Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
A Rabbi and a Priest were sitting together on a train, and the Rabbi leans over and asks, “So, how high can you go in your organization?” The Priest says, “Well, if I do well, I guess I could be promoted to a Bishop.” “But, could you get any higher than that?” asks the Rabbi. “I suppose that if I really keep my nose to the grindstone I might be made an Archbishop,” said the Priest a bit cautiously. “Is there any way that you might go higher than that?” “Well now, if all the Saints should smile on me, I guess I could be made a Cardinal,” said the Priest. “Could you be anything higher than a Cardinal?” probed the Rabbi. Getting a little miffed, the Priest said “I suppose that I could be elected Pope, but the odds of that are …” The Rabbi interjects, “And could you be anything higher than that? What is there higher than the Pope?” Bewildered the priest exclaimed, “I would be the Messiah Himself?!” The Rabbi leaned back, smiled, and said, “Well you know, one of our boys made it!”
Yes, He certainly did! And thanks be to God for that. The Bible gives us 4 authors who write specifically about the life of Jesus our Messiah. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They are 4 similar but different camera angles recording the life and ministry of Christ our Lord. We have a few stories of our Lord’s incarnation and miraculous birth. We have lots of stories of His teachings and miracles, the greatest of which is His cross and resurrection. The Passion of Christ is really the main concentration of all the Gospels. But we only have but one story of our Lord’s early life. Only one tale from Jesus’ childhood in all the Scriptures: the Boy Jesus in the Temple.
We heard it again this morning from Luke’s Gospel. We are told that our Lord’s family went up to Jerusalem every year for the Feast of the Passover. If you lived close to this city this was a mandate. If you lived further away it was an option. We see here that they opted for the option! They wanted to illustrate to Jesus the pious devotion that all parents should show to their children. Embrace the fullness of the faith, not just the bare minimum.
And then we get to the probably more memorable moment of the story: Jesus is lost! We are told this is a big caravan of people, and they walk for a whole day on the journey home. They haven’t seen Jesus in quite some time and they go looking. Then, those feelings of panic set in. There is absolutely nothing worse in the universe for a parent than this. Where is the kid?! I remember this happening to us when our son Ethan was a wee gaffer. We were out at a farm for a parishioner’s family celebration. There were people and kids everywhere! Supper time rolled around but where was Ethan? He wasn’t with the other kids. He wasn’t inside the house. He wasn’t in the barn. Panic. I ran towards the dugout already thinking the worst! But then, thankfully, I heard shouts from behind me. They found him playing with a small group of kids. Phew! Instant red zone panic to instant relief. Then you just want to break some commandments for the grief the kid put you through!
It’s a very relatable story for Jesus’ parents, except that Jesus was lost for a lot longer. St. Luke tells us that “After three days they found him” (2:46). Can you imagine the panic and concern that Mary and Joseph went through?! Was He abducted?! Did He get killed and eaten by a wild animal?!! After 3 long and agonizing days of fretting about where the heck He went, they find Him “in the temple”! He’s not at Chuck E. Cheese, He’s not at the arcade playing pinball, He’s not at the mall skateboarding with His chums. He’s in the temple, “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions” (LK 2:46). The fretting, fear, panic and sleeplessness then change to relief followed quickly by astonishment.
“All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.” (2:47). It’s just one big confirmation class where 12 year old Jesus is blowing the minds of all the scholars and smart guys on campus! The astonishment quickly fades away for a stern rebuke from Mary: “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” Why did you torment us like this, Jesus?!! If ever the Mother of God was going to throttle the Lord of life, this was probably the moment! But Jesus’ response to them was quite revealing. “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
Jesus answers the question just like the Rabbis did - with a question. It’s like when you get pulled over by the police and they ask you if you know how fast you were driving. It’s an entrapment question. If you answer ‘yes’, then you admit you were speeding. If you answer ‘no,’ you admit you were negligent. Instead, you should answer them with another question! “Why did you pull me over if you don’t know how fast I was going?” If it’s good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me, right?!
Our Lord’s answer is somewhat misleading in English. It’s not like Jesus was in the Temple proper, for acts of worship and sacrifice. The original Greek doesn’t even mention the word “house” at all. The meaning is that it was necessary for Jesus to be about the things of His Father. In this case, it was instruction and teaching and learning about the Word of God. It’s a strange moment for both Mary and Joseph because prior to this, Jesus’ Father Joseph’s business was carpentry. But now it’s Jesus’ Heavenly Father’s business. “Father” being used to describe God would have been quite jarring at this time too. We think nothing of it now, but this was a brand new way of speaking about the God of Israel.
So we have this big shift taking place. Jesus is 12, just before the adulthood that is bestowed on males at the age of 13. And despite this new transfer of loyalties from Joseph to His Heavenly Father, our Lord remained in submission to His earthly parents. This isn’t just a nice sentiment either. It’s an image of the humility of our Lord in Israel. Though He was the Divine Messiah of the world, Jesus still submitted to His parents. His Messianic status did not mean that He despised their parental authority. Instead it illustrated His pious faith and devotion to God. Don’t misinterpret His humility to mean that He wasn’t at the same time the glorious King of Heaven. His glory would almost always be hidden during His earthly ministry. This is what our next church season of Epiphany will be about, revealing the glory that is cloaked in humility.
It was this mystery that His Mother Mary would ponder and keep in her heart, treasuring them and meditating on their significance. Meanwhile, our Lord Jesus continued advancing in wisdom and age, like any other boy. He grew in God’s law and learning as He grew taller and older. He advanced in favour with both God and men. God continued to prepare Him for His future ministry as our Messiah where after 3 days He would be found alive and risen from the dead for us and our salvation. May the blessings of our humble Messiah be with you richly on this 5th Day of Christmas and into 2025 and forever more. Amen!
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