JESUS REMAINED BEHIND IN JERUSALEM

THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY - Lk 2:41-52

Jesus’ family, which we call the Holy Family, was a very special family, yet in so many ways it was a family like many others. Joseph and Mary had to struggle and work hard in order to survive and to provide for Jesus the best they could. As a carpenter - self-employed or working for others, maybe even in the huge projects of King Herod - Joseph would not have an easy life. With him, Jesus learned the craft; that’s why he would be known as the “carpenter” (Mk 6:3).

We know nothing about the daily life of Jesus’ family. This Sunday’s gospel gives us a glimpse of the relationship between Jesus, Mary and Joseph. They were a devout family who followed the religious traditions of their people and who initiated Jesus in the ways of the Lord. It was the duty of every adult Jew to participate in the Passover celebration. And so, each year, big crowds went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the big feast. Jesus’ parents kept to the tradition and every year “used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover”. Being the only child, it was probable that, most of the times, Jesus was taken as well. At thirteen years of age, he would undergo the rite of passage Bar Mitzvah, thus being considered an adult, responsible for his own acts. The Gospel presents Jesus at the age of twelve, still under the tutelage of his parents, but already becoming an adult. He accompanied his parents on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and there he became so carried away by the Temple and its liturgy that he forgot everything else. It was as if all his dreams were fulfilled and he didn’t need anything else. There, in the Temple, he found the purpose of his life, and he remained.

Reading this Sunday’s gospel, we get the impression that Joseph and Mary considered Jesus as being already a responsible adult, allowing him freedom of movement so that he could be with relatives or with friends who came from Galilee or even from Nazareth. So, until they found out that he had remained behind, they did not worry too much. Then, they returned to Jerusalem in search of him, and, to their big surprise, they found him in the Temple in conversation with the great teachers of the law. And everybody was “astounded at his intelligence and his replies”. While all the onlookers saw in him a child prodigy, his mother was not pleased and reproached him that he had been so irresponsible, causing them so much trouble. Hearing his mother’s complaint, Jesus was surprised that Mary and Joseph could not understand his attitude: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?” In his answer, Jesus already shows awareness of his vocation and clearly tells his mother that one day he will leave home and family to be only at the service of the “Father”. For this, he would live and die. 

Meanwhile, "Jesus went down with them to Nazareth and was submissive to them.”