What We Can Learn from Jesus' Childhood/Adolescence (Luke 2:39-52)

Luke 2:39-52

When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.⁴⁰And as the child grew to maturity, he was filled with wisdom; and God's favour was with him.

⁴¹Every year his parents used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. ⁴²When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. ⁴³When the days of the feast were over and they set off home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. ⁴⁴They assumed he was somewhere in the party, and it was only after a day's journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. ⁴⁵When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.

⁴⁶It happened that, three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions; ⁴⁷and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. ⁴⁸They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, 'My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.' ⁴⁹He replied, 'Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?' ⁵⁰But they did not understand what he meant.

⁵¹ He went down with them then and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His mother stored up all these things in her heart. ⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and with people.

1.    This passage gives us insight into the process for growing in wisdom. More specifically, we can learn about that by observing how Jesus did so.

A.    We first must realize that Jesus did in fact go through a process of obtaining wisdom while He was incarnate. Philippians 2:6-8 tells us the Jesus did not come out of the womb full of the wisdom He came to exemplify; He emptied himself of His divine wisdom before becoming incarnate. That is implicit in Luke 2:40 and 52; Jesus was “filled” with and “increased in wisdom,” that process would not have been necessary if He had retained his divine wisdom. 

B.   So how did Jesus become the exemplar of wisdom? This text shows us several things:

     i.   He prioritized the pursuit of wisdom over other things. That’s     why He stayed in the temple when His family and friends had moved on. That is consistent with what we are told to do by the wisdom literature, other scripture, and Jesus Himself later in His earthy life. See Matthew 13:44-46 and the other scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles: We Must Make Real Effort/Sacrifice to Receive All that God Offers, But It Is Well Worth It.

ii. He spent time with and actively engaged wise folks. Luke 2:46 tells us that He sat “among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions” (NJB). That is consistent with Sirach 6:34-36 and the other scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles—The Company You Keep.

iii. He was humble enough to submit to His earthly parents’ authority, as commanded by scripture and common sense. See Deuteronomy 5:16 and the other scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles—Parents & Children. See also Proverbs 13:1 and the other scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles—Rebuke & Openness to Correction.  

iv.  He pursued wisdom even though he came from an economically humble background. See Sirach 11:1, Luke 2:24, and Leviticus 12:8.

v.    He apparently worked at it over time. Luke 2:52 states that he “increased” or “grew” in wisdom, indicating that it was a gradual process. That is consistent with Sirach 6:18-19 and the other scriptures collected in Wisdom principles: We Grow in Godliness Over Time, Gradually.

2.   This passage reveals some things about Jesus’ life as He was developing into the adult:

A.   He grew up in an established community and family. Luke 2:39, 44, 51-52.

B.   The family He grew up in was pious, observing the law’s command to travel to Jerusalem in spite of their apparently modest means. Perhaps His experience as a poor pilgrim partially explains His zeal for cleansing the temple of those who exploited pilgrims. See John 2:13-17, Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-46.

C.   Although He submitted to His earthly parents’ authority, He started to assert His independence when he reached adolescence. That is a manifestation of the fact that He was fully human.

3.   Jesus’ response when Mary and Joseph finally find Him in the temple (Luke 2:49) reflects a tension between devotion to earthly family and devotion to God that surfaces multiple times in the gospels. See Matthew 10:37-38, Matthew 12:46-50, Matthew 19:29, Matthew 22:23-33, Mark 3:31-35, Mark 12:18-27, Luke 8:19-21, Luke 11:27-28, Luke 12:21-53, Luke 20:27-40, John 2:1-6. We too have to reconcile those sometimes competing demands.

4.   Although Jesus apparently recognized His divine status at this point, He submitted to the authority of His earthly parents. We see that dynamic—Jesus’ subordination of His divine perquisites to further divine purposes—elsewhere in scripture. See Matthew 3:13-15, Matthew 26:50-54, Luke 22:50-51, John 13:1-16, John 13:27, John 18:4-8, Philippians 2:5-8. We must follow His example and humbly surrender our “rights” in order to be fully available to do our part in helping God’s kingdom come and His will be done.  Other scriptures adressing that principle are collected in A Third Rosary Based Prayer About the Pandemic: Changing Our Ways.

5.    Mary and Joseph’s difficulty finding Jesus and comprehending His response once they did illustrate several realities about serving God:

A.   It illustrates that even those who are truly trying to do God’s will sometimes have trouble seeing/understanding what He’s up to. Mark 4:35-41 is another example of that dynamic.

B.   It also illustrates that those who are truly trying to do God’s will encounter difficulties in the course of doing so. That dynamic is discussed and illustrated in Sirach 2 and Matthew 14:22-24.

C.   It illustrates that even those who have an intimate relationship with Jesus have trouble connecting with Him at times. See Paragraph 2731 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

D.  It illustrates how to respond when those things occur:

i.   Mary and Joseph did not give up, or abandon the work they were doing for God, but instead kept at it as best they could. Their response exemplifies the instruction provided in Sirach 2.

ii.   It is interesting to note that they looked “everywhere” in Jerusalem before they found Jesus in the temple. Perhaps they went to the temple to pray for help finding Him, and only then came across Him.

A Prescription for Divisive Times: Readings for Feb. 24, 2018 (Lectionary: 229)

We live in a divisive atmosphere.  People of good will have strongly held, but opposing, views. Others seek to aggravate and exploit legitimate disagreements for their political/commercial gain. That results in both policy paralysis and strained interpersonal relationships. Nothing is resolved and the underlying problems—and injured relationships—continue to fester. Talk about a devil’s brew.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Our Lord tells us, through today’s readings, how to start the healing. Let’s see what they say to us.

Key:

What these passages tell us about God

What these passages tell us to do
Commentary/observations

Reading 1 Dt 26:16-19

Moses spoke to the people, saying:
"This day the LORD, your God, commands you to observe these statutes and decrees. Be careful, then, to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. Today you are making this agreement with the LORD: he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees, and to hearken to his voice. And today the LORD is making this agreement with you: you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you; and provided you keep all his commandments, he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations he has made, and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God, as he promised."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8

R. (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they who observe his decrees, who seek him with all their heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
You have commanded that your precepts be diligently kept.
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways of keeping your statutes!
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
I will give you thanks with an upright heart, when I have learned your just ordinances. I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

Verse Before the Gospel 2 Cor 6:2b

Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Gospel Mt 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

1.     Today’s gospel tells us that we are to honestly seek the good of those we disagree with.  That requires us to consciously put our anger aside, think instead about what would most bless individual people “on the other side,” and then do what we can to bring it about. Try to think of, and seek, things unrelated to the issues/actions you disagree on.

2.    That does not come naturally. That’s why God gives us helps.

A.   He gives us His word; it is a powerful aid for dealing with those we disagree with if we use it as a guide to healing instead of ammunition for our side of the fight.  Check out the scriptures collected in  Wisdom Principles-How to Deal with Those Who Do You Wrong.

B.    He gives us access to Himself and His wisdom through prayer; He will show us how to deal with those we are upset with. That’s why Jesus tells us to pray for them. If you lean left, pray for someone to your the right; if you lean right, pray for someone to your left. And don’t just pray that they come around to your way of thinking/behaving, pray that both of you come together around God’s will. Or maybe pray for help in living out the principles in the scriptures collected at the link in paragraph A above. And keep at it; Jesus frankly told us that it takes time and persistence for prayer to bear full fruit. See Luke 11:5-8 and Luke 18:1-8.

C.    Also on prayer, all of us, wherever we are on the political spectrum, have leaders we disagree with. We should follow Jesus’ command to pray for those (in our view) disagreeable leaders.  Scriptures on that are collected at:

Praying for Leaders: Why, When, and How

Praying for Leaders: That They be Fair, Honest, and not Corrupt

Praying for Leaders: That They Be Sensitive to the Weak and Disadvantaged

Praying for Leaders: That They Truly "Serve" and That They Do So with Humility

Praying for Leaders: That they be Able to Delegate/Rely on Subordinates and to Pick Honest Ones

Praying for Leaders: That they Recognize the Importance of Wise Counsel

D.   We must put real, concerted, intentional, effort behind dealing with our opposites in the ways scripture instructs. That’s what today’s first reading and psalm are referring to when they instruct us to “[b]e careful” to apply God’s precepts, to do so “all your heart and with all your soul,’ and to do so “diligently.”

E.    Don’t worry about what people on your side of the aisle think of your efforts to bless those on the other side. As the first reading says, God wants us to be “a people peculiarly his own,” so concentrate on pleasing Him rather than them.