He Knows My Panic
Scripture Reading: Luke 2:41-52
Meditation
A mother’s greatest joy is holding her baby close. But there comes a day when she has to open her arms and let him go. It’s a moment when she finds herself suddenly looking up at her son, not down. Suddenly she realizes that he’s no longer her little boy.
When that day comes, she shakes her head. She sheds a tear and sighs,
“When did my baby grow up?”
For Mary, that day has come.
Slowly, over time, Jesus has grown—infant to toddler, toddler to preadolescent and preadolescent to young man. His development has been steady, almost imperceptible to someone who’s been with him every day. Each year he grows a couple of inches. Every month he puts on a couple of pounds. Day after day, his hair grows longer. All the while, his character is growing.
One moment he’s a tiny baby wrapped in a blanket and cradled in his mother’s arms. The next, he’s an energetic, active adolescent: too big to sit on his mother’s lap, too busy for Mary to keep an eye on his every move, and too independent to report in and tell his mom where he’s been, what he’s doing or where he’s going.
Mary’s little boy has grown up and it all seemed to happen so fast.
Jesus is now twelve years old and he’s soon to become a “son of the covenant.” In a few months, he’ll have his bar mitzvah. He’ll pass from being a boy to a man and be considered an adult in the Jewish community. He’ll take on all of the moral and religious duties of Judaism. For the past couple of years, he’s been preparing for and looking forward to this moment. He’s attended all of the annual Jerusalem festivals with his parents.
He’s celebrated Passover. He knows all about the sacrificial lamb, the blood on the doorposts, the angel who passed over and the exodus out of Egypt. Fifty days after Passover, after the wheat had been harvested, he returned to Jerusalem to celebrate the one-day festival of Pentecost.
In the autumn, he returned once again for the Feast of Tabernacles. He helped his father build a booth outside of Jerusalem. For eight days, they tented with the rest of the pilgrims as they remembered the forty years spent wandering in the wilderness. During that feast, Jesus celebrated the provisions of the Father: the manna, the water from the rock, the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day.
Throughout his life, his mother and father have faithfully attended all of these festivals. This year is no different.
Every year Jesus’ parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up as they always did for the Feast. When it was over and they left for home, the child Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn’t know it.1
It’s Passover and a sea of pilgrims floods Jerusalem. The Holy City swells with strangers. The current of the crowd could easily sweep a young boy away from his family. Mary tells Jesus to stay close and to hang on to his father’s hand. If they get separated, Joseph tells him to meet them on the steps of the temple court.
When the Feast is over, the tide of travelers leaves Jerusalem but Jesus stays behind. His parents, thinking he was traveling with family or friends from Nazareth, didn’t know it. It’s only after a day of travel that Mary and Joseph notice that Jesus is missing.
Thinking he was somewhere in the company of pilgrims, they journeyed for a whole day and then began looking for him among relatives and neighbors. When they didn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem looking for him.2
Panic engulfs Mary. Frantic, she turns to Joseph,
“I thought he was with you.”
She runs toward the tents of her relatives, calling out his name as she goes. On the way she stops every friend, every relative, every neighbor asking,
“Has anyone seen Jesus?
When was the last time you saw him? Where?”
No one has seen Jesus.
The last time anyone remembers seeing Jesus was when they were all in the Temple courts. But by now it’s night and it’s not safe to travel after the sun goes down. Mary paces till the sun rises. Fear keeps her awake. Terror fills her thoughts. Dread prays for the dawn.
At first light, Mary and Joseph head back to Jerusalem. They travel a full day but are forced to wait through another night before they can start to search for Jesus.
The next day they found him in the Temple seated among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. The teachers were all quite taken with him, impressed with the sharpness of his answers. But his parents were not impressed; they were upset and hurt.3
Relief! Jesus is safe.
Three days separated from his parents and no harm has come to him. But after Mary’s long embrace, Joseph’s ruffling of Jesus’ hair, and a parental sigh of relief, comes a mother’s scolding finger.
“Young man, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been half out of our minds looking for you.”4
Jesus gives no adolescent excuse. He doesn’t even offer an apology. Instead, he answers his mother’s question with a question of his own.
“Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be here, dealing with the things of my Father?” But they had no idea what he was talking about.5
In the midst of his mother’s panic, Jesus explains that he was dealing with the things of his Father: heavenly business. This was the day that Mary, the mother of God, had to open her arms and let her son go. It wasn’t until later, when she fell at the foot of the cross, that she realized why she had to let him go. She had to open her arms so that he could open his …
to the nails,
to forgiveness,
to a world frantic in its sin.
Years later, on the cross, her little boy would still be about his Father’s business.
Reflection
When you were a child, how did you throw your parents into a panic?
What does it feel like to be in a panic—half out of your mind?
Have you ever been hurt or upset by Jesus’ actions? When? How?
When was the last time Jesus responded, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know I had to be here dealing with the things of my Father?”
Prayer
Father,
Though Jesus was your Son, he grew in body and matured in spirit. He was the Son of God and yet he was just like any other Jewish boy. He ran for hours. He played all day with his friends. As he approached adolescence, he spread his wings of independence and flew off from his mother’s nest. When Jesus was a child, Mary, the mother of God, held him close like a baby bird. But when he was about to become a man, she knew that she had to open her arms and let him go. He had to soar toward the things of heaven: the cross, forgiveness and eternal life.
During this day, help me see that Jesus is still about his Father’s business. When I panic and wonder where the Son of Mary is, give me peace. When I can’t seem to find him in the crowd, assure me that he is in his Father’s house. When I’m upset and hurt—out of my mind because I don’t know where Jesus is—remind me that he is present, with me always, still dealing with the things of heaven. It’s in the Son of Mary’s name that I pray. Amen.
1Luke 2:41-43 2Luke 2:44-45 3Luke 2:46-48 4Luke 2:48
5Luke 2:49-50
All Scripture references in the meditation are marked by italics and are taken from the Gospel reading for the day. Those verses quoted outside of the chosen reading for the day are noted. All Scripture quoted in this post is taken from THE MESSAGE: Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001 & 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.