We Travel in Community
Happy Holy-days to you in the New Year.
The appointed reading for the 1st Sunday of Christmas in many Christian places of worship is about an event when Jesus is 12 years old and is lost.
Each year, his family went to Jerusalem for Passover. When the festival finished, Mary and Joseph headed home assuming young Jesus joined the group of travelers. In Greek, the word for “group of travelers” is synodia, where we derive the word “synod.”
A synod walks together with each other. Often, this term is used to describe a faith group of similar believers.
A day into the return journey, the synod around Mary and Joseph discovers Jesus is lost.
As I read the story, I could relate to having my son go missing at the Children’s Museum seven years ago. Or Kevin McAllister’s mom screaming out his name on the airplane, “Kevin!” in Home Alone when she realizes they’ve left him. As I discussed the passage, many others could relate to that horrible feeling.
Mary and Joseph find Jesus three days later in the temple. Jesus is surprised that they didn’t know this is where he’d be. He digests information and interaction with the religious authorities of his day. He’s curious about his elders and wants to participate in the life of the synagogue.
We assume Jesus comes into this world as a ready-made package proclaiming sermons from the manger. This passage provides a glimpse that it took years of discourse and learning to cultivate the ministry that he’d eventually bring to the world.
When reunited with his family, Jesus agrees to return home with them. Jesus’ will be heavily influenced by his hometown and those he grows up with. His synod.
That spirit of synod is important for our communities in Forest Lake going into this new year. Think about the neighborhood you grew up in and the people who influenced your life. What values did they instill in you? How were you taught to treat others?
We weren’t all brought up the same way. More and more, individual success is lifted as a virtue. Even faith can become a personal journey that neglects the importance of walking alongside others, together. We don’t travel this earth alone. We travel in community.
It might be tempting to tear others down or try to position ourselves to look or feel better than our neighbors. We might fall into traps to perceive some neighbors as less than us or not worthy of being treated with humanity.
This is not grounded in faith principles. This is going against what God intends creation to be.
God calls us to be synods, surrounding each other with care and support.
If you’re not thrilled with the state of the world today, there is a way to make a difference. Start smaller. Build better neighborhoods. Cultivate caring communities. Teach tolerance, patience, and compassion through your actions and words.
I hope for our neighborhoods to be places we can take pride in for 2025 and beyond. Thanks for being part of my synod.
Pastor John Klawiter is the senior pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Forest Lake. For more information, email him at
Login To Leave Comment