First Sunday after Epiphany, January 9th, 2022

 First Sunday after the Epiphany, January 9th, 2022

"And when they found Him not, they turned back again . . . " (St. Luke 2:41 ff)

Have you ever misplaced something very important?  Either it is something very valuable to you or something you need right away and when you go to look for it you discover that it is not there.   You panic.  You freeze in your tracks wondering what to do next.  The car keys when you are late for an important appointment.  An important report that you need to give to your boss.  We can all think of examples when we have lost something  very important . . .  something which we are in need of . . . . something we need right away.  What do we do?  Well, first we panic, don't we?  But then we begin searching until we find what we are looking for.  We turn our house or office upside down until we find what we have misplaced.

In the Second Chapter of his Gospel, St. Luke describes for us the occaision when St. Joseph and Our Lady along wiht the Child Jesus traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.  Everything went fine, one would presume, while they were there.  The problem arose when they left Jerusalem and it was then that St. Joseph and Our Lady discovered that the Child Jesus was not in their company.  At that point they panicked, I am sure, like every parent would in that situation.   And thus they returned to Jerusalem and searched for the Child Jesus until they found Him.  They searched for Him because they were scared.  They searched for Him because He was their Child.  They searched for Him because He was important to them.  He was their Son.  They loved Him.  

We search for things because we have need for them.  We search for things we have lost because they are important to us.  We search for things which have value to us.  Have you ever lost or misplaced something but in the final analysis you simply shrug your shoulders and move on?  You do this because you come to the realization that ultimately you really do not need that object after all.  We search for things which are important to us.  I would imagine the events of the past few years have helped to show us what is truly important in our lives.  A lot of things we hold as vitally important turn out to be not so important at all.  Our relationship with God is something we should cherish and hold on to.  We need to search for God every day.  Search for Him in the Scriptures.  Search for Him in our quiet times of reflection and prayer.  Search for Him in even when we meet others in our daily travels.  God speaks to us in a variety of ways.  God searches for ways to reach you and I.  He searches for us because He loves us.  He searches for us because we are important to Him.  We should search for God because he is important to us.  

NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, January 9th, 2022.  We are planning to go back to our regular Sunday scheduled on January 16th, 2022  Fr. Todd will still post his sermon online on January 9th, 2022.  Thank you for your understanding.