Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.
In the latter part of our Gospel today, we hear of Jesus' obedience. The Son of God who humbled Himself by becoming man also humbled Himself by becoming obedient to human parents, by becoming a normal man with a normal family. What makes Jesus and His human family special is the presence of God in their lives. The Holy Family has God at its center, not only because Jesus was in that family, but because they follow God's will.
Being in a family, the smallest social institution, will not assure anyone a perfect life. Every member of the family has to make it work. Every member must do his part. And, of course, God must be in the center. His will must be the law in the family.
In the Gospel today, Jesus leads us from the natural family to the bigger family - the Family of God. Jesus says that He must be in His Father's house, doing God's will. We too, as sons and daughters of the Father, ought to be in our Father's house, doing His will. Our families should not hinder us from being good children of God.
Parents should remember that it was God who gave them their children. They should, in their gratitude, remember to raise their children as true Christians; they should not hold them back from God. Many parents prevent their children from pursuing careers that make full use of their children's God-given abilities and, instead, coerce them to pursue fast-earning careers. The saddest situation is when parents prevent their children from entering the seminary, arguing that there are many ways to serve God. But what if God chose their children to serve Him specifically as His priests? Should they not give their children back to God, as Hannah did in our First Reading (1 Sm 1:20-22, 24-28)?
Children, on the other hand, ought to obey their parents and accept what they are trying to teach them. But, again, parents have the responsibility to teach only good things to their children, raising them as true children of God.
God has created the natural family to reflect His own family, in which He is Father and we are His children by virtue of adoption. The natural family should, therefore, open itself to the will of God, the Father of all. Yes, we are family to all our biological relatives, but we are family to God first and foremost.
Being in a family, the smallest social institution, will not assure anyone a perfect life. Every member of the family has to make it work. Every member must do his part. And, of course, God must be in the center. His will must be the law in the family.
In the Gospel today, Jesus leads us from the natural family to the bigger family - the Family of God. Jesus says that He must be in His Father's house, doing God's will. We too, as sons and daughters of the Father, ought to be in our Father's house, doing His will. Our families should not hinder us from being good children of God.
Parents should remember that it was God who gave them their children. They should, in their gratitude, remember to raise their children as true Christians; they should not hold them back from God. Many parents prevent their children from pursuing careers that make full use of their children's God-given abilities and, instead, coerce them to pursue fast-earning careers. The saddest situation is when parents prevent their children from entering the seminary, arguing that there are many ways to serve God. But what if God chose their children to serve Him specifically as His priests? Should they not give their children back to God, as Hannah did in our First Reading (1 Sm 1:20-22, 24-28)?
Children, on the other hand, ought to obey their parents and accept what they are trying to teach them. But, again, parents have the responsibility to teach only good things to their children, raising them as true children of God.
God has created the natural family to reflect His own family, in which He is Father and we are His children by virtue of adoption. The natural family should, therefore, open itself to the will of God, the Father of all. Yes, we are family to all our biological relatives, but we are family to God first and foremost.
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