw down Christ too deeply in our flesh. He endeavored to learn; He went to teachers, listened to them and questioned them.2 He made use of human learning resources. And He learned with success, His circle of knowledge became gradually larger, He went on, and His growth was revealed.3 b. He increased in wisdom. He did not fill His brain with all sorts of vain, useless, purposeless knowledge, but He grew in such knowledge that made Him wise, it evermore equipped Him to be useful all the more and better to serve His brothers and sisters according to the flesh. Not only did He grow in ,
1 Colossians 2:3. 2 Luke 2:46. 3 Luke 2:47.

cognitio, but also in , sapentia; He learned to apply His acquired knowledge ever better for good, salutary purposes for this life, but chiefly for that life. He would serve men. In particular, He increased in heavenly wisdom, in knowledge of the Divine Word, counsel, and will through diligent study of God's written revelation. Wonderful! The One Who knows everything, learned, learned more and more, was always wise. c. Why did this happen, for what reason is this reported? An example for us, particularly the dear youth, as an example for imitation. This is welcome praise of Christian youth, if it can be said of them that they are growing in wisdom, that that they are not about appropriating all sorts of useless or even dangerous and harmful knowledge, but useful knowledge, primarily that they may grow in Christian, divine knowledge and thus always better become capable to believe rightly, to live a godly life, to serve one's neighbor, and even to die blessed. The example of the Child Jesus should be a strong inducement for them. What is praised by Christ, is certainly also welcome praise of our youth. 2. Jesus also increased in grace with God and men. How wonderful! a. He is indeed the One of Whom the Father's statement: "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased" applied not only at His baptism, but also even at this time. He is the Son of the eternally well-pleased God and could not be more comfortable of His divine nature according to His Father, as He was from eternity. But how wonderful and what a humble self-emptying that He did not immediately raise up His own body according to which His humanity communicated complete pleasure of God, but to earn the good pleasure of God, to grow in favor with God and always wanting to become complete. He would be like His brethren in all parts. But also He increased among men in grace, in delight, that He was always dear to them and more pleasant. It was important to Him that He would gain good pleasure, benevolence, love of those with whom He dealt, with whom He met. And He won it. It actually was from communication with Him: the longer the better. What a humble condescension of the Child Jesus! b. And how did this growing in grace happen? Thus He went hand-in-hand in daily obedience to His Father, in a daily accomplishment of the divine will, so that God's Eyes rested on Him with increased good pleasure, God has His pleasure and delight in Him from day to day, Jesus was always dear to His heavenly Father. And as for His waxing in grace and pleasure among men, He did not associate in bad company, but with pious people and playmates. His parents sought Him not on the street but among friends and companions who had been to the Easter festivities in obedience to God.4 They found Him afterwards in the temple among the teachers.5 And in His dealing and communication with men He was humble, modest, kind, subservient, and in every sense, demure; particularly toward his parents, He was respectful and
4 Luke 2:44. 5 Luke 2:46.

obedient.6 It was a delight, a pleasure to deal with Him. One had to love Him and always grew fond of Him. Through His pious, godly nature, He more and more gained the love and affection of people. c. Why is this done and written? An example for us, especially to dear Christian youth for example and imitation. Our dear youth should be more like the Christ Child in this respect, that they should devote themselves to such a change, that God and men, particularly their parents, must always grow fond of them. (One carries out further the example of Jesus.) Thus the glory and beauty of the Christ Child will still shine again on youth baptized into Christ. W.H.

6 Luke 2:51.

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