Subj: LUKE 2:41-51: SATURDAY'S GOSPEL FOR REFLECTION
Date: 6/11/99 3:59:22 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: mtuazon@ix.netcom.com (Manuel Tuazon)
Reply-to: early-word-request@cin.org
To: early-word@cin.org
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
For: Wednesday, June 9, 1999
Memorial: The Immaculate Heart of Mary
From: Luke 2:41-51
The Finding in the Temple
-------------------------
[41] Now his (Jesus') parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast
of the Passover. [42] And when he was twelve years old, they went up
according to custom; [43] and when the feast was ended, as they were
returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did
not know it, [44 but supposing him to be in the company they went a
day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and
acquaintances; [45] and when they did not find him, they returned to
Jerusalem, seeking him. [46] And after three days they found him in the
temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them
questions; [47] and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding
and his answers. [48] 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." [49] And he said to
them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in
my Father's house?" [50] And they did not understand the saying which
he spoke to them.
The Hidden Life of Jesus at Nazareth
------------------------------------
[51] 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.
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Commentary:
41. Only St Luke (2:41-50) reports the event of the Child Jesus being
lost and then found in the temple, which we contemplate in the "Fifth
Joyful Mystery" of the Rosary.
Only males aged twelve and upwards were required to make this journey.
Nazareth is about 100 km (60 miles) from Jerusalem as the crow flies,
but the hilly nature of the country would have made it a trip of 140
km.
43-44. On pilgrimages to Jerusalem, the Jews used to go in two
groups--one of men, the other of women. Children could go with either
group. This explains how they could go a day's journey before they
discovered the Child was missing when the families regrouped to camp.
"Mary is crying. In vain you and I have run from group to group, from
caravan to caravan. No one has seen him. Joseph, after fruitless
attempts to keep from crying, cries too.... And you.... And I.
'Being a common little fellow, I cry my eyes out and wail to heaven and
earth..., to make up for the times when I lost him through my own fault
and did not cry" (J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", Fifth Joyful Mystery).
45. The concern which Mary and Joseph show in looking for the Child
should encourage us always to seek Jesus out, particularly if we lose
him through sin.
"Jesus, may I never lose you again.... Now you and I are united in
misfortune and grief, as were united in sin. And from the depths of our
being comes sighs of heartfelt sorrow and burning phrases which the pen
cannot and should not record" ("Holy Rosary", Fifth Joyful Mystery).
46-47. The Child Jesus must have been in the courtyard of the temple,
which was where the teachers usually taught. Listeners used to sit at
their feet, now and again asking questions and responding to them.
This was what Jesus did, but his questions and answers attracted the
teachers' attention, he was so wise and well-informed.
48. Ever since the Annunciation our Lady had known that the Child Jesus
was God. This faith was the basis of her generous fidelity throughout
her life--but there was no reason why it should include detailed
knowledge of all the sacrifices God would ask of her, nor of how Christ
would go about his mission of redemption: that was something she would
discover as time went by, contemplating her Son's life.
49. Christ's reply is a form of explanation. His words--his first words
to be recorded in the Gospel--clearly show his down Sonship; and they
also show his determination to fulfill the will of his Eternal Father.
"He does not upbraid them--Mary and Joseph--for searching for their
son, but he raises the eyes of their souls to appreciate what he owes
him whose Eternal Son he is" (St Bede, "In Lucae Evangelium Expositio,
in loc."). Jesus teaches us that over and above any human authority,
even that of our parents, there is the primary duty to do the will of
God. "And once we are consoled by the joy of finding Jesus--three days
he was gone!--debating with the teachers of Israel (Lk 2:46), you and I
shall be left deeply impressed by the duty to leave our home and family
to serve our heavenly Father" (J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", Fifth Joyful
Mystery"). See note on Mt 10:34-37.
50. We must remember that Jesus knew in detail the whole course his
earthly life would take from his conception onwards (cf. note on Lk
2:52). This is shown by what he says in reply to his parents. Mary and
Joseph realized that his reply contained a deeper meaning which they
did not grasp. They grew to understand it as the life of their Child
unfolded. Mary's and Joseph's faith and their reverence towards the
Child led them not to ask any further questions but to reflect on
Jesus' words and behavior in this instance, as they had done so on
other occasions.
51. The Gospel sums up Jesus' life in Nazareth in just three words:
"erat subditus illis", he was obedient to them. "Jesus obeys, and he
obeys Joseph and Mary. God has come to the world to obey, and to obey
creatures. Admittedly they were very perfect creatures--Holy Mary, our
mother, greater than whom God alone; and that most chaste man Joseph.
But they are only creatures, and yet Jesus, who is God, obeyed them. We
have to love God so as to love his will and desire to respond to his
calls. They come to us through the duties of our ordinary life--duties
of state, profession, work, family, social life, our own and other
people's difficulties, friendship, eagerness to do what is right and
just" (J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 17).
Jesus lived like any other inhabitant of Nazareth, working at the same
trade as St Joseph and earning his living by the sweat of his brow.
"His hidden years are not without significance, nor were they simply a
preparation for the years which were to come after--those of his public
life. Since 1928 I have understood clearly that God wants our Lord's
whole life to be an example for Christians. I saw this with special
reference to his hidden life, the years he spent working side by side
with ordinary men. Our Lord wants many people to ratify their vocation
during years of quiet, unspectacular living. Obeying God's will always
means leaving our selfishness behind, but there is no reason why it
should entail cutting ourselves off from the normal life of ordinary
people who share the same status, work and social position with us.
"I dream--and the dream has come true--of multitudes of God's children,
sanctifying themselves as ordinary citizens, sharing the ambitions and
endeavors of their colleagues and friends. I want to shout to them
about this divine truth: If you are there in the middle of ordinary
life, it doesn't mean Christ has forgotten about you or hasn't called
you. He has invited you to stay among the activities and concerns of
the world. He wants you to know that your human vocation, your
profession, your talents, are not omitted from his divine plans. He has
sanctified them and made them a most acceptable offering to his Father"
(J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 20).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland. Printed in Hungary.
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