Twelve-Year-Old Wisdom
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series III, Cycle C
Twelve years on earth isn't much time. Many people who live today reach eighty years of age. Twelve is only a small portion in light of this.
But when Jesus was twelve, he took a very bold step to disobey his parents. He stayed behind after the great Passover celebration. Finished were the preparations. Gone was the food. The time to journey homeward was at hand.
When Mary and Joseph finished the first day's journey and went to look for their boy, Jesus, they assumed he was among the relatives. Such journeys were long and the groups were large with ample opportunity for visiting. Mary and Joseph surely must have had much catching up to do with others in the group.
When Mary and Joseph looked for Jesus, he was nowhere to be found. They must have looked and looked for this boy who was not yet a man, but certainly not a little boy either. What anxiety it must have produced in the whole group when they realized Jesus was not with them! So Mary and Joseph traced their footsteps back toward Jerusalem, looking for their son. Their hearts must have been pounding wildly. Surely they were sick with worry. They searched and searched for three heart-wrenching days until finally they saw him.
And what was he doing? Not playing ball with a group of boys. He was not whispering in some corner with other youth. The boy Jesus was sitting among the learned men of Jerusalem. He was not chatting idly. Jesus was asking them questions and answering their questions. He was having a conversation, a debate with the religious elders of the community.
Mary and Joseph were rightly upset. Jesus had disobeyed them. But they also realized what was happening. The boy Jesus had wisdom from God. He had an understanding that defied ordinariness.
The boy Jesus knew he had to engage in this conversation with the elders, even at the expense of disrespecting his parents. Jesus wasn't very old. But his wisdom was beyond his years.
But when Jesus was twelve, he took a very bold step to disobey his parents. He stayed behind after the great Passover celebration. Finished were the preparations. Gone was the food. The time to journey homeward was at hand.
When Mary and Joseph finished the first day's journey and went to look for their boy, Jesus, they assumed he was among the relatives. Such journeys were long and the groups were large with ample opportunity for visiting. Mary and Joseph surely must have had much catching up to do with others in the group.
When Mary and Joseph looked for Jesus, he was nowhere to be found. They must have looked and looked for this boy who was not yet a man, but certainly not a little boy either. What anxiety it must have produced in the whole group when they realized Jesus was not with them! So Mary and Joseph traced their footsteps back toward Jerusalem, looking for their son. Their hearts must have been pounding wildly. Surely they were sick with worry. They searched and searched for three heart-wrenching days until finally they saw him.
And what was he doing? Not playing ball with a group of boys. He was not whispering in some corner with other youth. The boy Jesus was sitting among the learned men of Jerusalem. He was not chatting idly. Jesus was asking them questions and answering their questions. He was having a conversation, a debate with the religious elders of the community.
Mary and Joseph were rightly upset. Jesus had disobeyed them. But they also realized what was happening. The boy Jesus had wisdom from God. He had an understanding that defied ordinariness.
The boy Jesus knew he had to engage in this conversation with the elders, even at the expense of disrespecting his parents. Jesus wasn't very old. But his wisdom was beyond his years.
