Why were you looking for me? Why were you waiting for me? Why were you worried about me? Didn’t you know that I had to do this and that? Many of you have probably heard these or similar conversations from your 12 or 13 year old children. As they grow up, children begin to act independently and make decisions for themselves; but parents worry when their children are not around for a long time and go their own way. The children slowly begin to separate from their parents; it is a normal development process and a learning process for both sides.
In this respect, the text and the situation of today’s Gospel about Jesus, Mary and Joseph could be understood as the experience of everyday life in a family today. But Jesus did not have this development of a normal child, with normal family relationships with education, employment, starting a family, and later possibly having their own children and grandchildren.
Jesus was a special person and his life, lifestyle, outlook on life and life values were extremely special. That’s why today we celebrate a feast about a special child and a special family.
This story about the pilgrimage of the family of Jesus to Jerusalem at the age of 12 and the parents’ search for Jesus and his finding in the temple where Jesus debated with the scholars is the only event we hear about Jesus in the period between his birth and his public life at his age of 30 years old. Furthermore, we read only in the Gospel of Luke the account of Jesus’ childhood and the pilgrimage of the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The evangelist Luke had a specific goal when he told about Jesus’ childhood and about the 12-year-old Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem.
He describes his goal in the first sentences of his Gospel. He writes down the traditions and reports of eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word in order to convince people about the doctrine. (Luke 1:1-4). The evangelist Mark mentions this teaching in the first sentence of his gospel: “The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). That is, the evangelist Luke writes about the pilgrimage of Jesus’ family and about Jesus’ stay in the temple without his parents knowing about it in order to report that Jesus is not only a very gifted special child, but that many people experience him as the son of God. This confession was the experience and confession of the Christians of the first century, at the time when Luke wrote his gospel. Luke writes about the Christian confession of Jesus at that time.
Jesus’ behavior in remaining in the temple without informing his parents and the parents’ concern for the son show us how similar we can experience the human behavior of parents and their children every time and in every culture. Because children’s independent behavior sometimes goes wrong, then the parents worry.
But it is significant where Jesus stayed, what he did and in which circle and with which people Jesus discussed, with whom he stayed and whom he listened to and asked questions. Since Jesus discussed with the scholars of the time and the scholars were amazed at his talent, questions, answers, understanding and wisdom, it proved that Jesus was a special child and the parents, despite their fear and worries, would definitely be proud too. Jesus took the freedom at the age of 12 and did not find it necessary or forgot to inform the parents about his stay in the temple or he took it for granted, but it was important where Jesus stayed. Jesus was in the temple of God. He stayed in the house of worship and was involved in the issues and tasks of the temple and discussed with the scholars.
The relationship between Jesus, Mary and Joseph and life in the family was completely normal and at the same time extraordinary for Jesus and his family. Normal in the sense that the behavior and relationships with each other were similar, as in every family then and now, but the values and themes of Jesus were extraordinary because he showed himself to be purposeful, intelligent, responsible and gifted. The people were able to experience God and God’s revelation in Jesus. Today, after two thousand years, we experience God’s revelation in its entirety in Jesus. Jesus as son, Mary as mother and Joseph as father or stepfather are role models for us. We can learn to be family from the family of Jesus.
Fr. Joseph Pandiappallil MCBS