LOST AND FOUND
(A biblical reflection on THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY – SUNDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS, 30 December 2018)
Gospel Reading: Luke 2:41-52
First Reading: 1 Samuel 1:20-22,24-28; Psalms: Psalm 84:2-3,5-5,9-10; Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-2,21-24
The Scripture Text
Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing Him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. And when they saw Him they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us so? Behold, Your father and I have been looking for You anxiously.” And He said to them, “How is it that you sought Me? Did you know that I must be in My Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying which He spoke them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and His mother kept all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:41-52 RSV)
The Gospel according to Luke is the only Gospel that says anything about the years between Jesus’ birth and the beginning of His public ministry. Today’s reading is about the journey Joseph, Mary, and Jesus made to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Passover when Jesus was only twelve years old. Jewish law mandated all adult males living within fifteen miles of Jerusalem visit the Temple on three major feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Custom, however, required those living too far from the holy city to make the pilgrimage only during passsover.
The fact Jesus was twelve years old is significant because a Jewish boy became an adult at age thirteenth, a milestone marked today by celebrating a bar-mitzvah. “Bar-mitzvah” means “son of the law”; it is a momentous event because from then on the boy must observe all Jewish laws, something the rabbis in Jesus’ day considered women and children too weak to do.
Adulthood also brought the boy special honors. Prayers in the synagogue could not begin unless there were at least ten adult males present and only an adult male could read from the Torah scroll during the services. Therefore, to prepare for this privilege, Jewish boys usually attended the synagogue school where the rabbi taught them how to read from Sacred Scripture, making them more learned than other people in the world at that time.
Joseph and Mary probably took Jesus with them to Jerusalem to acquaint Him with the Temple and its surroundings as part of His preparation for adulthood. Entire towns often made thes pilgrimages to the Temple together, the women travelling as one group and the men as another group not far behind them. On their way, Mary thought Jesus was with Joseph, and Joseph thought He was with Mary. The fact that several of Jesus’ aunts, uncles, and cousins also lived in the same town and were probably traveling with the group also complicated things since this made it possible Jesus was with one of them.
Returning to Jerusalem, Joseph and Mary found Jesus in the Temple, listening to the rabbis and asking them questions, the Jewish way of describing a student learning from his teachers. Relieved but also a little angry, Mary scolded Jesus for making them look three days for Him. Bewildered, Jesus responded to His mother with a comment that meant, “But Mom, I did what I thought was right. You know how eager I am to become an adult in our religion, so I stayed here in the Temple thinking that would be the first place you’d look for Me.” What mother could argue with that kind of logic?
Raising a child is not easy, even if the child is the Son of God.
(Adapted from Jerome J. Sabatowich, Cycling Through the Gospels – Gospel Commentaries for Cycles A, B, and C, pages 242-243.)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I consecrate my family to You and ask You to bless our home. I trust in Your love for all the members of my family. Give me power and wisdom by Your Holy Spirit; guide me in loving those who are closest to me. I also pray for all parents, especially those who are having difficulty with their children. Amen.