From: Luke 2:41-51

The Finding in the Temple

[41] Now his (Jesus’) 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 sup-
posing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought
him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; [45] and when they did not find
him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. [46] And after three days they
found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and as-
king them questions; [47] and all who heard him were amazed at his under-
standing and his answers. [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 ?” [50] And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.

The Hidden Life of Jesus at Nazareth

[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.

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Commentary:

41. Only St Luke (2:41-50) reports the event of the Child Jesus being lost and
then found in the temple, which we contemplate in the “Fifth Joyful Mystery” of
the Rosary.

Only males aged twelve and upwards were required to make this journey. Naza-
reth is about 100 km (60 miles) from Jerusalem as the crow flies, but the hilly
nature of the country would have made it a trip of 140 km.

43-44. On pilgrimages to Jerusalem, the Jews used to go in two groups—one of
men, the other of women. Children could go with either group. This explains how
they could go a day’s journey before they discovered the Child was missing when
the families regrouped to camp.

“Mary is crying. In vain you and I have run from group to group, from caravan to
caravan. No one has seen him. Joseph, after fruitless attempts to keep from cry-
ing, cries too ... And you ... And I. ‘Being a common little fellow, I cry my eyes
out and wail to heaven and earth ..., to make up for the times when I lost him
through my own fault and did not cry” (St. J. Escriva, “Holy Rosary”, Fifth Joy-
ful Mystery).

45. The concern which Mary and Joseph show in looking for the Child should
encourage us always to seek Jesus out, particularly if we lose him through sin.

“Jesus, may I never lose you again.... Now you and I are united in misfortune
and grief, as were united in sin. And from the depths of our being comes sighs
of heartfelt sorrow and burning phrases which the pen cannot and should not
record” (”Holy Rosary”, Fifth Joyful Mystery).

46-47. The Child Jesus must have been in the courtyard of the temple, which was
where the teachers usually taught. Listeners used to sit at their feet, now and a-
gain asking questions and responding to them. This was what Jesus did, but his
questions and answers attracted the teachers’ attention, he was so wise and well-
informed.

48. Ever since the Annunciation our Lady had known that the Child Jesus was
God. This faith was the basis of her generous fidelity throughout her life—but there
was no reason why it should include detailed knowledge of all the sacrifices God
would ask of her, nor of how Christ would go about his mission of redemption:
that was something she would discover as time went by, contemplating her Son’s
life.

49. Christ’s reply is a form of explanation. His words—his first words to be recor-
ded in the Gospel—clearly show his divine Sonship; and they also show his deter-
mination to fulfill the will of his Eternal Father. “He does not upbraid them — Mary
and Joseph — for searching for their son, but he raises the eyes of their souls to
appreciate what he owes him whose Eternal Son he is” (St Bede, “In Lucae Evan-
gelium Expositio, in loc.”). Jesus teaches us that over and above any human au-
thority, even that of our parents, there is the primary duty to do the will of God.
“And once we are consoled by the joy of finding Jesus — three days he was gone!
— debating with the teachers of Israel (Lk 2:46), you and I shall be left deeply im-
pressed by the duty to leave our home and family to serve our heavenly Father”
(St. J. Escriva, “Holy Rosary”, Fifth Joyful Mystery”). See note on Mt 10:34-37.

50. We must remember that Jesus knew in detail the whole course his earthly
life would take from his conception onwards (cf. note on Lk 2:52). This is shown
by what he says in reply to his parents. Mary and Joseph realized that his reply
contained a deeper meaning which they did not grasp. They grew to understand
it as the life of their Child unfolded. Mary’s and Joseph’s faith and their reverence
towards the Child led them not to ask any further questions but to reflect on Je-
sus’ words and behavior in this instance, as they had done so on other occa-
sions.

51. The Gospel sums up Jesus’ life in Nazareth in just three words: “erat subdtus
illis”, he was obedient to them. “Jesus obeys, and he obeys Joseph and Mary.
God has come to the world to obey, and to obey creatures. Admittedly they were
very perfect creatures—Holy Mary, our mother, greater than whom God alone; and
that most chaste man Joseph. But they are only creatures, and yet Jesus, who
is God, obeyed them. We have to love God so as to love his will and desire to re-
spond to his calls. They come to us through the duties of our ordinary life — du-
ties of state, profession, work, family, social life, our own and other people’s diffi-
culties, friendship, eagerness to do what is right and just” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ
Is Passing By”, 17).

Jesus lived like any other inhabitant of Nazareth, working at the same trade as St
Joseph and earning his living by the sweat of his brow. “His hidden years are not
without significance, nor were they simply a preparation for the years which were
to come after—those of his public life. Since 1928 I have understood clearly that
God wants our Lord’s whole life to be an example for Christians. I saw this with
special reference to his hidden life, the years he spent working side by side with
ordinary men. Our Lord wants many people to ratify their vocation during years
of quiet, unspectacular living. Obeying God’s will always means leaving our sel-
fishness behind, but there is no reason why it should entail cutting ourselves off
from the normal life of ordinary people who share the same status, work and so-
cial position with us.

“I dream—and the dream has come true—of multitudes of God’s children, sanctify-
ing themselves as ordinary citizens, sharing the ambitions and endeavors of their
colleagues and friends. I want to shout to them about this divine truth: If you are
there in the middle of ordinary life, it doesn’t mean Christ has forgotten about you
or hasn’t called you. He has invited you to stay among the activities and concerns
of the world. He wants you to know that your human vocation, your profession,
your talents, are not omitted from his divine plans. He has sanctified them and
made them a most acceptable offering to his Father” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is
Passing By”, 20).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading	Tobit 12:1,5-15,20 ©

When the feasting was over, Tobit called his son Tobias and said, ‘My son, you ought to think about paying the amount due to your fellow traveller; give him more than the figure agreed on.’ So Tobias called his companion and said, ‘Take half of what you brought back, in payment for all you have done, and go in peace.’

Then Raphael took them both aside and said, ‘Bless God, utter his praise before all the living for all the favours he has given you. Bless and extol his name. Proclaim before all men the deeds of God as they deserve, and never tire of giving him thanks. It is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right to reveal and publish the works of God. Thank him worthily. Do what is good, and no evil can befall you.

‘Prayer with fasting and alms with right conduct are better than riches with iniquity. Better to practise almsgiving than to hoard up gold. Almsgiving saves from death and purges every kind of sin. Those who give alms have their fill of days; those who commit sin and do evil, bring harm on themselves.

‘I am going to tell you the whole truth, hiding nothing from you. I have already told you that it is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right too to reveal in worthy fashion the works of God. So you must know that when you and Sarah were at prayer, it was I who offered your supplications before the glory of the Lord and who read them; so too when you were burying the dead. When you did not hesitate to get up and leave the table to go and bury a dead man, I was sent to test your faith, and at the same time God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ever ready to enter the presence of the glory of the Lord.

‘Now bless the Lord on earth and give thanks to God. I am about to return to him above who sent me.’

Canticle	Tobit 13:2,6-8 ©