41-45 Every year Jesus’ parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up as they always did for the Feast. When it was over and they left for home, the child Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn’t know it. Thinking he was somewhere in the company of pilgrims, they journeyed for a whole day and then began looking for him among relatives and neighbors. When they didn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem looking for him.
46-48 The next day they found him in the Temple seated among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. The teachers were all quite taken with him, impressed with the sharpness of his answers. But his parents were not impressed; they were upset and hurt.
His mother said, “Young man, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been half out of our minds looking for you.”
49-50 He said, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be here, dealing with the things of my Father?” But they had no idea what he was talking about.
51-52 So he went back to Nazareth with them, and lived obediently with them. His mother held these things dearly, deep within herself. And Jesus matured, growing up in both body and spirit, blessed by both God and people.
Jesus wasn’t the perfect child if we think of being perfect as always obedient, always predictable, always meeting his parents expectations.
He gave them some anxious moments, fearful moments, bewildering moments. Something burned within Jesus which he may not have understood as a child of 12 but which led him in ways which left his family anxious. He had to find out who he was and what he was here for. (Don’t we all!)
No one can do this for us - we have to each do it for ourselves and it will create anxious moments for those who love us.
To parent is to love when we are anxious and let our children grow up “in both body and spirit”. Even Jesus had to do this!
“There are times when we get caught up
in things which scare our parents,not because they are wrong,
but because there is danger as well as
beauty in what we are doing.”
Anonymous
Prayer thought for the week: "Lord, help me remember that raising children is always a
struggle between anxiety and healthy risk. And that life is always caught between the two,
even when we grow older."
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