The Finding in the Temple

Catholic presentation

The fifth joyful mystery

I'm not sure which is the more baffling, that a 12 year old is lecturing all the learned old men, or that His parents, who are presented by the Church as the model for all parents, should have left their son behind and left town?  Perhaps being believers, and knowing that the 12 year old Jesus is and always has been God, makes it easier for us to accept that He can impress His elders.  But that Mary, the perfect model of motherhood should lose Him in such an aparently careless way?  That sounds inconsistent to say the least!

I've heard explanations, that in those days, communities looked after children better or differently than they do today, but ultimately I think all of that is missing the point.  This account of Jesus being lost by His mother and adoptive father, has made it into the Bible, because of what it can teach us.

So the lesson then, is that it doesn't matter who you are, or how holy you are.  Everyone will at some point(s), lose sight of God, and what He's doing!

But the good news is, that God is never truly lost.  Even at the age of 12, although Jesus overlooked his parent's departure, He knew exactly what He was about, and why.  So if we lose sight of Him, it's not God who's missing out or confused: but us!  That's the important lesson.

That plus the fact, that if at any time we've lost sight of Him, then we know where to find Him: both by doing what God has told us to do, and by turning in prayer to the places of God, where His presence is assured: where two or three gather in His name, and before the tabernacle.