Dr. Martin Kallungal
READING: “It happened that, three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’ He replied, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he meant” (Lk. 2:46-50).
REFLECTION: The passage we have read is from an event in boy Jesus’ annual visit to the Jerusalem Temple. He arrives in Jerusalem with his parents and other relatives for the feast; but he stays behind in the Temple and engages the teachers there about the Scriptures. When his parents realized that he was lost, they searched for him frantically and finally found him at the Temple. Let us consider two points for our reflection. First, Jesus is someone to be found in the process of a frantic finding. We need to understand the inner meaning of this passage with the reading keys St. Luke himself gives because there is no parallel for this passage in other canonical Gospels. For Luke, being lost is like being dead, and being found is like being made alive. We see this thought formula most clearly expressed in the final words of the prodigal son’s father: “your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found” (Lk. 15:32). Losing Jesus and finding him after three days, was not just a missing; to his parents, it was a definitive loss for an iconic period. Joseph and Mary had an anticipatory experience of the painful sense of loss that Jesus’ followers had to suffer during the days between Christ’s death and resurrection. Joseph was a just man, and Mary was full of grace. Yet, they lost Jesus! Wretched sinners that we are, the loss of Jesus cannot but be a real possibility in our lives. Every sin fills us with a sense of loss, the loss of divine life in us. None can take God’s presence in their lives for granted. Second, there is a limit to our understanding. Upon finding Jesus on the third day, Mary and Joseph were surprised. They did really know that their child would be the saviour of Israel and that he would sit on the throne of David; but they had no idea that he would teach the teachers of Israel. They were surprised, again, when he told them that he must be in his Father’s house. Did Jesus mean to say that he must be a temple-priest and thus remain in the Temple always? Scholars opine that the original Greek phrase referring to the Father in v.49 allows two translations: “to be in my Father’s house,” and “to be involved in my Father’s affairs.” And, majority prefers the latter because it refers to an activity than a place, which goes well in line with Jesus’ overall message. Indeed, Jesus gave little importance to place; he was involved in and emphasized itinerant ministry. In Jesus, we find a shift from the image of a warrior God to an itinerant teacher. What is Father’s business, fighting or teaching? We shall not forget that his parents did not understand Jesus when he started to involve in his Father’s work for the first time. Initial ignorance has an important role in the gradual understanding of the Christian vocation.
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, Mother Mary and Joseph found you in the Temple on the third day of their search. Following the footsteps of Mother Mary and St. Joseph is indeed a sure way to find you. Give me the grace to imitate their holy lives. But, instead of waiting to be found, you have also taken steps to find your disciples who had been walking away from Jerusalem towards Emmaus. Please come on my way, even if it is a way away from your way, and find me, dear Lord Jesus.
CONTEMPLATION: Jesus told his parents unambiguously that he must be in his Father’s house. This necessity of being in the Father’s house not only refers to his central task but also to his deep identity. Jesus has always been in loving union with his Father. Sit quit and become aware of your deep identity that is rooted in God.
ACTION: Mary and Joseph lost Jesus when they went for the feast of Passover as usual. Try to participate in the routine prayers and liturgy consciously lest you lose the sense of God’s presence unknowingly.
