Jesus In the Temple 

   For a moment put yourself in the place of Mary and Joseph as they searched for Jesus for three days, not knowing if He was lost, or injured and even if he was alive.  When they finally found Him in the temple, imagine their amazement as they heard Jesus debating the laws and Jewish faith with the leaders of the temple.

   When told they had been searching anxiously for Him, He replied, “Why were you looking for me?  Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2: 49).  Though His ministry would not begin in earnest for several years, He was already busy preparing for it.

   As an adoptive father, I can imagine the heartache of Joseph when Jesus said that He must be in His “Father’s” house.  Though Joseph knew he was not truly the father of Christ, it must have been devastating to hear Jesus state it so very clearly.

   In the same way Mary had to recognize that He was no longer the baby she had nursed, the little child she loved and cared for.  Perhaps she remembered the words of Simeon when he said to her, “…a sword will pierce your own soul too…” (Luke 2: 35).  This would be the first of many such swords our Blessed Mother would suffer.

   Every parent must come to the day when their children leave the nest, praying that they have prepared their son or daughter well.  Joseph and Mary were no different even though their Child was the Son of God.  The pain of recognizing that He was reaching maturity and would leave them at some point was made very clear that day in Jerusalem.  But they also knew that He was the Messiah, the Chosen One who would give His life for the redemption of our sins.  And in that truth I’m sure they found joy and great peace in their hearts.