Week 13 - The unknown, hidden life
Jesus only became the person He was, and is, after a long process of internal growth. His realization of His destiny was able to ripen as a result of His relationship with those around him. Jesus chooses what He stands for.
I might want to ask that I can see how my own process of internal growth has brought me to where I am today. That my destiny in life may become clearer by deepening my understanding of Jesus and the choices He made. That I have the courage to face uncertainty in life.
MUZIEK: (Psalm 91) Denn er hat seinen Engeln F. Mendelssohn
Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen über dir,
dass sie dich behüten auf allen deinen Wegen,
dass sie dich auf den Händen tragen
und du deinen Fuß nicht an einem Stein stoßest.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee,
to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands,
lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Lucas 2, 41-52 The Boy Jesus in the Temple
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; 43 and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; …..
We know nothing of Jesus’ early life but we can imagine that he lived an orderly family life with loving parents who made sure he was well prepared for the important religious ritual of Bar mitzvah when He was twelve years old. I look at my own life both as a child and an adult and consider what things have been important to me.
45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; 47 and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Jesus had been given a religious education but what He encountered in the Temple, talking to and listening to the priests there, fired his faith so much that He was oblivious to the fact that His parents would be anxiously searching for Him. Have there been moments in my life when something beyond my comprehension called demanding my attention to such an extent that what had seemed so important in my life lost its significance? Moments when earthly ambitions and tasks no longer mattered so much.
48 And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” 49 And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”[e] 50 And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
First Mary is angry with Jesus asking Him why he has treated them so. But she is also a person of deep faith and the passage ends with her keeping these events in her heart. Jesus can’t understand why His parents did not know that he would be in His Father’s house. Mary reflects on this and I join her.
Jesus had a deep faith in the protection given Him by God’s angels. As I listen to the music again, I reflect on my own faith and what it means for my life.