Ironic, isn't it, that the one story we have of Jesus' boyhood
is one in which he pisses off his parents?
They've been to Jerusalem for Passover,
likely traveling with friends and family,
and after a day of walking back toward home,
Mary says to Joseph,
"Um, where is Jesus? Have you seen him lately?"
"No, I haven't. I though you were watching him."
"You were supposed to watch him, not me!"
"No, you were!"
And so the search begins:
"Have you seen Jesus?"
"Have you seen our son, the one they call Jesus?"
On it goes, more and more frantically,
as they make their way upstream,
back toward Jerusalem...
"We're looking for Jesus, have you seen him?"
"We seem to have lost our son, Jesus.
Has anyone seen him?"
And the inevitable comments:
"Great, you've lost the Son of God!"
"Good going--finally, we have a shot at the Messiah,
and you've misplaced him."
Poor Mary--poor Joseph--
not only does their anger mount at Jesus,
so does their angst:
Where is he?
Is he safe?
Boy, is he gonna get it...
And then there he is,
back at the Temple, which he had never left.
And what is he doing?
Talking to the priests and scribes,
and not just talking:
this 12-year-old is, apparently, teaching them!
Back to Mary and Joseph: What are they feeling?
Relief, certainly, and anger still,
but confusion! embarrassment!
"We are so sorry!
Jesus, what are you doing?
Don't bother these men..."
But they are interrupted:
"No, hold off a moment.
We want to hear what the child has to say.
He is a deeper child, a child of wonder.
He speaks with ancient echoes,
with colors and shapes we have not seen before.
He sings to us of hope and transfiguration.
In him we touch...eternity."
"But...but...he is just our boy, our Jesus."
A pause. A whisper:
"And our Jesus, too."
Mary hugs her son, still confused.
Joseph clears his throat:
"I suppose we should head home...?"
"Yes, go, as you must, with God beside you.
This is God with us, Immanuel,
God forever in us."
And Mary and Joseph and the boy
turn back toward Nazareth,
Jesus happily humming,
Mary and Joseph wondering, hoping,
keeping him close.
Text and image © 2023 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
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