In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
1. Let us open our hearts to God’s Word
Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travellers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” He said to them, “Why were you searching 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. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour. (Lk 2, 41-52)
i. Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover.
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour”
Jesus’ growth takes place
within the daily rhythms of life,
initiation in the habits of the heart,
journeying with his people,
hearing their stories.
The rhythms of a people,
the rhythms of prayer, of God,
appreciating roots,
opening to what’s beyond.
Reflect
- What are the important habits that shape your life? Which ones are personal? Which ones make you part of a family/a people?
ii. And when he was twelve years old …
Jesus’ growth takes place within the rhythm of the years …
through the crisis and challenges that accompany each age.
At the age of 12
he ends up in trouble as he practices his ability to consider different opinions (listens to them)
as he investigates, explores, challenges (questioning them)
the courage to dream, to be oneself,
to go beyond a reductive vision and enter a bigger and more meaningful narrative:
“I must be in my Father’s house”.
Reflect
- Which challenges shapes your life right now?
iii. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
Jesus continues to grow in wisdom …
Not in isolation (goes down with them)
not in the fantasies that exist only in the mind but in the concreteness of a village, even if insignificant (Nazareth);
he embraces reality and does not pretend that everything revolves around him (was obedient to them).
He grows thanks to people who do not remain on a superficial level,
who can stay with the paradoxes of life even when they do not understand what’s happening – “His mother treasured all these things in her heart” –
until they recognize the presence of God
within their story
in the most insignificant of places.
Now there is no corner that lacks value
Because it’s there that Jesus grew and shaped a new horizon,
within those relationships, crisis,
in the family setting, as part of a people.
“The greatness of God is not outside our limits, it is to arise within our limits and to make them burst.” Joseph Moingt SJ
Reflect:
- How does this story give value to your story? How does it enable you to appreciate the family dynamics in a new way?
3. Our Father
Thanks to Fr Jimmy Bonnici for this reflection