(Edited) Sunday Reflections (from) Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)
Feast of the Holy Family (C), December 30, 2012
Liturgical readings
Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
Psalm 128
Colossians 3:12-21
Luke 2:41-52
"On the third day they came upon him in the temple."
Like all Jewish families, St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother brought the Lord Jesus with them for the feast of the Passover. The Lord was twelve years of age at the time. So they went to Jerusalem for that very purpose. When the feast had ended, Joseph and Mary journeyed back home not knowing that Jesus was not with them. As soon as Joseph and Mary realized this, they returned to Jerusalem in search of him. On the third day of their search, they found him in the temple. Jesus was sitting among the teachers of the Law. When Mary approached Jesus and expressed her anxiety at not having him by their side, Jesus replied in words his parents did not understand.
St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother were responsible parents. Although the Lord Jesus may have known the way back home - since it was their yearly custom to do so - his parents nevertheless wanted to be certain that he was safe. Both of them knew in faith generally, that they were entrusted with someone of divine origin because of the many events related to his birth: the angel Gabriel; the miraculous conception of Elizabeth; the angel's messages to Joseph in his dreams; the visit of the shepherds; the visit and gifts of the Magi. However, Joseph and Mary's limited human understanding cannot comprehend the words Jesus spoke to them upon finding Him at the Temple. The Lord's wisdom and knowledge are beyond any human of His age and also beyond any understanding at the level of His parents.
Jesus, like any Jewish boy, was obedient to his parents. After that event in the finding at the Temple of Jerusalem, traditional stories report that Jesus spent thirty years in Nazareth growing up with the people of his own generation. His mother kept all the events related to her Son in her memory and contemplated them in her heart. Jesus also learned the trade of his foster-father Joseph: carpentry. Nothing much is known about this hidden years, except that Jesus progressed steadily in wisdom before God and his townmates in Nazareth. This story of the Finding in the Temple, and mention of their hidden family life, reminds all the faithful of the many good qualities each one of them exemplifies for every member of the Christian family.
