Looking for Jesus Together

Scripture

“After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.”

— Luke 2:46

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

As a pastor and a mother, I must confess that I may have left each of my children at the church on more than one occasion. Usually, I remembered in the parking lot. One time, I made it all the way home before realizing I was missing a kiddo.

These were, perhaps, epic motherly fails.

And yet, I have always taken some comfort in the fact that Mary lost Jesus.

Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph had traveled to Jerusalem for the festival of Passover. After the festival ended, they began the journey home, assuming Jesus was somewhere among the group of relatives and friends. But after a day’s journey, they realized he was not with them.

Every parent can feel that moment.

They searched anxiously for three days before finding him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions.

This is a tender Mother’s Day passage because it reminds us that even Mary—the mother of our Lord—knew what it was to search, worry, wonder, and trust God with a child she loved deeply.

There is also something beautiful in this story. Jesus was at home in the temple. He was not lost in the deepest sense. He was in his Father’s house.

That gives me comfort, too. My children may have occasionally been left behind at church, but they always felt at home there. They were loved there. They belonged there. They were not underfoot; they were part of the household of faith.

And that is one of the great gifts the Church can give the next generation: a place where children know they belong, where they are known by name, where they hear the Word of God, where they see adults pray and serve, and where they come to understand that the house of God is also home.

On this Mother’s Day, we give thanks for mothers, grandmothers, foster mothers, adoptive mothers, spiritual mothers, and all women who have helped make the Church feel like home. We give thanks for those who brought children to worship, taught them to pray, carried them through difficult seasons, and kept pointing them toward Jesus.

Mary’s story reminds us that even faithful parents have anxious days. Even holy families have confusing moments. Even the best mothers do not get everything right.

But God is faithful.

Our children ultimately belong to him. Our churches belong to him. The people entrusted to our care belong to him. We love, guide, teach, and protect them, but we also learn to trust them to the Father.

May the Global Methodist Church be a people who help every generation find Jesus—not only in our sanctuaries, but in our homes, conversations, prayers, and witness. May our churches be places where children are not merely tolerated, but welcomed; not merely watched, but discipled; not merely present, but cherished.

And may every son and daughter know there is a place for them in the Father’s house.

🙏 Gracious Father, on this Mother’s Day, we thank you for Mary, who loved Jesus, searched for Jesus, and treasured your work in her heart.

We thank you for mothers and for all women who have nurtured faith, carried burdens, prayed through tears, and pointed others toward Christ.

Bless those who rejoice today, and comfort those for whom this day is tender. Strengthen weary mothers. Encourage spiritual mothers. Heal painful memories. Draw near to those who grieve, those who long, and those who feel forgotten.

Make our churches places where children feel at home and where every generation encounters the living Christ. Teach us to seek Jesus together and to trust those we love into your faithful care.

May we lead sons and daughters to the Father’s house, until all know the saving love of Jesus Christ.

In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.