After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
The parents of Jesus showed that they were devout by going to Jerusalem according to festival custom. On their return journey neither they nor Jesus did anything that was wrong, strictly speaking. In their tribal society it was normal to assume Jesus might have been among relatives and acquaintances. And as for Jesus, that he remained was apparently the will of his Father in heaven, whose will his parents would have taught him to always prefer even to their own. Yet this lack of sin did not prevent genuine anxiety at the discovery of the absence of Jesus. In the Father's providential plan it seemed that Paschal mystery would effect not only situations that needed to be purified of sin but even the Immaculate Heart of Mary herself. Sharing in the cross of Christ was not actually a punishment, but, viewed from the right perspective, a privilege.
After three days they found him in the temple
It was not for nothing that Jesus was apart from his mother and earthly father for three days. His purpose was something greater than merely impressing the teachers in the temple. It led to a deeper revelation of the identity of Jesus as son of the Father in heaven and true Lord of the temple, as he demonstrated when he said that he must be in his Father's house. And it provided preparation for Mary who would one day endure the three days of separation from her son when he was laid in a tomb after the passion. This anxious search for Jesus led Mary to contemplation as "his mother kept all these things in her heart". In the stillness and faithfulness of her grace-filled heart she was able to recognize that the absence of her son was able to result in still greater glory when he was found again, and indeed that it would always have this result.
For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine
but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity,
will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth
and will be diverted to myths.
We certainly live in an age when people will not tolerate sound doctrine. Sound doctrine, of course, contains the central element of the cross of Christ. But none of us have a heart which is as faithful in the face of trial as was that of Mary. Rather than reflecting on God's action in our lives and drawing fruitful value from that reflection we tend to run off after our own desires and curiosities, because these are superficially easier to tolerate. But if we do not learn the lessons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and carve in our lives a central place for the love of the cross then we will risk closing our ears to the truth and being diverted into myths.
We are called to do what Paul commanded Timothy and what Mary and Joseph in fact did in today's Gospel, as they were "persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient". Then we ourselves will be sufficiently convinced, reprimanded, and encouraged by the truth that we too will be of some use to others. We will remain self-possessed in all circumstances, and even in hardship we will not lose ourselves in emotional distress. Whatever our own work is, and however we ourselves are called to evangelize, we will be able to fulfill this ministry when are hearts are modeled on that of the Mother of God. That Paul's own heart was made in this model and according to this blueprint was evident. But he too insisted that it is a reality not meant for him alone.
For I am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well;
I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
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