Luke 2:41-52 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.” “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they didn’t understand what he meant. Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart. Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.
Context: This is the sole Scriptural account of Jesus between his infancy and his adult life. Luke situates this story at the time of passover and locates Jesus in the temple. This serves to emphasize the ministry of Jesus the Christ firmly in a nuclear Jewish family with the Jewish Community.
Going Deeper: Engage in the Latino Community's "action/reflection" model of See-Judge-Act.
Examine the Text ... SEE: Read the passage again ... as if you were hearing the story told by frantic and frustrated parents who have been wearied by their teenage son. Listen as if you were a parent who has lost touch with your child in the busyness of life. Who is Luke addressing in the text? What is the human condition that Luke seems to be addressing with this passage? Why do Mary and Joseph find themselves in the situation described in the passage? What problems or concerns arise in the midst of the situation? What are the most vivid images that emerge from the text? What emotions lay underneath the text? What do you know about Jesus from this passage? What do you know about God from the text? What do you know about the relationship between Jesus and his parents, Mary and Joseph? What do you know about the relationship between Jesus and the Heavenly Father?
Look at your Life ... JUDGE: Read the passage again and look deeper. Read the passage for relevance to your own life? How does this text speak to parents today? How does this text speak to young people? What challenges do you find in the text that keep you from digging deeper? What gift do your find which may illuminate your own circumstances?
How does the text speak to our faith community? What good news do you find in the text? What bad news is there? How do you reconcile the good news with the bad news? In light of the biblical text, how might the community of faith enter more faithfully into dialogue with parents and teenagers?
Is there an invitation in the text for me as a person of faith or for our faith community?
Pondering: Jesus asks his frantic parents: "Didn't you know ... that I must be in my Father's House?" This sounds like a typical teenage question ... a question with attitude! Jesus has expectations of his parents. He expects them to know more than they seem to know. It leaves us to wonder about the angel's message to Mary and whether any dawning realization is beginning to emerge about her son, Jesus.
Mary and Joseph have expectations as well ... they expect their son to behave in the way a good Jewish boy should behave ... just as he always had. And yet he doesn't! How would you react if you were walking in their shoes? How would your parents have reacted had you treated them in the way Jesus did?
What expectations do you have of God? What expectations does God have of you? What is the connection between this passage and the reign of God? Are we building the reign of God in our midst? How is this happening? Or not happening?
Take action in light of your Faith ... ACT: We are called to work so that the reign of God can be realized in the world today. Read the passage a final time for ways to act. What steps do I need to take to be responsive to the invitation I heard in the biblical text? Who do I need to reach out to? How can I work for change ... in my family? in my faith community? in my neighborhood? in my word? How will these changes affect others? In what ways are we building the relationship between our community of faith and people in the world? In what ways are we putting up obstacles for the community of faith to engage in reaching out to others? What is one change you can/will make in response to what you hear God saying to you through the gospel writer, John?
Praying: It is said that the reign of God has come on earth whenever the will of God is done. As you consider the will of God in your life and in your community ... Pray the Lord's Prayer, as a communal prayer, to end your time of study:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment