Gospel Lk 2:41-52
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “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 said to them. 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 advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.
Homily
My mother always said that mothers are mothers from the womb to the tomb. In a non-sexist world, that should be re-phrased to read, Parents are parents from the womb to the tomb. This assertion reflects a simple truth, common to all cultures and religions. “The prime purpose of founding a family is to care for and educate its children, so that they achieve their purpose in life.” This achieving of their purpose in life is often a cause of tension between parents and children but it is a tension which must be managed creatively and wisely if it is to be resolved successfully.
In the Gospel reading for this feast of the Holy Family, we have a good example of that tension and of what creative handling of that tension can bring about. We know the story very well. We are told that Joseph with Mary and the child Jesus go up to Jerusalem every year for the feast of Passover. Consciously or unconsciously, they are instilling in their son the importance of religious observance. When Jesus is twelve years old, (for that culture, the age between childhood and manhood, corresponding I would think to a 16year old today), Jesus, unbeknown to his parents, remains in Jerusalem. As we can well imagine, the Joseph and Mary are distraught and return to Jerusalem looking for their son. They find him after three days in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. Like most parents, Joseph and Mary are surprised by the maturity of their son. They have not realized how well he has learnt the lesson which they have taught through their words and actions. Jesus’ reply to their gentle reproof, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ is in fact a call to them to understand that he has found his vocation and all that this will bring about. We are told that Joseph and Mary did not understand. They do not reprove their son in a violent manner however, no threats are recorded. Jesus is not told to behave himself; he is not reminded of his youth. Jesus on the other hand shows great maturity. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.
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The story tells us that at a certain moment in his life, Jesus began to assert his independence. This assertion of his independence worried his parents but their reaction was not to discourage it even though they did not understand. Jesus himself did not react to their lack of understanding. He went down with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them. In this way the exhortation of the 2ndreading was fulfilled; Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged.
The result of this creative management of the normal tensions between a young man approaching adulthood and his parents was that Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favour before God and man. In the last analysis this is what family is about. It is to ensure that children with their parents advance in wisdom and age and favour before God and men. May this also be the hallmark of all our families!
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, as we celebrate this Feast of the Holy Family, we ask that you give us the grace to internalize all the lessons which the Holy Family teaches us. May our families be schools of love and of encouragement. May our families help our children to understand their vocation in life and may they help us all to grow in wisdom and age and grace before God and men. We ask this through the intercession of the Holy family. Amen
