Luke 2:41-52
Friends of Jesus
by Rev. Mathew H. Zuberbueler
Reprinted with permission of "The Arlington Catholic
Herald"
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Luke writes to explain that
Christ came to save everyone.
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.
People
who know a lot about history and language say that the word “teenager” is
relatively new. The word is used frequently today in our society, and its use
can invite a grimace, a response that can show how little we expect from this
specific group of people. The scholars of the ancient and biblical languages no
doubt would say the word “teenager” didn’t exist in the time of Jesus.
“Pre-teen” most likely did not either. But both categories existed because
12-year-olds have existed as long as years have been counted. And teenagers have
too. Should we expect much or more from young people? Will “kids be kids”? Can
society, school, the parish, the family, “the village” or the suburb treat all
young people the same and expect that they are all the same? It is oftentimes
true that people generalize about young people and settle for a low expectation
of what they can and even what they should do. The Gospels show us something
different. There is in the way of Jesus a personal approach — person-by-person
and person-to-person.
In
the familiar Fifth Joyful Mystery story of the 12-year-old Jesus, St. Luke gives
a valuable glimpse into the young life of Jesus. This story causes us to wonder
about a few things. We wonder (in the scratch-our-heads sort of way) about the
world’s greatest parents ever, Mary and Joseph … who manage to lose the most
important Son of all time. Really? Quickly, though, our wonder becomes closer to
wonder (in the marvel-at-the-marvelous sort of way) when we know that Mary and
Joseph weren’t suddenly irresponsible. Everything the Gospels teach us about
these two holy ones brings us to the conclusion that their ways were faithful
and attentive, aware of the special task entrusted to them. The Mother of the
Savior and His guardian-protector were two people who took care of their Son.
They knew many people in the caravan that day. Other relatives of theirs were
traveling, too, as well as friends. One can imagine them leaving the city with
grateful hearts, grateful for the blessings of the pilgrimage they had made. In
our day it can seem shocking that they weren’t nervously double-checking to see
where Jesus was. Clearly, they proceeded with a confidence that He was where He
should be, with people they knew and trusted. In our day we have lost much or
most of the “small town” ways that made that possible. We have lost something
important and great.
Jesus
as a “pre-teen” and as a “teenager” was a boy who knew and loved many people
personally. He interacted with the people of Nazareth. He looked them in the eye
and spoke to them. He listened to them. He played with His friends. He ran and
laughed and prayed, and His parents trusted Him.
A
fruitful meditation for parents and for children might be a meditation on what
young Jesus did in the caravan when He was 11 years old, the year before the
story the Gospel tells us this week. For parents, it is useful to consider the
influences they allow to be around the children entrusted to their care. Is
there a healthy interaction among friends, neighbors, young and old? Is there a
trustful and open way of communicating within the family? For children, as well,
these ideas are important. It would seem, though, that they should grow up
learning the healthy and wholesome ways of interacting, conversing and trusting.
They can learn these ways by experiencing these things rather than by thinking
about them. In other words, the overall atmosphere and surroundings young people
have should be built carefully and thoughtfully defended so that the “small
town” relationships can be found even in our big cities.
The
next and maybe more important part of the story opens up for us another area of
what can be fruitful wonder. Jesus’ response to His parents when they find Him
in the Temple gives us a beginning to understanding something that should be
fundamental and normal in the lives of our young loved ones today: Each young
person, with (or without) the help and example of faithful parents should have a
relationship of faith and prayer with God the Father. Parents who encounter the
question of how to support and respond to God’s relationship with their children
(and His) experience the great truth that Jesus still makes friends with young
people on the journey. Do we not expect them to be found in His Father’s house?
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