I always want to ask children: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
I’m sure they’re bored of the question - but their answers are always quite interesting - from firemen to archaeologists to clowns to superman or spider man… kids have inspirational aspirations.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Did you get to be that thing - did you fulfil a childhood dream?
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The more important question - I think - is Who did you want to be when you grew up?
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Its more of a ‘value’ question than one about dreams or goals… it’s a question about what sort of priorities you wanted to have…
If you met a twelve year old version of yourself - what would your twelve year old self say to you today?
In the Walt Disney movie - “The Kid” - thanks to an accident of time travel (which happens in movies) - the character played by Bruce Willis meets his 8 year old self.
Bruce is a successful image consultant - he has money, important clients, a fancy car - a great physique and smart suits to wear.
But his 8 year old self is not at all impressed! He slumps down in his chair, covers his face with his hands and exclaims: “You don’t have a dog!”
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In the race to be successful - Bruce has put his image, his career, his greed ahead of the values he dreamed for himself as a child - and ended up quite lonely and very grumpy.
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I hope that the majority of us would be met with a congratulatory handshake from the kid which we once were.
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In today’s gospel reading Luke tells a story about the boy Jesus and his love for the temple - for the things of God.
Even at 12 years old people are astounded by his questions and his answers - the wisdom of a young child.
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I wonder if at this stage of his life Jesus knew what was in store for him? I wonder what he had thought about the story of
Why are some people so rich, and others so poor?
Why are people sick?
Why does no one care for them?
Why do you reject some people - and call them impure?
Why are women treated as less than men?
Why are black people treated differently to white people?
You know - those difficult questions that kids ask - that we adults somehow forget to ask - as we learn to accept the status quo; but which Jesus never seems to have grown out of.
People were astounded at his questions - and at his answers. And I bet they put some of the more challenging ones down to youthful exuberance.
I bet some of the rabbis probably wiped the sweat from their brows when the parents of this little upstart came to fetch him.
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So what would your young self have to say about you - or to you today?
And what are you going to do about it this year?
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Some of my friends received good advice when they left home and went to work or university… Their parents simply said to them: “Remember who you are.”
Remember who you are - and be that person.
When others are sleeping around - have the courage to say no. When others are drinking too much and not studying… remember who you are and what you stand for. When some steal and cheat - remember who you are.
That advice is not just for students leaving home… but for each and every one of us:
When work gets in the way of family life - remember who you are.
When everyone at the office is speaking badly of someone - remember who you are.
When the temptation to cheat is too strong to bare - remember who you are - who God created and called you to be.
Remember your priorities.
Jesus - at the age of twelve - already has a very good idea about who he is: “Didn’t you know where to find me? Isn’t it obvious that I would be in my Father’s house?”
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As we go into the New Year and start to think about all the hope that it brings - a new start, a fresh opportunity - and we make resolutions - I want us to think again about who we are - and who we are called to be.
One of the primary calls that I believe that each and every person has on their life is the calling to love and be loved by God - to live as a child of God. This is what the boy Jesus seems to be pursuing at age 12 in the temple.
You see Calling is not really about the career you choose - but it’s about who you were created to be.
Motivational books and speakers talk about life goals, life visions, dreams and aspirations.
I prefer to think about these things in terms of calling. What does God call us to be?
How in the new year will you live out this calling to love and be loved by God, to live as a child of God, to enjoy God?
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In your notices you received a slip of paper with the title: I am called to live as a child of God. It asks a question beneath that - What can I do that helps me to remember that I am a child of God?
For each of us the answer will be different… I like to sit on my step and look at the trees. I like to walk with my dog.
The next title gets us to the nitty gritty… The practical stuff. I will commit to… sitting on my stoep / hiking.
And finally the time frame - a measurable. I will hike once a month / twice this year...
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There are more calls - maybe we’ll have a workshop on it later in the year…
I believe that if you are a husband or a wife - that is also a call.
You can ask the question: What can I do that will help me to fulfil my calling to be a husband / wife? A better parent. A friend.
I believe that God uses every aspect of us to bring the Kingdom… How can better fulfil my vocation as a business person?
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All of this - in the light of our primary calling - to live as a child of God. Always in our Father’s house.
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When each of us learn to respond to this call from God - then we will begin to see the
